Is it possible to find a doctor that I don't have to go see every month (see details)?

Is there any way it can be mixed in with your monthly OB appointment? You have to do that once a month as well, so I don’t see the point in going two separate times a month.

@casheroo you & I think the same @ubersiren My perinatalogist does this at her office.

My doc doesn’t make me come in after the testing (though, I’m not pregnant, either). They just call & let me know. If I need a new prescription, they just tell me and fax it over to the pharmacy. Is your hypothyroid well controlled? If not, I could understand the frequency during pregnancy. It’s very important to have it under control before the birth.

@ubersiren Actually, I think even if you went to a perinatalogist you’d have to come in at least once per month. I am subclinical hypothyroid, so I didn’t need testing during pregnancy. However, with the condition I agree with @augustlan, you need it in check prior to delivery.

It has been regulated and I’ve been on the same dose now for 3 months.

@ubersiren I think even though you are regulated, the fact that you are on meds to be regulated creates the necessity to be tested monthly. Could you have this done at your OB’s office instead?

I do think it should be tested monthly, but don’t see the point of an office visit as long as it’s under control.

In our OB/GYN office, pregnant women who are hypothyroid and stable on medication get a thyroid panel once each trimester – we are usually able to combine the blood draw with pregnancy related labs. If it looks like the med dose needs to be adjusted, we usually go ahead with that and recheck levels in 4 weeks. If questions come up we get on the phone with an endocrinologist and do a quick consult.

If your thyroid situation was unstable, it would make sense for an endocrinology office to monitor you closely – too much or too little throid can can significant problems for mom and/or baby.

I would ask your pregnancy care provider if they’re willing to monitor your thyroid for the rest of the pregnancy.

@MagsRags: Thanks for responding. That seems far more reasonable, once a trimester.

Ok, seems that I should just ask my midwife’s office if I can be doing it there. That would help immensely. Thanks for bringing that up, folks. I never considered it!

I get blood work done every 2–3 months for my thyroid, but I only see the doctor every 6 months or so.

@ubersiren Even if the doctor feels it important to get bloodwork every month, I don’t see why you have to be seen by the doctor every month.

@JLeslie : Yeah, I don’t know either. I wasn’t sure if it was really excessive or if it was just me being whiny. I think I’ll be having some phone discussions tomorrow about this.

This thread has been interesting so far and I agree that some of your visits could posssibly be handled combined. You mentioned a midwife and although I think that it is great that you have one, she may not be qualified or set up to take blood for the reports. I hope she is qualified so your convenience and continued care can be combined.
I believe we should all be very active in our own care and you are not whining to be thinking of simplifing your visit schedule while doing what is important.