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Why I insist we need to fire most of our doctors! i.e. mainstream medicine is keeping us sick!

The following is a Guest Blog Post by thyroid patient N.P who is active on the main Stop the Thyroid Madness (STTM) Facebook group. 

Hi. My name is N.P. In March of 2012, I started a post on the main STTM Facebook group page with the topic “How many doctors have you fired?”.  It not only ended up with over 1000 replies, but most were from exasperated and emotional patients about their terrible experiences with doctors. I even had a few who thought it didn’t belong on Janie’s site. I’m thrilled to be known for that, actually.  Anything to entertain.  Now…if you want my practical editorial of why my post has gone over the 1,000 comment mark, read on.

After 9 long years of a “wrong diagnosis” followed by wrong treatment strategies and all-too-many doctors, it took a psychiatrist to diagnose my Hashimoto’s condition.  After going gluten-free to manage the Hashimoto’s disease, the same psychiatrist was the one who suggested I had Celiac Disease as well.  What is wrong with this picture?  Why did nine years of doctors never do their jobs???  Why did they let me suffer so?

I went through the various stages of emotion over the years, from being frustrated by mainstream medicine’s poor understanding of my health, to the annoyance of not having answers, to the embarrassment of never having good explanations for my friends and loved ones. And when the only way I got answers was through Amazon, STTM/Janie Bowthorpe, Facebook and my psychiatrist, I had finally reached this familiar stage:   cynicism.  There’s not much left after that except for throwing in some humor.  That’s why I started the post.

I sensed when I started the post that I was representative of many.  Clearly, the post struck a nerve with a lot of patients and has been a great outlet for people needing to get their horror stories and frustrations off their chests.  For those who are feeling desperate, as I have and still sometimes do, there’s always a place for you on my post.

“Yeah, It’s all wrong man…we shouldn’t even be up here!” 

The post was originally meant to give people a humorous way to vent their frustrations over the outrageously inept thyroid care that they’ve received.  I quickly saw the fun in having it morph into a vehicle to ridicule all doctors who’ve told their thyroid patients “Your labs are normal.” Yes, I have an ax to grind with mainstream medicine and feel my post is fair game.

Mainstream medicine brought it on themselves by the way they’ve conducted themselves.  It’s much like the airlines have done the same with seats that force your knees up to your chin and allow the bald head in the seat in front of you to be in your face.  They think it is OK but it is NOT OK.  The many posts about the experiences of patients with doctors, and being stranger than fiction, proves my point.

In addition, I felt I was representative of many people who’ve gone through what I did over 9 years and just needed a place to vent and release their years of frustration through a little bit of humor.   Can you believe that a doctor with 20+ years of education and training on how to heal people, and who literally holds the patient’s life in their hands, would rely solely on a lab report?   Then, they send the patient on their way by saying “there’s nothing else to do — it must be in your head.”   They call themselves professionals?   For shame.  They deserve to be ridiculed.

I’m shocked by the frightening,  life-altering treatment recommendations from doctors who’ve stopped trying to heal when they say,  “Your labs are normal.”  If you haven’t read my latest summary, here’s a few.  Incompetent doctors have recommended hysterectomies, ECT , surgeries and one patient was told she should check into an in-patient psych facility.  The frighteningly outrageous part of this is that these doctors, who lull us into complacency because of their titles and stature in society are in a place in our lives where they can HARM US!!!  And they have harmed many.  I certainly feel harmed.

And the Band Plays on……………………..

What I always knew, but would never consciously admit until I started the post, was that the “only in America” pop culture bafoonery we read about in the newspaper also existed in the medical profession. The most intelligent people can also be the most dumb.  A doctor tells a patient that “your bones are probably dissolving” or that Natural Desiccated Thyroid was “made by a meat company that went out of business 10 – 15 years ago” or that “since a cause of the depression can’t be found , you might as well get a hysterectomy.”   Crazier than fiction.

So, the profession that is supposed to heal us is keeping us sick.  Rather than letting one of  the most basic laws of humanity (which is  to help others) to passionately drive them  to use their training and common sense to solve our problems, they would rather dismiss any other proposed treatment strategies that might work and let us stay miserable until someone in an ivory tower tells them to do otherwise.

You’d think I’d be done after the statement above, but it gets worse.

Not only is mainstream medicine keeping us sick, but many doctors are insulting us as they do so.  For example, the complexities of thyroid problems and its related conditions cause many patients to gain weight.   What do many doctors do?  They blame the victim.  “It’s your fault you are fat “  is what they mean when they tell you to go to Weight Watchers or to start eating spinach (It’s true, a doc actually said that to a patient).   They are thinking that the patient is not educated in how to eat right or just doesn’t have the motivation.   I’m one who has heard a variation of this before. Outrageous.   The one person you would expect some empathy and compassion from does more harm and their attitude keeps us sick.

Some of you have decided to do something constructive with the problem, and through different initiatives, are demanding of the institutions that oversee thyroid treatment better care.  I applaud you for that.  Me, I’m the one who will keep insisting on firing doctors until we get well, get their attention, or both.

Fire a bad doctor for me.  Add it to my post on the main STTM Facebook page!

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*To read Janie’s 20-year agony thanks to uninformed doctors, read the detailed Introduction in the revised STTM book.

* See a collection of what many misguided doctors have said to patients over the years.

P.S. And thank you to the growing body of doctors who are LISTENING to ten years of patient experience as outlined on the STTM website and with more detail in the STTM book, all which underscores that

  1. The TSH lab test should ONLY be used to discern pituitary function (NOT to diagnose or treat by)
  2. There are far better labs that need attention.
  3. It’s “where” a lab result falls that counts, not the fact that it comes within a so-called normal range
  4. Natural Desiccated Thyroid changes lives.
  5. Sluggish adrenal function is very real and needs the right treatment.
  6. The patient-to-patient Stop the Thyroid Madness book needs to be in every doctor’s office for reference. Patients really DO know what they are talking about.
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Saliva testing while on HC? Maybe…if your doc understands what to look for…plus more!

For years, thyroid patients have shied away from using saliva testing while on HC, concerned about the false highs and false lows of cortisol  levels that occur with exogenous use of medications like hydrocortisone (HC) i.e.  that which you give yourself externally vs the natural release. Or, there might be an issue with the HC still left in your mouth,  and the saliva results would reflect this.

But thyroid patient and author Paul Robinson, as explained in his blog post,  has recently been in touch with Dr. Henry Lindner who has found a way to use saliva with his patients on HC.  Also, to avoid the residue of HC in one’s saliva, he instructs his patients to swallow their HC quickly with water.

For example, Lindner can tell if one isn’t on enough HC by looking at the saliva result done two hours after a patient took HC.  i.e. the reading might still look “normal” when in fact, it should be much higher due to the high peak after taking HC exogenously. It would only be “normal” (or low normal) looking four hours after one takes HC, not two hours after.  Conversely, if saliva is done right before the next dose of HC is due, which is often in four hours, it should be low normal, since exogenous use of HC should result in a fall after the peak.  Thus, it can mean one’s HC dose before that was too much.

You can read Dr. Lindner’s own words on his website here. I can’t guarantee this will work for you. In fact, we don’t recommend doing it this way at all. And your doctor probably won’t understand it yet.  So in the meantime, patients have been assessing their HC use with Daily Average Temps (DATS) and it’s still viable as well. It can be a way to avoid the cost of additional saliva testing.  To understand how to do your DATS, see Discovery Step Two, number four, here.  This is also explained in the revised STTM book in Chapter 5, which also has more details.

Want to order your own saliva test? Go here. Both My Med Lab and Healthcheck USA use ZRT, and Direct Labs uses a six times a day saliva testing if you’re curious about your nighttime levels.

DID HIS WIFE COMMIT SUICIDE DUE TO THE FAILURE TO TREAT HER THYROID CORRECTLY?

In one of STTM’s Facebook groups, I saw a posting about this article, and it broke my heart.

I cannot say one way or the other about this particular case, where his young wife had Hashimotos. But in the ten years I’ve been a Thyroid Patient Activist, I’ve seen SO many thyroid patients on T4-only, or those who haven’t received a correct diagnosis due to the lousy TSH lab test, suffer from depression, whether from continued thyroid problems or the effects of adrenal fatigue and low cortisol–the latter which a large body of thyroid patients can fall into. The brain and the adrenals NEED T3, we have learned personally, over and over.

My own mother was a classic example, having endured Electric Shock Treatment in the 1960’s for her poorly-treated, thyroid-induced depression, then needing to be on an anti-depressant her entire life from being on T4-only. That anti-depressant made her emotions flat.

You can see the article here.

DO YOU HAVE TO ENDLESSLY TAKE CERTAIN VITAMINS/MINERALS TO KEEP THEM UP??

I do. For me, it’s magnesium.  It’s like my body has a “magnesium hole” and I can never seem to keep my levels optimal without supplementing daily.  And I am very optimally treated for my hypothyroidism, and use Apple Cider Vinegar daily in a large glas of flavored water for a more acidic stomach environment. For others, it’s a “B12 hole”, and they have to inject or take supplements daily. Others might have an “iron hole” and need the maintain that.

What about you? What supplements do you have to take daily to keep your levels optimal??

 

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T3 to heal adrenals, Selenium, liver–all important info for thyroid patients!

Though this post was written in 2012, it has been updated to the current day and time and it still applicable. Enjoy!

HOW T3, DOSED A CERTAIN WAY, CAN REVERSE YOUR ADRENAL FATIGUE!

UK’s Hashimoto’s patient Paul Robinson has been a successful T3-only treated patient for more than 13 years, especially because he never did well on either synthetic T4, nor on the combination of T4/T3. And he learned so much about himself that he compiled all the information on T3 dosing in his book called Recovering With T3: My Journey from Hypothyroidism to Good Health Using the T3 Thyroid Hormone.

But what I especially find interesting is how he used T3 to cure his flagging adrenal function rather than HC (hydrocortisone).  And here is a short summary of key points. He calls this The Circadian T3 Method, aka the CT3M.

  1. Most of the day’s cortisol is made in the last four hours of sleep, which means your adrenals work their hardest during that time. And like any cell in your body which need T3 to function well, so do your adrenal cells…especially during the time they work the hardest.
  2. With the above in mind, it made sense to Paul that if adrenals are struggling with low cortisol, they clearly need T3 in that early morning 4-hour window in order to function better. How did he do it?  He moved his first T3 dose to one hour before he would normally wake up, held it for a few weeks to see the results, went earlier another half hour, held it for a few weeks to see the effect…and so on. He obtained a lot of data to ascertain what was happening–urine cortisol, blood pressure, pulse, etc. He found that the time which gave his adrenals the biggest boost, and thus better function, was 3 1/2 hours before he normally wakes up.  But he feels that others might find that anywhere in the first three hours of that four hour window, and it’s important to move slowly within that area to find the right time for you based on data.
  3. This protocol needs certain supplements, which include high potency B complex, B12, Vit. C, Vit. D and a good multi mineral. He goes into detail in his book.
  4. This protocol would not work if someone has Addison’s Disease, Hypopituitary or Diabetes…and may not work if you have pre-Diabetes blood sugar issues. It’s blood sugar in the cells that reacts positively with T3.

There is much more detail than the above. And Paul makes it clear that this treatment for adrenal fatigue and proven low cortisol should only be done in your relationship with your doctor. You can read more here on STTM.

UPDATE: many patients have reported that though the CT3M did wonders bringing up the morning cortisol, it didn’t help afternoon cortisol at all, and for some, didn’t help noon’s low cortisol. Yes, there are some who feel it’s helped all day, but also a large body who said it only helped morning. So we concluded that though it’s great for that low morning, you may have to use other supports for other low cortisol times. Also, the CT3M is excellent to help get off HC! Many are off in a month or less!

SELENIUM, EVEN WITH HIGH RT3, IS A MINERAL YOU NEED!

Check out what thyroid patient Cheryl Alvey has put together about selenium. This is a masterful page!

WHY THYROID PATIENTS NEED HEALTHY LIVER FUNCTION

What happens if your liver isn’t healthy?  Transportation is less optimal, and the deiodination type 1 will change to type 3, meaning T4 will convert to excess RT3! And guess what can make your liver unhealthy? Continued hypothyroidism, which happens to all too many who are on T4-only medications, or those left undiagnosed due to the TSH. Hypothyroidism is worsened with adrenal problems, and low iron.  And liver function can become unhealthy or stressed if you eat poorly  You can read more about all this here.

In the meantime, what can one do to promote better liver function? Milk thistle is one highly recommended way by many (use Milk Thistle supps from the seeds to avoid estrogenic affect). Also look into dandelion root /leaf, Sassafras, Burdock, Goldenseal and Yellow Doc root, Red Clover and Echinacea root. Ask someone knowledgeable at your local health food store.

PATIENT YOU-TUBE STTM VIDEOS

See thyroid patient Sam Aliyev’s latest YouTube video.  If you do one about the message of STTM, let me know and I’ll post about it.

**Has STTM benefitted you?? Want to Pay It Forward? Go here.

**Come over to the STTM Facebook page and “Like” it for daily inspiration and information!

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Taking your temp, Selenium and RT3, TPA’s Autumn Newsletter, and HealthcheckUSA’s discount to STTM readers

NOTE: though this post was originally written in 2011, it can still contain relevant information for you today to consider, or do further research on. 

(Photo graphic by thyroid patient Sam Aliyev of Azerbaijan, Baku city.)

TAKING YOUR TEMPERATURE CORRECTLY?? Possibly not.

Thanks to Dr. Broda Barnes, informed thyroid patients know the importance of taking one’s temperature, especially just before we get out of bed in the morning. According to Barnes, we can suspect a thyroid problem if that temp is below 97.8. Conversely, healthy thyroid function (or adequate treatment) would  put our before-rising temp from 97.8 to 98.2. (Menstruating females would need to be aware of higher temps right after ovulation.).

Today, we favor the mercury thermometer over digitals for accuracy. But are we using the mercury thermometer correctly? Maybe not.

A discussion between thyroid patients recently underscored the need to leave it in the mouth longer than the 5 minutes we thought was adequate. Thyroid patient Jennifer states: At 5 minutes it read 97.6, at 10 minutes it read 97.8 and at 15 minutes it read 98 degrees. After that, it stayed 98 degrees.  We then discussed the fact that manipulating the muscle in the back of throat could have caused the final temp. But her experiment, as well as others, underscored that we need to be holding that mercury thermometer in our mouths no less than five minutes, and ten is probably better.

DOES SELENIUM REALLY CAUSE A RISE IN REVERSE T3 (RT3)?

The above statement about selenium causing excess RT3 has oft been repeated from group to group for a few years. But it may be very wrong.

For example, this study shows selenium did not cause a rise in RT3, and in fact, lowered  it. Here is one which shows LOW levels of selenium can result in increased RT3. This medical book states that though RT3 comes from T4, it also concludes that  low selenium increases RT3.

In other words,  though the enzymes that convert T4 to T3,  and convert T4 to RT3, are selenium dependent to do their job, that doesn’t mean that selenium is going to increase your RT3.  Bottom line, many thyroid patients love selenium, especially with its power to lower Hashimoto’s antibodies, and being anti-cancer. Suggested levels are no more than 400 mcg.

TPA’s AUTUMN NEWSLETTER IS OUT–many good articles!

TPA stands for Thyroid Patient Advocacy, and is a UK charity organization started by Sheila Turner. Check out the articles below in the latest newsletter.

Page 5: The Big Question – Is There an Anti-T3 Conspiracy.  Eric Prichard critically questions why those in Endocrinology need to cite numerous anti-T3 studies, in spite of many other studies which reveal the activeness and superiority of T3. Is the UK and other dark age countries ever going to get it?

Page 9:  Why I Believe T3 Should Be the Very Last Treatment that Thyroid Patients Consider.  Don’t let UK’s Paul Robinson’s title fool you. He believes in the efficacy of T3, but underscores why it can be complex to dose with just T3. Especially compelling are what follows Paul’s article, titled MEMBERS SUCCESS STORY.  Story 1 is about an individual who, when dosing T3 in the early morning hours, was able to get off all adrenal meds. Story 2 is about a gal’s successful transition from T4 to T3.

Page 15:  Thyroid Patients Have Come a Long Way, Baby….But We Still Have a Way to Go!  Though there are now numerous patient groups on the net and many lives have changed, Janie Bowthorpe (yes, me) explains how many doctors still have a long way to go in understanding how T4 and TSH fail patients, just as desiccated thyroid or T3 have turned miserable lives around.

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If you want to respond to this post, click on the title at the top of the email, which will take you directly to the blog post on the STTM site. Then click on Comment. If YOU want to be notified by email, signup below on the lower right side.

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One more kooky & hilarious video! Plus more about bipolar, pregnancy, mistakes patients make.

HUMOROUS VIDEO ABOUT ADRENAL FATIGUE:   In my blog post last February 15th, 2011, I sent you in the direction of a kooky, creative and hilarious You Tube video titled “Our Holy Miracle of the Infallible TSH Test”.

Well, creator and thyroid patient Brian Foreman has brilliantly done it again, but this time, it’s about adrenal fatigue and titled “Why Isn’t My Thyroid Medication Working?”  Have fun watching it, and get ready for a good laugh here and there.

Want to know more about adrenal dysfunction? Go here to find out about the problem, and do the Discovery Tests tests to see if you might have it.  Note that it’s critical, if the self-tests seem to point to an adrenal issue, to do a 24-hour adrenal saliva test to see what is going on at four key times during a 24-hour period.  Here is a compilation of what patients have learned in how to treat low cortisol, and this page is important to share with your doctor. If you want even more detail, it is strongly recommended by thyroid patients to order the REVISED STTM BOOK, and see Chapters 5 and 6. This can be carried right into your doctor appointment with key areas highlighted and bookmarked.

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BIPOLAR, DEPRESSION and HYPOTHYROID: A thyroid patient emailed me with just one more article on the connection between having a bipolar disorder and one’s thyroid, including the fact that there is “a strikingly high rate of autoimmune-caused thyroid problems in people with bipolar disorder”, aka Hashimotos disease.

And even if depression is your main problem, the article mentions “gently pushing your thyroid status over toward the “hyperthyroid” end of normal, if you happen now to be toward the hypothyroid end of normal”, in order to adequately reverse the depression problem. I constantly think back about my own mother who suffered from depression, succumbed to having shock therapy, and ended up on anti-depressants the rest of her life because of her use of Synthroid.  So we know that treating hypothyroidism with direct T3, such as is found in desiccated thyroid, is far better. 

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IS THERE A BABY KNOCKING IN YOUR BELLY?  I often see pregnant women in forums wondering how their babies are doing and how the thyroid works in helping their babies, or hurting them if the mother is pregnant and hypothyroid.  Here is an article sent to me that can help inform as to changes in your thyroid function when pregnant, how thyroid hormones affect the brain of the fetus, and the role of iodine.  It can underscore how important proper treatment is while pregnant.

What about adrenal fatigue which so many thyroid patients find themselves with, and pregnancy? A gal named Anne has written about this issue here. She has Addisons disease, which is more about a disease process and can be autoimmune, but her comments can be very applicable for those of you with sluggish adrenal function. Share all of this with your doctor. Need to find a good one?? Go here.

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TWO COMMON MISTAKES  MADE BY PATIENTS:  In patient groups, here are two common mistakes I see patients make:

  1. Not doing the 24 hour adrenal saliva test if adrenal dysfunction is suspected:  I can’t stress this enough:  patients have learned repeatedly they shouldn’t have rushed into cortisol treatment if they or their doctor’s “suspect” an adrenal problem. Yes, STTM has outlined several self-tests, called Discovery Steps, that you can do in your own home to see if anything is suspicious. There is also a checklist of symptoms related to adrenal problems. But the problem is two-fold:  symptoms of high and low cortisol can be exactly the same, and ‘where you are low’ and ‘where you are not’ can dictate how your treatment should be.  Some only need to lower high cortisol, some may do well on simply adaptogens like Ashwagandha or Rhodiola, some do well on Isocort or OTC adrenal cortex, and some outright need to be on prescription hydrocortisone. Teach this to your doctor. Here is where you can order your own saliva tests, and then take them into your doctor’s office.
  2. Not getting copies of labwork: Contrary to how your doctor says it, you have a right to have copies of your own labwork. And you should! Patients often come on groups seeking feedback from other patients, and yet, have no idea what their labwork was, or the ranges. Getting copies of labwork is just one step of many in being a pro-active patient. Here is how to read labwork according to the experience of thyroid patients.
Remember: Stop the Thyroid Madness, aka STTM,  is a patient-to-patient informational site meant to educate and inspire you with that information. Talk to your doctor about what you have learned; use the STTM revised book right in the office, and push for what you believe in, and you can go a long way to feeling MUCH better.
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