Feedback and more feedback about Stop the Thyroid Madness
Weekly, I get emails from those whose lives have changed thanks to finding out about desiccated thyroid and all the information contained in the website and even more in the STTM book–all which is simply YOUR information. I also get emails from doctors who agree with what patients have learned!
And nothing tells you more how important this worldwide thyroid patient movement is than reading actual weekly comments by real live people. Below is just a sampling. And I will continue adding more samples as they come along to inspire and make you smile. (Real names are removed; occasional things changed to protect identity)
*From a patient: OMG! I am so grateful for this web site. I went online to a discussion group to see if anybody could offer any help with my thyroid issues. The lady gave me your web site. I was diagnosed by an Endo when I was 10. Many of my family members were also diagnosed with hypo-thyroid. I have NEVER had a system to help me treat the problem, only to treat a symptom from time to time. My exhaustion and inability to function day to day had me begging my new doctor to please help. He asked if I was depressed. I said no. He asked if I was under a lot of stress. I said who isn’t but that is not the issue. He checked my blood (I’m not sure which test) and it came at 3.5 which he said was normal and gave me Prozac. ( I never took it as I knew I am not depressed) I went to an Endo. He looked at my thyroid gland with an ultra sound machine and said they look normal. He did the same test as the other doc. He said the same thing but he sat me down and told me that my ovaries are producing too much testosterone and the only way to treat me would be with a water pill that showed breast enlargement in men. Being that I don’t want bigger breasts, I thanked him and went on my way. I thought if I could just find answers or learn more about this maybe I could get some answers. Finally I did and I am so grateful. Not that I want anybody to go through what I am going through, it just feels amazing to know that I am not alone and I am not crazy. I am desperate to have a quality of life. To be a quality mother, wife and me. I hide from the World sometimes because I am just too exhausted to deal with it all the time and I just couldn’t figure out why. Although I do not gain weight, I can’t lose weight either. Mainly because I just can’t get myself to move around for a good period of time and I thought I was just this lazy person that if I could get myself to mentally get it together it would all be OK. I pray I can finally have a resolution to this and just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your web site.
*From a patient: Thank you for the information that on the dosage of Armour that alleviates your hypothyroid symptoms, your Free T3 will be in the upper range (or slightly over for some) and your TSH will be suppressed without being hyperthyroid. I can use this information to show the doctor that my Armour dosage is correct and I don’t need to take additional levothyroxine. I tried taking levothyroxine in addition to Armour for 2 months and it was terrible. All my hypothyroid symptoms returned only worse. The exhaustion was terrible despite all the espresso I was drinking and the medication I take for A.D.D. I told the doctor I was returning to the dosage of Armour that alleviated my symptoms and felt much better within 2 weeks. With the information on your website, I have the information to show my Armour dosage is correct. I am writing this after 10pm something unthinkable 2 weeks ago. Let me know how I can support the thyroid revolution. I am buying the book & bumper stickers.
*From a female patient: I have never been on thyroid before, but if it wasn’t for Stop the Madness for thyroid, I would have never known that I was hypo and what medication I really needed to take. I’m now on canadian “thyroid” thanks to finding a doctor from your site and feeling so much better. I want to thank for from the bottom of my heart. I know you have worked hard to compile all this information and maybe because of it, more like me will start all this correctly and not have to suffer on Thyroxine.
*From a male patient: Janie, all I can say is that this site rocks. I’ve ordered the book. If only I had known about it 6 years when I started fighting my doctor to believe that I was hypothyroid. He finally gave in and put me on Synthroid, and that was another battle. I didn’t feel good on it and he kept telling me to get to the gym more. What a croc. Your site is awesome, I’m now on Armour, but the new formulation isn’t working as good, so I’m heading to Nature-throid. Thank you Janie. (6-09)
*From a male UK patient: Hi , I would just like to say thanks for your website! It has helped me get a diagnosis on a tsh of 3.3 (which almost any doctor but my lifelong gp has discarded)….
*From an Australian patient: Have I ever told you that *literally*, and I mean it, you have saved my life? If I hadn’t found STTM, I think my further slide into the bloody hell of my Eutroxsig use would have been unbearable. Thank you, thank you for STTM, because most of our doctors across the pond are no better than yours. (May 2009)
*From a patient: It’s so sad that I get more help from your website than my own doctor. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this. I’ve started on B12 and will be getting some selenium today also. I’ll probably check with my regular doctor on the ferritin and cortisol issues as my endocrinologist becomes offended when I ask her to do things outside of monitoring TSH. Thanks again so much; I truly appreciate your help. (May 2009)
*From a patient: I like so many other people have been trying to figure out if I have lost my mind. A few years ago I ended up in the hospital mysteriously with chills, fever, and being unconscious. That’s when I was told I had a over active thyroid and I had 3 options: medication, drinking iodine 131 (RAI) or surgery. Being the good patient that I am, I listened and drank iodine 131. Ever since then my life has been spinning out of control. I have anger issues. I’m sad. I have even checked myself into a hospital thinking I have completely lost my mind. It feels like I’m physically here but inside I’m not. I have been taking Synthroid 150 mcg everyday for a year now but it is not getting better. And now that my marriage is broken and I’m lost, I started looking for answers. I can’t be sick to my head, I say to myself. Something is wrong. It is. I have read your article and all the symptoms of anger and craziness make sense. Thank you so much. At least now I know how to go about fixing me. I have seen many doctors and have seen counselors. I hope this is really true and I can finally seek some help with some facts. (May 2009)
*From a patient: Hi Janie. I am 64 years old and am crying. I just found your website last week, and realize that I’ve had these thyroid problems for at least 40 years and not one doctor has said a thing other than I’m normal. grrrr. So now I’m on antidepressants, I’m fat, and I’m not heart healthy. I just want to scream. My mother, grandmother and my aunt all had this, but here I go undiagnosed all this time. Well, I’m just thankful I found yur site and I know what I must do now: find a good doctor unlike all the screwballs I’ve had. Thank you thank you. (May 2009)
*From a male patient: I just wanted to send you a quick note of thanks for providing such wonderful information for people with hypothyroid problems like myself. I won’t go into the years of problems I had until I found this site but I will say if it wasn’t for this site I would have never known about Armour and I would still be suffering on synthroid. It has been about 2 years since I first found this site and as soon as I started taking Armour all my problems went away. It was amazing and again THANK YOU for informing the public about alternatives. (4-09)
*From a patient: My friend called me in tears the other day. I had also bought a copy of your book for her. I had been after her for the past 2 years to give her adrenals support…she was already diabetic and had been for years and years. Although she did take my advice on the thyroid, she wasn’t able to take enough, due to guess what? Anyway, after begging her dr (our doctor- the only we’ve found out here so far who will prescribe the Cortef), he tells her only to take “one” a day. I said: “NO, you need to take 4 , one every four hours! Her adrenal status was worse then mine! So- she being hesitant, compromised and took a half a pill 4 times a day. Two days later, she calls me in tears: “I can’t believe this! My blood sugar is almost normal!” I felt so validated, because I had been saying this for 3 years. Since the adrenals regulate the blood glucose levels, it made sense to me that her diabetes was connected.
I’ve also been working with my daughter since she was 11, she’s now 14 – the nat thyroid and adrenals. Last week, thanks to YOUR WONDERFUL BOOK AND WEB-SITE, I upped her thyroid and multi dosed her. Her temp chart is awesome and her energy is fabulous. She was all over the place with 97.7/98.3/97.0/ 98.5 and now she is mostly 98.4 and 98.5! She also had multiple chemical sensitivity and now it looks like those symptoms are going away too! **(BIG, BIG BONUS cause of all the stinky perfumes people wear, and the outgassing in the stores, etc, nasty cleaning chemicals they use at school) Anyway, thank you soo much, for both your hard, diligent work. And one day, we will definitely have to meet….maybe all of us thyroid/adrenal victories! I salute you Lady!
*From a patient: Hi Janie– I just ordered your book… I am glad to see it in print because I did have a fear of “oh what if that website’s not there anymore?” when I came to look at a few things today. FYI–You have quite the fan club on the Weight Watchers site–there’s a thread on their site run by WW members with thyroid issues trying to help each other & your website gets mentioned quite a bit–that’s how I heard about you & I got educated by those folks on the Free T3 numbers etc that have really given me something specific to talk to my doctor with. Thank you so much for all your work. I am still a ‘work in progress’ (boy you gotta keep on top of those numbers) but I know what I’m trying to do now. For example: I’ve been dragging a little bit lately & lo and behold… yes TSH is 2.5 but Free T3 is dropping off the bottom of the normal scale. Time to tell the doc to up the Armour dose! Thanks, Janie. (4-09)
*From a doctor: Thanks for a fantastic book! I am an orthomolecular physician, GP, from Finland, self suffering from hypothyroidism and adrenal fatigue. Thanks to YOU, among others, as for example my fantastic colleague Mark Starr, I am on my way to recovery and treating hypothyroid patients in Finland and Sweden. THANKS a lot! We need a patient revolution! 4-09
* From a patient: I was diagnosed with Hashi’s last year and I am so grateful for finding your website and book. Just wanted to tell you that. Thank you. 4-09
* From a patient: THANK YOU so much for EVERYTHING you have done to educate the public! YOU, and your valuable information, have quite literally saved my life! My story is the typical story of going from doctor to doctor with no answers, only more questions. Using your information, I was able to get my doctor to order the right tests and start treating my adrenal fatigue. I am not “out of the woods” yet, but feeling human again. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Your website and book have been an absolute blessing! 4-09
* From a doctor: I think you might be interested in adding the group American Academy of Environmental Medicine on your page of how to find a good doc. I am also board certified in Environmental Medicine and I can tell you most of these doctors believe that patients have trouble converting T4 to T3 and do not use Levothyroxine because of this. Most are also behind the concept that Failure of Adrenal Reserve exists and will treat it. Check out their website! 4-09
* From a patient: Dear Janie, Thanks for all your hard work for those who suffer from this thyroid misery….4-09
* From a patient in LA: Hi! Thank you so much for putting together this site and your wonderful book. You a doing a great service… Thank you! 4-09
* From a patient: Kudos to you Janie! I’m going to put a link to your site on my website. I’ve been on Armour for a few years and feel great. Just wanted to say “hi” and thank you for all your courage. 4-09
* From a male patient: Hi Janie. I discovered your wonderful site a few weeks ago and must say it is very informative and I am very grateful that you have gone to this much effort to help those with hypothyroidism. I have had Hashimoto’s since I was around 14 years old and have been on Synthroid, levoxyl, etc for all those years. About 4 years ago I started gaining weight and was having SEVERE INSOMNIA, which led to taking Ambien, Temazepam and even an anti anxiety drug, all which did not really help me sleep (as my body adjusted to the meds, I kept having to increase the dosages). I had no idea that the mental problems associated with hypo were what I have been experiencing. I even had to get anti depressants for the chronic low grade depression you mention here. I took printouts of this site to my new doctor and he did switch me to Armour 3 grains (thanks). I’ve been taking it almost 2 weeks and I do feel a slight difference (nothing major right now. Maybe over time I may improve and maybe with adjustments in dosage) 4-09
* From a patient: I accidentally found your website this morning. Thank you. I’m 36 and I feel like 80. I’ve been living in hell for 2+ years. My body has been at war with itself and I’m so depressed and frustrated at the doctors for following protocol. I made the call to my Doc to switch from synthroid to Armour. I have to try it. Thank you for hope. 4-09
* From a patient: I read your book, love it, and hope to start treating soon. It appears the math in the reverse t3 section is off. To adjust something to the thousandths, the decimal moves three places. That would make the numbers work better in the example (600/200=3, yet if you move the decimal one more place 6000/200 = 30). Just want to help. Thanks for all your hard work in spreading the truth. 4-09
* From a patient: I just want to thank you for this website. You’ve made it amazingly easy to find the information I was looking for and then some! Much of it I’ve never seen anywhere else (re: the companies that make the various brands and comparisons, for one). I will thank you with a donation in a few weeks (lost a job due to hypothyroid fatigue, recently started a new one though). Thanks again! 3-09
* From a patient: Dear Janie, Hello again (I sent my first message earlier today). I think I forgot to thank you for such a wonderful website and for speaking out, so thank you! 3-09
* From a patient misdiagnosed with Fibromyalgia: Just a quick note. I stopped by your website the night before I threw in the towel with my present M.D. and went to a D.O. at a integrative Health Clinic. For the past 5 years I have had all over body pain, IBS with constipation, dry skin, huge bags under my eyes, non restorative sleep, hair loss, and unexplained weight gain. I’ve gone to M.D. after M.D. finally culminating in a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia 2 years ago. I switched to my most recent internist as he was willing to prescribe me stimulants and pain meds that made it possible for me to work. Over the years, I had tested “normal” for all thyroid tests, but had the innate feeling that something was still wrong and I didn’t believe that I had FM. I had been harping on him (and my prior doc) about an anti-thyroid antibody test for 6 months, finally having to make the agreement when it was given, that I would finally accept my diagnosis of FM. I tested positive, but not positive enough for his range and he had the receptionist tell me “You can be 100% positive that you have FM”. Needless to say, that only pissed me off more. Took a copy of all my test results to a special clinic in my town, and was immediately prescribe both synthroid and armour (along with progesterone). I’m not sure if the combination is good at this point but I can say this: The pain is gone. The edema is gone. The constipation is gone. The dry skin is going away. The fog and confusion is gone. The fatigue is gone. Cured from FM? Quite possibly. The Basal temperature test went a long way with my present doc, thanks for the advice. Alive again! 3-09
* From a patient: This site, which I stumbled across by accident, has changed my life. A year ago my hair started falling out (I’m 22). MANY doctors and blood tests later, everything was coming back normal. I saw 4 different doctors who all told me it was just stress. On an unrelated (or so I thought) note I suffered from mild depression my whole life. When I found this site I read everything and educated myself. I realized that the doctors had lied to me when I asked them to run every test they had. They just kept running TSH over and over again. I found a good doctor (from your link of top docs) and went to see him. When the results came back, my antibodies were through the roof. I have a mild case of Hashimoto’s and probably have had it for a long time. I got on Armour and within a week it was like a cloud had lifted. The depression was gone, my hair stopped falling out,and it was absolutely amazing. So thank you thank you thank you for this site. Without it I would still be suffering thinking it was all “in my head”. 3-09
Plus a LOT more that I should have been keeping track of before……
See Dr. Jeffrey Dach’s review of STTM here: http://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Review-of-Stop-the-Thyro-by-Jeffrey-Dach-090218-801.html
****NEED LAB WORK?? Go to the recommended labwork page where you can order your own!!
Important notes: All the information on this website is copyrighted. STTM is an information-only site based on what many patients worldwide have reported in their treatment and wisdom over the years. This is not to be taken as personal medical advice, nor to replace a relationship with your doctor. By reading this information-only website, you take full responsibility for what you choose to do with this website's information or outcomes. See the Disclaimer and Terms of Use.