Skip to content

Tag: gmc

Medical Boards and the TSH: how they fail thyroid patients worldwide!

STTM Texas Medical Board“A learned fool is more a fool than an ignorant fool.”
                        ― Molière

 

In 2008, a news press appeared about the discipline of a very popular and well-liked doctor in Texas, USA who treated many hypothyroid patients.

And for what?

Under the column titled NONTHERAPEUTIC PRESCRIBING, it stated:  The action was based on Dr.________ prescribing Adipex, Adderal and Armour Thyroid to patients when such medications were not indicated.

Adipex and Adderal are both central nervous system stimulants, and we can’t comment one way or the other.

But the mention of Armour thyroid as “not indicated” was a sure sign that this medical board was using the ridiculous TSH lab test range to decide whether a thyroid medication was needed or not. We’ve already seen numerous and similar disciplinary actions brought upon well-liked and wise doctors like Dr. Peatfield and Dr. Skinner of the UK, Dr. Derry of Canada, and Dr. Springer in the US–all who dared to make obvious symptoms of one’s hypothyroid state more important than ink spots on a piece of paper. There have been many others.

Just to clarify: TSH stands for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone and is a messenger hormone released by your pituitary gland with the purpose of “knocking” on the door of your thyroid to tell it to produce thyroid hormones. So the implication is that if the TSH lab result falls in this so-called “normal range” (which in itself is a travesty), by golly everything must just be fine with your thyroid. You will read an interesting and explanatory chapter on the TSH in the revised STTM book as well as more information by Dr. Jeffrey Dach in the STTM II book.

But thyroid patients all over the world know first hand that the TSH lab result has been a complete failure. It can look “normal” even while we have clear symptoms of hypothyroidism. And it can take years and years before it rises high enough to show that something is quite wrong with the function of our thyroid.

A side note: the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) filed a lawsuit against the entire Texas Medical Board (TMB) and its officials in 2014. Though unrelated to thyroid treatment, they cited Manipulation of anonymous complaints, conflicts of interest, violation of due process, breach of privacy, and retaliation against those who speak out.

Kymm is a good example of the TSH fallacy in diagnosis

Take Kymm, a 45 year old woman. She had manifested hypothyroid symptoms for 15 years since the birth of her daughter. Yet during those entire 15 years, her TSH lab result had been completely “normal” in the upper 1’s and lower 2’s. Her hypothyroid state had never been “indicated” based on the typical and widespread gold standard of diagnosis used by medical professionals: the TSH.  As a result, she simply continued to suffer with easy weight gain, chronic depression, thinning hair, rising cholesterol, dry skin and an increase in stress on her adrenals. (And she did finally start on Natural Desiccated thyroid aka NDT, with adrenal treatment…and soared).

Kymm is not an oddity.  Thyroid patients on internet groups report going years with a normal TSH and no diagnosis, yet clear symptoms which are ignored by their TSH-obsessed doctors.  So their doctors may have avoided disciplinary action by going strictly by the TSH lab test, but did they truly practice the art and science of healing??

A doctor is disciplined for allowing a patient’s TSH to be suppressed

A horrendous disciplinary action happened to a California physician when it came to the thyroid treatment of one of his patients named as V.G who had had her thyroid removed. She had dizziness, dry skin and fatigue. He first put her on .125 levothyroxine, which only barely raised her T4 with a low T3. She continued to have the above symptoms, but also complained of nervousness, palpitations and weakness. He then moved her over to two grains of Armour, one brand of natural desiccated thyroid (NDT). The disciplinary action states:

Lab test results dated November 2, 2010, indicated that THS [sic} levels were suppressed, suggesting that V.G. was receiving too much thyroid hormone. However, at V.G.’s subsequent office visit on November 30, 2010, Respondant made no change to V.G’s thyroid medication. (#15)

The patient also had high cholesterol, plus symptoms of PCOS–both clear symptoms of continued hypothyroidism even though they claim she was receiving too much thyroid hormone! By point #17, after the patient had been raised to 3 grains, it reports a slight lowering of cholesterol and normal triglycerides, yet it was stated once again that she was on too much thyroid hormones due to a suppressed TSH. The bombshell comes in #19, it which states:

Respondent was grossly negligent in the care and treatment of V.G when he failed to recognize abnormal thyroid function tests and failed to properly adjust thyroid medications.

In other words, the California Medical Board was claiming that this doctor should have LOWERED the medication due to a suppressed TSH, in spite of the fact that she continued to have clear hypothyroid problems on the lower dose of 2 grains. Scores of thyroid patients who’ve had their thyroid meds lowered due to a suppressed TSH will tell you that their hypothyroid symptoms got worse, not better.

(If symptoms improve from lowering desiccated thyroid due to a suppressed TSH, that is more about the relief of hyper-like symptoms caused by low iron or low cortisol–either which NDT will reveal and aggravate until treated. See www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/ndt-doesnt-work-for-me  Also, there is a possibility that V.G.’s low T3 was due to a high Reverse T3, which will occur in the presence of low cortisol, low iron and/or inflammation.)

As far as a suppressed TSH, informed thyroid patients worldwide, who when optimally treated on NDT with the complete removal of hypothyroid symptoms (plus a healthy blood pressure and heart rate), find that it’s quite normal to have a suppressed TSH without one hint of symptoms of being on “too much thyroid hormone”!!!

Medical Boards can be a problem for thyroid patients and good doctors alike!

In the United States, there is a Federation of State Medical Boards with the stated purpose of “protecting the public from the unprofessional, improper and incompetent practice of medicine…”, yet the very boards which state they are protecting us from professional incompetence end up supporting incompetence via their flagrant ignorance about the TSH lab test and their dubious “discipline” of doctors who end up changing our lives and well-being!!

Or in the United Kingdom, we have the General Medical Council with the stated purpose of helping ” protect patients and improve medical education and practice across the UK”….yet they completely hounded Dr. Gordon Skinner who successfully treated thyroid patients, even though their TSH results erroneously implied that not a thing was wrong. Additionally, the GMC has brought at least 30 cases against Dr. Sarah Myhill, who also had the courage to treat her patients in spite of a so-called normal TSH.

Dr. Myhill so wisely stated: “Doctors who fail to toe the drug-industry-driven, conventional-medicine, symptom-suppressing line are singled out for special attention by the establishment”

Are Medical Boards useless?

Most informed thyroid patients would clarify that Medical Boards have good intentions. They can play a role in protecting us from true incompetence or negligence from those we put our trust in. They can serve a role in protecting us from sexual misconduct and the inability to practice safely due to substance abuse.

But when it comes to the highest and best treatment of our thyroid disease, medical boards DO THYROID PATIENTS NO FAVOR by disciplining doctors who….

  • have the wisdom and courage to look at the clinical presentation of clear symptoms rather than simply a “pituitary hormone” lab test with both its ridiculous normal range and its FAILURE to measure whether all organs and tissue are receiving enough thyroid hormones…
  • pay more attention to symptom relief on natural desiccated thyroid  (with good heartrate and blood pressure) rather than obsessing about one’s suppressed TSH lab test when thyroid patients are optimal.

As Albert Einstein so wisely stated, the measure of intelligence is the ability to change. Will Medical Boards grow up and change in their knowledge of thyroid treatment? No one more than maltreated thyroid patients worldwide can fervently hope so, as well as forward-thinking doctors who have been wrongly harassed by their medical boards in their treatment of hypothyroidism.

JanieSignature SEIZE THE WISDOM

 

*For more detailed information on the history of Medical Boards and problems, check out the book titled Medical Licensing and Discipline in America: A History of the Federation of Medical Boards. 

* Join the STTM Facebook page for tips, information and inspiration. 

* Do you have both the STTM books? They are extremely useful in making you an informed thyroid patient based on the experiences and wisdom of patients before you worldwide!

 

 

 

22 replies

Very sad news: Dr. Gordon P. Skinner of the UK has passed away!

skinner TPAStop the Thyroid Madness is saddened to report of the passing of Dr. Gordon P. Skinner of the UK on Tuesday, November 26th due to a stroke. Skinner was a champion of thyroid patients, plus a medical practitioner who was beloved for his willingness to look outside the box in the diagnosis and treatment of hypothyroidism. 

Dr. Skinner was a man of high education and esteem. He “graduated in Medicine at the University of Glasgow in 1965 and following house jobs in Glasgow and Midlands of England specialized in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and later in Virology and in 1976 became Senior Lecturer in Medical Microbiology at the University of Birmingham with Consultant status at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. Dr Skinner’s research portfolio for which he was awarded the prestigious Doctorate of Science by the University of Birmingham can be found in his CV”.

Dr. Skinner was brilliant about the connection between ME/CFS and hypothyroidism. Years ago, he was one who saw the association between the condition of Myalgic Encephalopathy (which is also a term for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) and hypothyroidism, in spite of so-called normal ranges. This was huge information and the same association was also seen by some thyroid patients around the turn of the century when they were moving over to natural desiccated thyroid (NDT) and doing so much better than they did on T4-only like Synthroid. Read about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome right on STTM.

Dr. Skinner was sadly challenged by the GMC. In June of 2005, Dr. Gordon Skinner, who was a private practitioner in the UK, was called before the General Medical Council to ascertain his “fitness to practice”. And why was he called before the board? Because of alleged “inappropriate clinical practice including maintaining medication for patients at dangerous levels and failures of communication with other medical practitioners.”  I mentioned this in October 2006. i.e. Dr. Skinner dared to listen to thyroid patient symptoms over what is deemed “normal” labwork via the TSH.  He also dared to use natural desiccated thyroid, aka porcine thyroid extract, to treat his patients until they saw the removal of symptoms. He began to receive restrictions in his ability to practice.

Dr. Skinner was now prohibited from seeing new patients unless they had been referred by a General Practitioner, and his decisions were to be reviewed by the GMC every six months for the next three years.

In 2007, I heard from Lyn Mynott, chair of Thyroid UK about Dr. Skinner being brought before the General Medical Council (GMC) because he dared to treat his patients with thyroid hormone when they have so-called “normal” blood lab test results. The GMC attempts to dictate what is “a good standard of practice and care” for patients and the “proper standards in medicine”. I spoke about this folly in the July 2007 blog post. His restrictions continued.

Dr. Skinner was appalled by the belief that a TSH up to 10 was normal. The Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of General Practitioners had implied by 2010 that patients should not received a diagnosis of hypothyroidism if their TSH was less than 10, and Skinner found it senseless. They had also stated that the thyroid extract called Armour was a bad medication (in spite of the fact that millions of us worldwide have had our lives change thanks to NDT).

Dr. Skinner was free to practice fully again in November 2011. i.e. his restrictions were lifted and his Fitness to Practice was restored. But in May 2012, he was forced to appear before the GMC once again, where conditions were imposed on him, including being supervised by a particular Endocrinologist

Dr. Skinner was the creator of the World Thyroid Register. This was created to “address the parlous situation of patients who are hypothyroid and have yet not been diagnosed and indeed patients who are being managed with an unacceptably low level of thyroid replacement.”

Dr. Skinner wrote the book “Diagnosis and Management of Hypothyroidism” about the symptoms of hypothyroidism and issues with getting diagnosed.

Thyroid UK summed it up well: “He will be sadly missed by his family, friends and thousands of thyroid patients whom he has helped to regain their lives through his diagnosis and treatment of hypothyroidism. Many patients became firm friends with Dr Skinner, enjoying his quirky sense of humour and it is so sad that we will never be able to hear his lovely Scottish lilt again.”

SkinnerYou will be missed, Dr. Skinner, and remembered by Thyroid Patients worldwide with admiration! We send our condolences to your family and closest friends, as well as to all your patients who will miss you greatly. Rest in Peace!

**Photo on top from the TPA UK site; below from Thyroid UK 

 

 

***Want to receive an email notification of these blog posts? Look to the left and sign up here: //www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/blog

***Want to comment on this blog post? Look below for the comment section. (If you are already reading this via email, you’ll need to click on the title of this blog post, which will take you directly to the blog post, and you can comment below it)

 

41 replies

Dr. Skinner has been exonerated! Plus how to survive stress with adrenal fatigue!

IMPRESSIVE GOOD THYROID NEWS!  

After a grueling week by the United Kingdom’s General Medical Council (GMC) , it was decided that the UK’s most renowned thyroid practitioner, Dr. Gordon P. Skinner, should have all his restrictions lifted and his Fitness to Practice restored!

On November 11th, 2007, the GMC had decided that the beloved Dr Gordon Skinner was not fit to practice, simply because in 2005, he dared to listen to and dose by a patient’s clinically-presented thyroid symptoms rather than her TSH labwork–the latter which fell in the erroneous normal range.  Even more dastardly, felt the GMC, Skinner was going to treat the patient without a referral letter from her GP, and may have failed to contact the GP. Heaven Forbid!!

Says a recent statement from TPA-UK:

The GMC have agreed that Dr Skinner was not acting dangerously in initiating treatment with thyroid hormone replacement for those patients who had normal thyroid function tests but who suffered several symptoms and signs of hypothyroidism. They also agreed that for those patients who did not do well on levothyroxine-only therapy, the use of natural desiccated thyroid extract (i.e. Armour Thyroid) was a safe and effective thyroid hormone replacement that doctors could prescribe, even though it remains unlicensed. This is a precedent – and one that the British Thyroid Association are most definitely very unlikely to be happy with.

There’s something huge to learn from this!  It’s called PATIENT POWER, my thyroid friends, and what we must always practice in our fight to get far better treatment. Namely, what impressed the staff of the GMC was the sheer volume of the general public who attended the hearings in support of Dr. Skinner.  Additionally, there was a nicely bound volume of over 2000 patient citations in support of him.

********************************

SURVIVING STRESSFUL EVENTS EVEN WITH ADRENAL FATIGUE

Having adrenal fatigue with its low cortisol can be a challenge, even while you are on Hydrocortisone for your treatment (HC). So thyroid and adrenal fatigue patient Robin had to learn the hard way how to do something very stressful and still survive, adrenally. After moving to a new house, she created these excellent tips for dealing with any stressful event and preventing an adrenal meltdown:

  1. REST REST REST as much as you possibly can! Just sit and stop moving, give yourself permission to stop “doing” and just BE! Let others do the work.
  2. Don’t be afraid to stress dose with your HC!  Remember that a healthy person’s adrenals can provide over 100mg per day when in very stressful circumstances! Of course this is not healthy long-term, but we do what we have to do to survive!
  3. Remember that if you stress dose, you’ll need to start a tapering down by 2.5 mg, holding for several days, then taking off another 2.5, etc until you work back down to your “regular” daily dose–the one that gave you stable Daily Average Temps.
  4. SALT! Drink lots of salt water (or juice–I prefer my salt in watered-down juice or other flavored drinks), salt your food heavily, and even eat lots of salty olives, if you like them! The adrenals thrive in salt, and this can also be important if your aldosterone levels are also sluggish.
  5. Eat lots of protein and fat and try to keep the carbs as low as you can!
  6. Give yourself permission to be a hermit for a while. People can wait for you to return their calls. Just enjoy some quiet and solitude for a while.
********************************

PAYING FORWARD WHAT STTM HAS GIVEN YOU!

Janie began a contract with a top-notch publicist to help get the word out to millions about the problems with T4-only, or for those remaining undiagnosed or undertreated due to the TSH lab test (similar to what Dr. Skinner above tried to avoid for one of his patients). She already has interviews scheduled and more gigs are coming.

But this contract won’t last long–it’s just too expensive for Janie alone. So your help is needed to reach more people, and soon.

Go here and read all about it.

***************************

READING THIS VIA THE EMAIL NOTIFICATION?? If you want to comment on anything on a blog post, click on the title of this post, and you’ll be taken right to the actual post. Then scroll down for the Comment square.

8 replies

Important information about Cytomel, Dr. Skinner in the UK, and Missy Elliott

ARE YOU ON CYTOMEL? If you haven’t gotten a refill of your Cytomel lately (a synthetic T3-only medication), it’s important that you know that the former makers, King Pharmaceuticals, was bought out by Pfizer Canada, Inc last October 2010. Why is this important? Because as thyroid patient Mare found out the hard way recently, your local pharmacy may think it’s not made anymore, and scare the pants off of you by saying so.

In reality, your local pharmacy needs to contact Pfizer Canada about getting re-stocked.  Says Mare, “The pharmacy’s inaccurate data caused me a great deal of angst this weekend as I was now totally out of the only thing (Cytomel) that’s even remotely made a bit of difference and now they were telling me I couldn’t get it anymore (do we patients always have to do everything ourselves??!!!)”

***Have you had any problems filling your T3? Comment on this blog post and tell us your experience.

WHY WOULD ANYONE BE ON T3-ONLY?? Did you know that if you have too high or too low cortisol levels, and/or low ferritin/low iron, there’s a good chance you may need to be on T3-only for awhile?  Yes, when you have ongoing chronic issues as a thyroid patient, your body will respond by converting the T4 you have to excess Reverse T3.  And excess RT3 will hog-and-clog the very cell receptors that would be receiving T3. Thus, you become hypo all over again.  You can read more about it here. But if you want even more good detail about T3, how this active thyroid hormone helps you,  the causes of RT3, and how to dose T3-only meds, get the Revised STTM book. It’s VERY worth it.

***What brands of T3 you have tried,  what works for you, and what hasn’t worked as well?? Comment on this blog post.

THE CONTINUING SAGA OF DR. SKINNER IN THE UK: If you aren’t aware of the incredibly shocking story of beloved Dr. Gordon Skinner in the UK—a man who dared to prescribe thyroid treatment in lieu of a “normal” TSH lab result (which is a lab test that informed thyroid patient worldwide know is completely bogus)—you can read my 2006 blog post about him here, followed by the 2007 post here.  Also, Sheila of TPA-UK gives detailed information here.

And everyone should know that his General Medical Council (GMC) hearing is coming up:  July 28th and 29th, plus August 1st, 2nd and 3rd.  This is to assess whether further action is needed after his 3 years of conditional practice are now up (as of late last year).  Says a strong supporter of Dr. Skinner (and there are MANY): “Please  let people know that their support is extremely valuable. Dr Skinner has asked for the hearing to be public and the GMC should accommodate everyone.”

***Are you in the UK? Keep us informed by commenting below.

HIP HOP MISSY ELLIOTT HAD RAI FOR HER GRAVES DISEASE: How many informed thyroid patients groan when they hear news like this concerning the use of RAI (radioactive iodine)! Thyroid patients worldwide bemoan the use of Radioactive Iodine treatment because of its potential for immense side effects. And all over the net, we read that’s just what was done to Missy Elliott in her battle with Graves disease aka hyperthyroidism.  See the People Magazine article here.

Says the Atomic Women website:

Rheumatoid arthritis is also an autoimmune disease. But, fortunately, limbs are not being amputated nor radiated.

Diabetes mellitus is also an autoimmune disease. And, fortunately, the pancreas is not being removed or radiated.

What is the point of irradiating and killing thyroid glands, which are fundamental for life?

We, as thyroid patients worldwide, wish the best for Missy. And we hope that if she is like many who eventually become hypothyroid, she will discover and learn from Stop the Thyroid Madness!

***What was your experience with RAI? Post side effects? Let us know by commenting on this blog post!

8 replies

The shackling and gagging of Dr. Sarah Myhill of the UK

(4-30: Paula has informed me that you can download Dr. Myhill’s complete website to your computer via this zip file: www.drmyhill.co.uk.zip – Windows Live )

Today, it has been announced by the GMC (General Medical Council) of the UK that Dr. Sarah Myhill is now straitjacketed. She is forbidden to prescribe medications, is bound by other medical practice restrictions (see the details on the Support Dr. Myhill Facebook page), and most egregiously, has been ordered to remove parts of her website (thanks to Lethal Lee for pointing this out), some of which you will not see two weeks after I have posted this.

Why remove parts of her website? Because by daring to educate the public, especially if that education goes against “standard medical practice”, it seems to be deemed “harmful”. In other words, you as a patient are not allowed to discover, or are too “vulnerable to get it,  that there just might be a TOTALLY different story to the medical practice you are subjected to.

For example, here is part of a page on Dr. Myhill’s website which is completely correct, informative, and wise, and I want to see her words stay sharp and viewable, especially for thyroid patients. It fits our experience. The page is titled “Test results and what they mean”. If you want to be informed, read all the below.

http://www.drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Category:Test_results_and_what_they_mean

Only too often people come to me with tests results which have not been properly interpreted. The reasons why this happens are as follows:

  • Test results are flagged up and considered to be abnormal if they are outside the reference range, but one’s individual normal range is not the same as the population reference range. This is a particular problem in the interpretation of thyroid tests.
  • Reference ranges for tests change. Reference ranges are based on random bloods from the population. The trouble is anyone following a Western lifestyle is not evolutionarily correct and many not normal! So labs change their reference ranges to adjust for this. So, for example, the normal range of a gamma GT used to be up to 36, it is now up to 70. This enzyme is induced by alcohol and prescription drugs and because so many people drink alcohol it is considered normal to run a high gamma GT! The lab I use has a normal reference range for thyroid hormone T4 of 12-22pmol/l but some labs give ranges of 5.6-17pmol/l!
  • Tests are often incomplete. So someone with a thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) within reference range will be told they have no thyroid problem, when in fact one also needs a free T4 and a free T3 together with a clinical history to assess if there is a thyroid problem.
  • Drug companies influence normal ranges. The normal range for cholesterol has come down steadily since statins have been such big money earners for Big Pharma.
  • Incorrect breakdown of test results. Many people are prescribed statins on the basis of a single cholesterol level. This is faulty for many reas ons – firstly one needs a breakdown of good (HDL) and bad (LDL) cholesterol to get the ratio. If the ratio is not favourable then this is likely to be a symptom of arterial disease. Cholesterol lowering drugs are often irrelevant. See Cholesterol – the common causes of raised levels
  • Results close to the limits of normal may be abnormal for that person. For example, a high normal bilirubin may mean Gilbert’s syndrome – this means someone is a poor detoxifier. A high mean corpuscular volume (MCV) could point to hypothyroidism, B12 or folic acid deficiency.
  • Normal tests do not mean no pathology. A normal ECG at rest does not mean there is no heart disease, yet many people are told this is the case.
  • Tests may ask the wrong question. So many people come to me with severe fatigue syndromes having been told nothing is wrong because all the tests are normal! But ask the right question and do Mitochondrial Function Profile and you find gross abnormalities with respect to energy supply at the cellular level.
  • Tests for poisonings are particularly misleading. For years doctors have promoted levels of cholinesterase as a good test for organophosphate poisoning. It is a rotten test and misses the majority of cases! Much better would be Fat biopsy for pesticides or Volatile Organic Compounds

GOOD FOR YOU, Dr. Sarah Myhill!

I and many other thyroid patients, struggling to fight the inane thyroid treatment protocols, have a strong feeling that though this progressive doctor may be restricted as a physician, we’re going to hear a lot more good information from the courageous and wise Sarah Myhill.

21 replies