Finding a good clinic for Hashimoto's Disease in Tokyo

In my early 20s, I was suffering from insomnia, muscular tension, palpitation, mild depression and several other issues. I journeyed from doctor to doctor from hospital to hospital and no doctor could find anything. I was told to reduce stress and do more sport. I tried but it didn’t help.

One day I remembered that my mother and other female relatives were suffering from the thyroid disease called Hashimoto. I did some research and found that chances are high that you also get this disease when your relatives have it, however until now during the annual checkup that every employee in Japan undergoes there were no irregularities so I always thought everything is alright. Unfortunately, the annual health checkup does not cover a check of the thyroid hormone levels. 

So I started looking for places that specialize in thyroid diseases and found the Wakamatsu Kawada thyroid clinic. It was easy to get an appointment online. When I arrived the waiting room was quite full and I had to wait for about an hour. They took a blood sample and I was told to come back a week later for the results.

The doctor told me that I have Hashimoto due to the increased number of antibodies, however as my TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) was still within the regular levels so the doctor told me it is not yet necessary to take medication and that I should come back in 3 months.

However, my overall situation still didn’t improve so I decided to get a second opinion and made an appointment at the Iidabashi Wellness Clinic, a women’s clinic that also covers thyroid diseases. When I showed them my blood sample results the doctor told me that according to the most recent standard values it would be appropriate to start with medication in my case. So I started taking thyroid hormones and became a patient of this clinic and slowly my condition improved. 

That's the medication I have to take every day.

The main issue with this clinic was that even with a reservation the waiting time was quite long and because of the short opening times, I always had to rush there after work. Also, the doctor wanted me to come in at least once a month even when my medication dose became stable and usually patients come in once in 3 months when the dosage is stable.

When I changed jobs I had to look for a new clinic, because I wouldn’t be able to make it to the Wellness clinic on time after work and found the Navitas Clinic in Shinjuku, which is the clinic I am most happy with. It is possible to reserve online so no need to phone and waiting time is really short even if you come in without a reservation. The clinic is open until 9:00 PM on weekdays so I still can go even if I work overtime. The clinic is not specialized in thyroid diseases so it might not be the best place if you were just diagnosed but if you have been taking your medication a while and are looking for a new doctor I would recommend this place.

Finding a good clinic for thyroid diseases is not easy, but don't give up until you find a doctor that you are happy with.