It Was For Him - Not For Me

After one of my husband’s check -ups he talked to me about the new practice Dr. Henzel is going to be a part of, MDVIP. After discussing all the benefits and more one on one personal care we would be receiving I thought, "This is just what he needs!" I have a yearly visit and overall health is good, but with his diabetes I thought it would be great for him to have extra care, so we joined. Late in 2022 and 2023 I noticed that I was having more aches and joint pains, tired, and seemed more sensitive to the cold during the winter months. As the year went on, I became more tired but contributed to "getting old". I thought more exercise would help so I joined a pickleball group and began walking several miles multiple days of the week. But nothing seemed to improve my energy level and I noticed that my arm and fingertips were numb along with some facial numbness and swelling around eyes in the morning. Not being a complainer and still contributing most to age I pushed through the symptoms. Late in the fall of 2023 my husband had one of his visits and told me that I needed to make my appointment to complete our screening and testing.

So, I made an appointment for bloodwork and pre-screening with the nurse practitioner. When the results of the bloodwork came in, I was reviewing on MyChart; all seemed as usual, good results but I did notice my overall cholesterol number had increased over the last two years, but Dr. Henzel always looks at the ratio which was not alarming. As I continued to review my results, I saw a test that we never tested for, TSH Reflex. My results for this were off the charts high and my Thyroid Profile was very low.

During my visit with Dr. Henzel he asked me how I was doing, and I told him “Just feeling my age” and told him some of the things I had been experiencing over the last year. When he told me that my Thyroid was not working and that most of what I was believing was contributed to aging are symptoms of this. He discussed with me treatments/medication that is available for this condition and that I would need more frequent follow up visits and bloodwork to monitor.

Since I have never taken anything other than vitamin supplements, Dr. Henzel listened to my concern about taking medicines and we agreed upon a dosage to begin taking.

After only a week of taking Levothyroxine, I could feel a change in my body and energy level! Over the course of a few weeks, I had bloodwork retested and results were in the normal range, and I was feeling like my old self! Dr. Henzel said it could take longer for some or all the numbness to disappear. After several months that has now returned to normal as well.

I am so grateful for MDVIP and Dr. Henzel; without the in-depth testing and screening, I don't know how long I would have continued to ignore my symptoms and possibly caused greater harm to my health.

What I thought would be good for my husband became life changing and a blessing for me!

Thank you Dr. Henzel and your staff! And thank you MDVIP!