Sincerity doesn’t equal accuracy–a very bad thyroid website
I have been exchanging polite emails with a webmaster of a large thyroid site of another country. This is a site chock full of information, covering many aspects of thyroid disease and issues. And the webmaster has obviously put a lot of diligence into the site.
BUT…….as you peruse this site, you sadly discover that sincerity doesn’t always equal correct emphasis and accuracy.
This is a site which heavily promotes the use of T4 medications, in spite of the fact that patients have remained obviously sick, in one degree or another, on these medications for more than 40 years, whether they raise them or not!
The website also contains a few yin-and-yang tendencies. It bravely hints in an article and in a flyer that T4/T3 therapy may have benefits, but in the flash of a new paragraph, moves back into promoting T4-only treatment. It gives some slight information on desiccated thyroid, then in another highly misguided article, it recommends against the use of desiccated thyroid products “because they can cause hyperthyroidism” due to the direct T3. 😆
And the criticism given to me about my site’s emphasis on natural desiccated thyroid?? I’m too “narrowly focused”.
And to that I here reply: You betcha! Because the proof is in the pudding. This site didn’t evolve because a “skewed subset” found benefits. It’s here because several thousands of us are finding out that natural desiccated thyroid removed all our symptoms in a way that T4-only never did and never will! And grassroots thyroid internet groups and websites are growing in leaps and bounds to shout that “narrowly focused” fact all over the world! (i.e. IT AIN’T JUST ME!)
And for those who tried desiccated thyroid and didn’t get the same panacea of benefits? It’s most always due to sluggish adrenals and/or low Ferritin, both quite common, and both very treatable and correctable.
It’s called “broad and healthy outcomes from a narrowly focused treatment of choice”—great energy, better stamina, and the removal of all thyroid symptoms in a way that T4-only medications NEVER DID, and NEVER WILL give you………unless you want to stay on those statins, anti-depressants, weight loss diets, blood pressure meds, benzodiazepines , and all the other pills you have to be on to counter the results of an ineffective medication like T4 alone.
I applaud the sincerity and hard work of the folks at this site, and the willingness to briefly mention the benefits of T4/T3 therapy, as well as criticize the rigid dosing by the TSH and the tendency of the medical profession to underdose patients.
But I hope you can also sincerely rethink and reexamine the following stated beliefs:
1) that “more than 80% of hypothyroid patients are adequately treated on T4 alone” (TOTALLY FALSE)
2) that “only a minority of hypothyroid patients (<5%) have superior outcomes with desiccated thyroid extract” (TOTALLY FALSE)
3) that “dose management with the natural extract is also much more complicated because of the fluctuations in potency and T3/T4 ratio between batches” (TOTALLY FALSE)
4) that “comparing adequate dosing with Armour to inadequate dosing with T4 is just a waste of time and energy” (TOTALLY FALSE)
Waste of time and energy??? Hogwash. It’s the “time and energy” of folks on all those internet thyroid support groups, and on FORUMS like THIS SITE and others, who are helping a GROWING MULTITUDE of folks find out WHY they feel so lousy on T4-only meds, or continue to have symptoms which are related to inadequate treatment. It’s that “time and energy” comparing Armour to T4 which is turning lives around, and busting wide open the denial and rigid false beliefs which abound!
Natural desiccated thyroid really works, and T4-only treatment does not. It’s time to pay attention, because you are getting left behind in the dust by the kangeroos.
Thanks.
For years I’ve been trying to understand some of the cruel and strange behavior my mother had towards me as a child. She was eventually diagnosed as Bipolar. She hallucinated during her episodes and talked to people who weren’t there. Then she tried to commit sucide. I was about six years old. She had electorshock which actually helped and she seemed ok after that. I always knew she was very hypothyroid but I learned later she would just stop taking her pills every so often. I always wondered if there was a connection between the bizarre and cruel behavior which was mixed with affectionate and loving behavior. So now I know there’s a connection with the thyroid problems and I’ve learned she probably was not aware of her behavior during an episode. She passed away about fifteen years ago but its always concerned me.
Janie, there are two “thyroid support” organisations in Australia that I know of. The people involved in running both of them unfortunately believe it is advantageous to keep the medical profession on their side. It gives them a sort of status which they value. Both of them have members’ stories on their websites and/or in their journals, and these are usually HORROR stories of neglect and failure by that same medical profession.
I tried one org. for a few years but gave up in disappointment. I now belong to the other one but very nearly did not renew my membership this year. It was only the prospect of local meetings in my home town that changed my mind. I am thinking of going to the meetings and being completely “alternative” so that the people attending have their eyes opened. I can tell them about a special doctor in Sydney too.
I tried last year to get something published in the group’s journal to open people’s eyes. It was mainly about the benefits of T3 (and we have to face the fact that combined T4/T3 is the best most people will be able to get, and it’s better than T4 alone) but the editor never even gave me an acknowledgement. He had published an article called “Scientific Review” which supposedly critiqued some studies in 2004-2005. The sub-title of his article was “T3/T4 Combination not more effective than T4 alone.” I pointed out, among other things, that studies which stress “normal TSH” and last only a few weeks are not really useful.
I’m afraid we have a long way to go, when even patient groups submit meekly to the all-powerful medical profession.