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Tag: dry hair

“Are Endocrinologists just DETERMINED to be stupid?” ask some thyroid patients.

(Though this was originally written in 2011, it has been updated to the present day and time. Enjoy!)

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Will it ever end?

A very troubling article

On March 21st, 2011, from the Endocrine Today website, comes the article Hypothyroidism only partially responsible for decreased quality of life in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. And this article has so many troubling comments and wording that it has made some thyroid patients question whether their Endocrinologist can really help then.

For example, the article notes that there seems to be a “higher symptom load and the lower quality-of-life scores in the group of patients with increased anti-TPO levels”, which can include “Chronic fatigue, dry hair, dysphagia, irritability and nervousness”.

Yet, the article states, these patients have

    • “normal thyroid function”
    • are “euthyroid”
    • have an “ideal biochemical response to thyroid hormone replacement therapy.”.

Are you kidding me, say many thyroid patients???  Euthyroid technically means “the state of having normal thyroid gland function.” Yet, chronic fatigue, dry hair, dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), irritability and nervousness are far from normal, besides being classic hypothyroid or Hashimotos symptoms, as well as having potential adrenal issues from having poorly treated hypothyroidism!

And of course, most informed thyroid patients know that ” euthyroid” and “normal” and “ideal” in the mind of poorly-trained doctors refer to an ink spot on a piece of paper called the TSH lab result and NOT cellular receipt and/or use of thyroid hormones. The TSH is a pituitary hormone, not a thyroid hormone. The TSH lab test has failed patients for decades, just as has T4-only like Synthroid, levothyroxine, Eltroxine, etc!

Also mentioned is a particular Austrian study involving 426 women aged 19 years or older who were undergoing surgery for benign thyroid disease. When patients come on thyroid groups and report Endocrinologists who want to remove their thyroids simply because they have the treatable Hashimotos disease, you have to wonder why 426 women were having surgery for “benign thyroid disease”…

But in spite of all the above, there is hope!

Hashimoto’s patients have become wise and informed. To read all the ways patients have learned to adequately treat Hashimotos, go here.

To find out if you now have an adrenal problem, go here. This is important to know because it can be problematic in raising NDT if you have low cortisol, or high cortisol. Thus, the need to treat it first.

To find a good doctor to work with, and/or teach while you are working with, go here.

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Do you look back and wonder about the fact that your thyroid was taken out?  Let us hear your story by commenting on this post. What has been your experience with an Endocrinologist? Tell us about it.

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** Have you Liked the STTM Facebook page? It provides daily information and inspiration just for thyroid patients!

** Check out recommended patients groups on the internet.

** Stop the Thyroid Madness is available in TWO different books! //www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/comparing-the-sttm-books/

26 replies

I met hundreds of millions of women today…in one woman

bunny Michelle, 40-or-50-something, came over to my house today to go over some paperwork. I hadn’t taken my Armour yet, and I said “Excuse me, I need to pop my thyroid meds under my tongue.”

“Oh, I take thyroid meds, too.  Synthroid” she explained as she was writing on the papers with her pencil.

Now when I hear something like that, being who I am, I’m like a bear in a china cabinet who suddenly smells honey.  So as not to overwhelm,  I casually say “Oh, I used be on Synthroid.” And after a long pause while we are going over the paperwork, I say “Did you know there’s a worldwide patient revolution going on against medications like Synthroid?”

At the point, she raises her head in curiosity.

I then stick my paw in the honey: “You and I and millions have been put on meds like Synthroid and then told we are “normal” because the TSH says so. But all of us have continuing symptoms of hypothyroidism.  It’s a lousy medication. “

And when I laid out what those continuing symptoms were, her eyes got as big as saucers and she was shaking her head up and down in recognition. “Depression, rising cholesterol and blood pressure, easy weight gain, fatigue, less stamina than others, dry hair and skin, feeling cold, etc”, I told her.

And the most profound aspect of Michelle? She lives her life like the Energizer Bunny, going and going and going. She told me she often doesn’t get home until 6 pm doing her job, and she clearly has a lot of professional responsibilities.

But does an active Michelle mean that Synthroid works and is just as good a thyroid treatment as desiccated thyroid? You know the answer. She revealed that she’s quite tired when she comes home, wishes she had more energy, and still has issues with her weight, even though she lost some when she got on Synthroid.

And reading between the lines, it was clear that Michelle is probably on an anti-depressant, a statin, and a blood pressure medication.  And…she clearly has an adrenal problem that’s only going to get worse. She has a terrible time falling asleep at night (high cortisol), and is very sensitive to light and noise (high or low cortisol).

Suddenly it dawned on me. I am sitting across hundreds of millions of women, and some men. I am listening to how millions live their lives–making a living, maintaining a home, loving their spouses and children, interacting with people.  But underneath it all, it’s not a pretty picture. They cope, and they cope again.  And they dish out their money for more medications to treat the very symptoms caused by an inferior medication. And as they age, they’ll pay each of their millions of prices, just as my mother did, and as I was headed.  Energizer bunnies with faulty batteries.

P.S. Barack Obama has a health care reform plan. Will it change the lives of those 50 million with thyroid disease in the US, or will it only continue this T4-only travesty and health care scandal?  Are we headed in the same insane direction as the UK when it comes to T4-only?  Express your opinion.

15 replies