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Tag: endocrine society

Oh Jolly. Guess What the Endocrine Society Has Spouted This Time?

“A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep.”  ~Saul Bellow

STTM ignorance graphicAnd here we go again.

On April 1st, 2016 (which is April Fools Day–how appropriate), out comes an article in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism which presents the latest updated position statement of the Endocrine Society, titled Compounded Bioidentical Hormones in Endocrinology Practice: An Endocrine Society Scientific Statement.

In other words, their last position statement on certain compounded medications came out in 2006, and this one trumps that one. And the implication is towards “increased regulatory oversight of all bioidentical hormones.”

Sounds innocuous enough, right? Certainly they are trying to be protective of us, right?

First, in case you don’t know much about the Endocrine Society, it’s existence began a century ago and is today the oldest “largest global membership organization representing professionals from the intriguing field of endocrinology.” Members come from 110 countries representing approximately 28,000 members, with 40 percent of them located outside the United States. They include scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students. And you’d think that a society with such a vast array of members from 110 countries might have some innate wisdom, right?

Gulp.

The first gist of the article is first about compounded sex hormones…and here’s my summary of their position:

  1. There is no other rationale for compounding your sex hormones other than having an allergy or intolerance.
  2. Compounded hormones are risky.
  3. Compounded hormones are dangerous.
  4. Compounding Pharmacists, who are licensed professionals, are thus dangerous if their product is dangerous.
  5. Reported successful patient experiences (and their improved lab results) with compounded sex hormones has no validity; only “randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials” have validity.
  6. Because there are no FDA-approved testosterone preparations for women, it should be completely avoided…so I guess the opposite logic applies?? i.e. that one should embrace FDA-approved medications like statins or the antibiotic Cipro with all their numerous side effects in all-too-many??
  7. Synthetic estrogen and synthetic progesterone is the way to go.
  8. Big Pharma products are the way to go.
  9. Give all your money back to Big Pharma

If you have a subscription to Medscape, here’s a good summary of what the Endocrine Society stated about compounded sex hormones, including DHEA, but I think my summary above says it all.

But here’s where it really gets nauseating for informed thyroid patients

Says the same Endocrine Society, as outlined in the Medscape article above (instead of my interpretation):

  • Levothyroxine (LT4) is bioidentical and a highly effective and safe therapy and is the treatment of choice for hypothyroidism. The complex tissue-specific deiodinase system converts T4 to T3 and supplies the proper amount of T3 to each of the body’s tissues according to its requirements.
  • Clinicians should evaluate patients with persistent symptoms (despite adequate LT4 therapy) for other causes of their symptoms and encourage patients to engage in healthy lifestyle measures.
  • Some of these patients may benefit from combination LT4/LT3 therapy, desiccated thyroid hormone, or compounded thyroid hormone, as long as symptoms and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) (free T4) are monitored carefully.

Oh really??

To the contrary, millions of thyroid patients from the past 50+ years have noted and/or reported on the following while on T4-only:

  1. Unresolved or accumulating problems like depression, adrenal stress, anxiety, easy weight gain, difficulty losing weight, easy fatigue, poor stamina, easy sickness/slow recovery, joint pain, painful feet, hair loss, dry skin, rising cholesterol, rising blood pressure, heart problems, kidney problems, other mental health issues, and hundreds more as reported here.
  2. A poor conversion of T4 to T3 due to a myriad of real biological and normal life events which can negatively affect that deiodinase conversion of T4 to T3, such as aging, the normal stress of life circumstances, inflammation, low iron, and just plain bad genetics, to name a few. The body is not meant to live for conversion alone!
  3. Lousy outcomes from being held hostage to the dubious “normal TSH lab range” are rampant. The TSH is a pituitary hormone and can never discern if all our tissues and organs are getting enough thyroid hormone from conversion alone.

So all of you who are esteemed members of the Endocrine Society, we as informed thyroid patients who live in our own bodies and have our own intelligence and wisdom,  challenge you to consider the following questions:

  1. Can you really call T4-only “effective and safe” in light of the myriad of continued hypothyroid symptoms that patients have noted or reported for 50+ years while on Synthroid, levothyroxine, Tirosent or any other brand of T4-only…sooner or later?
  2. In light of the fact that T4-only results in numerous organic and tissue problems like depression, a low metabolism, joint pain, high blood pressure, rising cholesterol and so much more…does it really meet the body tissues requirements?
  3. If T4-only meets all the body’s tissue requirements, why does nature cause a healthy thyroid to give not just T4, but also direct T3 and calcitonin?
  4. If all those continued and persistent hypothyroid symptoms on Levothyroxine are due to “other causes” or “unhealthy lifestyle choices”, why in the world do these same individuals see them all go away when they get on Natural Desiccated Thyroid and find their optimal dose (which has nothing to do with the TSH)??
  5. Why is it that when patients are held hostage to the dubious TSH range, they continue to have clear and/or rising hypothyroid symptoms?

JanieSignature SEIZE THE WISDOM

– Have you Liked the Stop the Thyroid Madness Facebook page? It gives you daily inspiration and informative information based on years of thyroid patient experiences and wisdom as record on the Mothership of Thyroid Patient Experiences: STTM!

– You can comment to the Endocrine Society as to their views right on their own Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/EndocrineSociety/

– Check out this video by Hugh Melnick MD about the superiority of NDT over synthetic T4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muorjvQ4DUE

– Share this blog post below. Let’s spread the word about this!

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Ladies: Hypothyroidism in pregnancy can be dangerous, says this woman who suffered a miscarriage

This Guest STTM blog post was written by hypothyroid mom Dana, who strongly feels that her miscarriage was due to her treatment with T4-only medications. She now has two healthy sons of which the second one came into the world after she switched to natural desiccated thyroid. 

On a cold snowy day in New York City in early 2009, I lay on a medical exam table on what would be one of the worst days of my life. I had miscarried at 12 weeks and was preparing for a D&C. A technician had just taken an ultrasound and walked out of the room to confirm to the medical staff that my fetus had no heartbeat. I sprang off my bed and ran to the image on the screen. I felt my body shake and my fists clench as I stared at the image of my unborn child. What happened to my child?

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism following the birth of my first son in 2006. I trusted my doctors and followed their synthetic thyroid drug protocol to the letter …never once thinking they might not know everything there was to know about hypothyroidism. I trusted them as the experts especially when I became pregnant that second time.

In my first trimester, I was overcome by a sick, tired, weak feeling. I recall the night I told my husband, “I am worried that something is wrong with the baby.” My body was whispering a warning to me, but I trusted my doctors and didn’t question them when they responded that my thyroid levels were safe for pregnancy and that it was normal in early pregnancy to be tired. Somehow this “sick, tired, weak” feeling didn’t seem normal but I disregarded my body’s warning.

I would later learn that my Ivy League medical school trained and top awarded NYC doctors did not know enough about hypothyroidism especially as it related to pregnancy. Under their care my TSH soared far above the safe range for pregnancy and endangered my baby’s life. I miscarried at 12 weeks pregnancy.

A study presented June 2012 at The Endocrine Society’s 94th Annual Meeting in Houston recommended that all pregnant women should undergo thyroid screening in the first trimester of pregnancy. The study was conducted on 1,000 pregnant women in their first trimester in Ludhiana in Punjab, India. According to the study’s lead author Jubbin Jagan Jacob, M.D.:

“The study found that even mild thyroid dysfunction could greatly increase the risk of serious problems. Women with mild thyroid dysfunction had double the risk of miscarriage, premature labor or low birth weight as compared to pregnant women with normal thyroid function. They also had seven times greater risk of still birth.”

In the Journal of Medical Screening, researchers in a large study of 9,400 pregnant women demonstrated that pregnant women with hypothyroidism had a second trimester miscarriage risk four times the risk of women who were not hypothyroid.

According to a 2008 study in the Indian Journal of Medical Sciences, hypothyroidism has a statistically significant relationship with recurrent pregnancy loss in the first trimester. According to researchers:

“Thyroid hormones are essential for the growth and metabolism of the growing fetus. Early in pregnancy the mother supplies her fetus with thyroid hormones. If the mother is hypothyroid, she cannot supply her fetus with enough thyroid hormones. Hence hypothyroidism is a risk factor for pregnancy loss.”

So why had I trusted my doctors unquestioningly?

My doctors tried to assure me there was no link between hypothyroidism and miscarriage, but my instincts told me they were wrong.

As the medical staff prepared me for my D&C that fateful day, the warrior mom came out of me. Don’t mess with my babies! I vowed that I would do everything in my power to research everything there was to know about this disease and warn women everywhere about the dangers. I would never trust my doctors unquestioningly ever again.

After 3 years of intense research and a quest to find the top thyroid health professionals, I am now in the best health ever. I changed to a great thyroid doctor who listened to my symptoms and discovered abnormally low free T3 levels despite my synthetic drug treatment. Thanks to a switch to the natural desiccated thyroid Nature-throid I am feeling great. I got pregnant naturally with my second son and gave birth to him in 2010. Dreams do come true for moms with hypothyroidism.

By Dana Trentini, creator of Hypothyroid Mom (http://hypothyroidmom.com).

You can read more about hypothyroidism and pregnancy in research here:

1.  Endocrine Society (2012, June 23). Mild thyroid dysfunction in early pregnancy linked to serious complication. Newswise. Retrieved July 3, 2012 from http://www.newswise.com/articles/mild-thyroid-dysfunction-in-early-pregnancy-linked-to-serious-complications

2. Allan, W.C., J.E. Haddow, G.E. Palomaki, J.R. Williams, M.L. Mitchell, R.J. Hermos, J.D. Faix, R.Z. Klein. Maternal thyroid deficiency and pregnancy complications: implications for population screening. J Med Screen 2000; 7:127-130. Retrieved from http://171.66.127.126/content/7/3/127.full.pdf

3. Rao VR, Lakshmi A, Sadhnani MD. Prevalence of hypothyroidism in recurrent pregnancy loss in first trimester. Indian J Med Sci 2008;62:357-61. Retrieved from http://www.indianjmedsci.org/text.asp?2008/62/9/357/43122

HO! HO! HO! Did you know the Stop the Thyroid Madness book is now also in German and Swedish? You can order your copy as a Christmas present for your loved one or friend here. 

Read about Pregnancy and Thyroid disease here.

 

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Can you believe what this Endocrinologist said in 1931??

Ever heard of Henry R. Harrower?

He came to the US from England in 1903 at age 20, and with great fortitude and drive, became an MD and Endocrinologist. He had influence in the creation of today’s  professional Endocrine Society.   He also believed (to the consternation of many of his colleagues) in the use of organs to treat conditions, such as Armour desiccated thyroid.

And in 1931, he made the following incredible statement:

“A good laboratory report is cold comfort to a patient whose symptoms remain unchanged, and the doctor can repeat such reports until he is blue in the face, but they will not help his patient much if unaccompanied by controlled symptoms and changed feelings.”

He also stated:

“Are not the feelings of the patients often as clinically valuable as the other findings? In no case can we wholly discount them.”

BRILLIANT!!  BRAVO!! “Cold comfort” couldn’t describe our reaction better when a slew of your modern colleagues have habitually discounted thyroid patient symptoms for decades in favor of ink spots on a piece of paper called “lab results” with dubious “normal ranges”. And we give the same “Bravo” to a growing body of doctors who are making a courageous change in their relationship with patients the last few years by LISTENING to the patient first and foremost.

p.s. Thanks to Stephanie Buist, working to become a naturopath, who posted the first quote above to the Facebook of a mutual friend of ours. You can read more about Harrower here.

How do you feel about what Dr. Harrower said over 100 years ago? How would you rate the Endocrinologists you’ve seen the past few decades as compared to Harrower? Have you had no more than “cold comfort”?

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Endocrine society says T3 can be substituted for T4–WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG!!!

Shock and amazement.

At the 90th annual meeting of the Endocrine Society, it was announced that T3 can be an effective substitute for T4. And…the target TSH was .5 – 1.5.

DUHHHHHHH.

But it’s GOOD news.

OK, so…

1) it’s light years behind what patients had already figured out for a longgggg time
2) it’s not as effective as being on desiccated thyroid (which has exactly what your thyroid would be giving you: T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin)
3) the TSH needs be even LOWER when you are adequately treated.
4) NO THYROID TREATMENT SHOULD BE BY THE LOUSY TSH AT ALL….

….but it’s a GOOD STEP in the right direction!!

http://www.endocrinetoday.com/view.aspx?rid=28931

p.s. Maybe if some of those Endo’s would open their minds to what PATIENTS HAVE LEARNED on this site and the book, they might finally make the next great step!! TAKE THIS INFORMATION INTO YOUR DOCTOR’S OFFICE!! It’s the power YOU have to change this mess!

5 replies