IGX

Let me start this off by saying my sister is very young (and stupid, but one of us was bound to be a product of our upbringing), and is exactly the person that the Affordable Care Act will benefit once, you know, it actually starts working.

During her last pregnancy blood tests revealed some sort of thyroid problem. She did not then, nor does she now, have insurance. I told her to apply for medicaid for pregnant woman - she works at fucking Dunkin Donuts or some shit for $8/hr, she would qualify -and get it looked at while she had insurance to cover it. Naturally, being a dumb ass, she didn't listen.

Cut to now almost a year later, and a lump has been discovered on her thyroid and she needs a biopsy. Again I tell her to apply for state medical coverage or at least try for emergency 30 day insurance. This time she said she tried but didn't qualify because they count the income of everyone in the household. Because she lives with her boyfriend and his mother, she doesn't qualify.

So, instead of taking what precious little money she has an arranging a payment plan or something like that, she goes to see a naturopath ("She's a real doctor!"). Naturopath takes blood from her and tells her she's going to "look at it for 24 hours." Then gets back to my sister and tells her she's "had stomach issues since she was little," "crystals in her blood," "parasites," and "a lot of toxic build up" in her body. And without biopsy or, you know, any medical training as far as I can tell, tells my sister the thyroid lump is probably a tumor. But not to worry! Here's this (incredibly expensive) detox diet, I'll see you in 90 days and give you some herbs.

Now she's on this crazy detox diet that I have no earthly idea how she plans on following along with and affording to feed her children, and is putting off a much needed biopsy. I am absolutely gobsmacked, and more than a little worried because thyroid problems run rampant with the women in our family. But she won't listen to me and keeps insisting that this person is a Real Doktor.

Not sure I'm asking for advice, per se, just wanted to share the insanity.

Chloroform her and perform your own biopsy. Quick and easy.

Make her watch this clip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHxRkXrBMKo

Yeah, I had a lump on my thyroid. It was a tumor.

syaigh wrote:Yeah, I had a lump on my thyroid. It was a tumor.

Benign or cancerous?

How fast can the naturopath peel garlic?

Bob Wildes wrote:

syaigh wrote:Yeah, I had a lump on my thyroid. It was a tumor.

Benign or cancerous?

Dysplastic and complex.

Here's hoping you have good luck with that.

Bob Wildes wrote:Here's hoping you have good luck with that.

I had it removed, but my thyroid still freaked out on me. Got it back in line after a few months. :)

The advice here is going to come down to "You cant cure stupid"
However, reread T200's suggestion...

Alternative Medicine is alternative to what works. They run up body counts worse than anyone.

Naturopaths are a crock of shit... I hope you talk sense into her quickly for her sake

Is she an addict? This sounds like the shit you hear people go to al-anon for. Maybe there should be dumb-anon.

If you want to scare her straight, just show her Quack's posts here.

I hear he spews a bunch of worthless bile on FB, too.

I wish that somebody would keep me up to speed on crap like this. Yesterday, we were 'for' folks being able to see whichever doctor and seek whatever treatment they wish?

Terry B. wrote:I wish that somebody would keep me up to speed on crap like this. Yesterday, we were 'for' folks being able to see whichever doctor and seek whatever treatment they wish?

Even though IGX as a whole is populated with logical, even tempered, intelligent, reasonable, and well-read males, who just want to live together in peace and harmony, as a hive, the collective think is more like an irrational woman who makes it her prerogative to change her mind at will. And so we did.

syaigh wrote:

Terry B. wrote:I wish that somebody would keep me up to speed on crap like this. Yesterday, we were 'for' folks being able to see whichever doctor and seek whatever treatment they wish?

Even though IGX as a whole is populated with logical, even tempered, intelligent, reasonable, and well-read males, who just want to live together in peace and harmony, as a hive, the collective think is more like an irrational woman who makes it her prerogative to change her mind at will. And so we did.

I never liked naturopath bullshit... Nothing screams legit like obsessing over adrenal fatigue and B12 shots

Terry B. wrote:I wish that somebody would keep me up to speed on crap like this. Yesterday, we were 'for' folks being able to see whichever doctor and seek whatever treatment they wish?

Yes. as long as they pay for it themselves. Which is why I'm in the market for a good veterinarian. Doctors cannot be trusted to render services honestly.

BucketHead wrote:How fast can the naturopath peel garlic?

I bet not as fast as Saveur, which was pretty impressive: http://www.thekitchn.com/smart-tip-peel ... ead-157145 (Edit--Damn: NOW I see that seeahill already beat me to this one.)

On a less unrelated note, sorry Jezzy, here's hoping your sister . . . what? Gets better? Wises up? Gets some kind of insurance? Left you the good part of the gene pool?

Jezzy Bell wrote:Let me start this off by saying my sister

Got nudes?

syaigh wrote:

Terry B. wrote:I wish that somebody would keep me up to speed on crap like this. Yesterday, we were 'for' folks being able to see whichever doctor and seek whatever treatment they wish?

Even though IGX as a whole is populated with logical, even tempered, intelligent, reasonable, and well-read males, who just want to live together in peace and harmony, as a hive, the collective think is more like an irrational woman who makes it her prerogative to change her mind at will. And so we did.

Take it back! Both parts!

How was the nodule found? Did she just notice a bump on her neck or did she get an ultrasound, and if she got the US what was the size of the nodule? In first degree relatives (mom, dad, brothers, sisters, children) who has thyroid problems and what are they specifically (cancer type, hyper, hypo)? Any symptoms going along with this nodule?

She needs an US if she hasn't had one to evaluate size. If she has a nodule less than 1 cm in diameter she does not need a biopsy but does need a follow up US every 6 months for a year or two to make sure it is not changing. She absolutely needs blood work to evaluate her thyroid function, TSH, free T4 at the minimum, free T3 and a few different thyroid antibodies if you want to get fancy. None of this can be done by a naturopath, a good Family med or internal med doc could do it or an endocrinologist but that will cost more since they are the specialist. The US and TSH, free T4 should not be horribly expensive to pay in cash along with the Dr. visits if she shops around a bit.

On the up side over 95% of thyroid nodules are benign so the odds are she will be able to continue funneling money to her snake oil distributor for years to come :)

T200 wrote:Chloroform her and perform your own biopsy. Quick and easy.

The sister or the naturopath?

CharlieBob wrote:How was the nodule found? Did she just notice a bump on her neck or did she get an ultrasound, and if she got the US what was the size of the nodule? In first degree relatives (mom, dad, brothers, sisters, children) who has thyroid problems and what are they specifically (cancer type, hyper, hypo)? Any symptoms going along with this nodule?

I don't know how the nodule was found initially, ultrasound I think. Getting factual information out of her is... difficult. She's prone to hyperbole. It's a 4cm mass. No first degree relatives have thyroid problems, it's concentrated in our maternal grandmother and great aunts. Type would be non-cancerous but symptom causing masses. (Mostly fatigue and "craziness"). I have been tested on and off for hypothyroid, but no masses.

She needs an US if she hasn't had one to evaluate size. If she has a nodule less than 1 cm in diameter she does not need a biopsy but does need a follow up US every 6 months for a year or two to make sure it is not changing. She absolutely needs blood work to evaluate her thyroid function, TSH, free T4 at the minimum, free T3 and a few different thyroid antibodies if you want to get fancy. None of this can be done by a naturopath, a good Family med or internal med doc could do it or an endocrinologist but that will cost more since they are the specialist. The US and TSH, free T4 should not be horribly expensive to pay in cash along with the Dr. visits if she shops around a bit.

Yep. I've tried explaining this, but it's lost on her.

On the up side over 95% of thyroid nodules are benign so the odds are she will be able to continue funneling money to her snake oil distributor for years to come :)

Ha!

Jezzy Bell wrote:It's a 4cm mass. No first degree relatives have thyroid problems, it's concentrated in our maternal grandmother and great aunts. Type would be non-cancerous but symptom causing masses. (Mostly fatigue and "craziness"). I have been tested on and off for hypothyroid, but no masses.

4cm is a pretty good size nodule and from a medical stand point MUST be biopsied, at that size it is cancer until proven otherwise (the odds at that size jump to ~15% chance of cancer or ~85% chance of benign, still greatly in her favor but not moving in the right direction). If you really want to motivate her you can inform her that thyroid cancer if caught early is one of the easiest to treat with excellent long term prognosis but if it metastasizes it often goes to the lungs and brain and can get you pretty quick. Metastatic cancer seems to be a good motivator for people to follow up on stuff :)

Oh and no medicine, "natural" or otherwise will make it go away. If the nodule is large enough to cause problems swallowing, talking, or otherwise, surgery is the only fix for that.

Bottom line she needs to see a real doctor and get this stuff set up sooner rather than later. Convincing people to take care of themselves is surprisingly difficult, I am reminded of this every day...