Tongue-in-cheek yet sincere thankfulness from Thyroid Patients…and more
As the United States approaches Thanksgiving, it’s appropriate to offer our thanks as thyroid patients to the following:
THANKS go to the American Thyroid Association (ATA), who in their Nov. 10th email newsletter, had a NATURE-THROID desiccated thyroid ad right under their logo and gave us a great chuckle! Why? The ATA has always rigidly recommended T4-only medications and the TSH–both which have failed too many thyroid patients for sixty years. Loved your faux pas, ATA, in the name of making $$!! Are we going to see it again? Huh??
THANKS to Forest Labs, who though patients feel they ruined one of the oldest and best desiccated thyroid medications ever made when they reformulated it in 2009, gave thyroid patients the memory of a desiccated med far superior to press for from other pharmaceuticals in the future after the FDA gets their act together about the safety and efficacy of desiccated thyroid. (p.s. chew your Armour thoroughly before swallowing for better effectiveness, say patients)
THANKS to Erfa in Canada, who makes their own version of desiccated thyroid just like the old Armour, where we can do it sublingually and where it still has a touch of sugar to help with dissolution. Glory be to Erfa!
THANKS to the FDA, who had enough wisdom to allow thyroid patients to order Erfa desiccated thyroid from Canada–a far superior product than the lousy T4-only medications for a huge body of thyroid patients. We hope your wisdom continues.
THANKS to all the makers of important supplements–many which have played HUGE roles in the lives of thyroid patients trying to undo the damage done to us thanks to T4-only and the TSH lab test. They include high potency B-vitamins, selenium, minerals, sea salt, iodine, and so many more. We are behind you in the freedom to choose nutritional supplements without a doctor’s prescription.
THANKS to the growing body of doctors who have been listening to patient experience and email me of that fact. We bow to all of you who have LISTENED to the whole body of knowledge thyroid patients have learned, which is also Chapter 3 in the STTM book with more details.
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FULL BODY SCANS AT AIRPORTS: should thyroid patients be concerned?
If you are going to fly anywhere and are a thyroid patient, you may need to understand that you could be subjected to radiation in a full body scan. And since thyroid patients in various groups have expressed concern about the effect of radiation exposure on their own thyroids, this can be a concern.
Oh sure, John Pistole of the Transportation Security Administration says they keep us safe.  And the FDA website is saying that these X-ray scanners pose “very low health risks.”   But the FDA is also the agency who has always approved a certain kind of thyroid medication, T4-only, which has left millions of us with lingering hypothyroid symptoms for years, and which calls a medication which HAS worked for over 100 years as “unapproved”.
So, if you are going to fly anywhere while this controversial procedure continues, you might want to choose the intrusive pat-down instead, or look into a train.
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DO COSMETIC LASER DEVICES CAUSE THYROID PROBLEMS?
In the same vein as my comment above about radiation scans when you fly:  I received an email from a gal who feels that a cosmetic laser device has not only injured her eyes, but may be the culprit in the fact that she now has hypothyroidism and a pituitary tumor. And she’s not alone, as others are wondering the same thing with support groups on the net.  These laser devices are used to correct sun damage on your face, improve acne scars, improve rosacea, tighten skin, remove melasma spots, and even help with eyesight.  She called herself and others with damage from these devices “modern day radium girls” . If you want to be more informed, research this on the net and decide for yourself.
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SEND THE STTM BOOK AS A CHRISTMAS PRESENT
The publishing company will do the work for you, sending a book as a holiday present for to a friend or loved one who needs to read what patients have learned. Â Included will be a holiday card with your name in it, or you can remain anonymous. Â Go here.
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HOW TO TACKLE A BAD COLD AND CONGESTION AS A THYROID PATIENT
A gal emailed me, asking if I knew of something that would help her terrible nasal congestion. She found out the hard way that using Afrin, a strong nasal spray, caused her thyroid to ache. I then recommended she look into a Neti Pot, which can do wonders to clear your compacted nose, and I faithfully use it if I do have congestion (which I did last week when I failed to take enough Vit. D at the onset of symptoms of an upper respiratory infection). Check it out here. Â And when you first try it, don’t panic. Let it do its miracle, because it really works!
COMMON QUESTIONS and ANSWERS are here.
HOW TO FIND A GOOD DOC is here.
WHERE TO TALK TO OTHER PATIENTS is here.
CURRENT OPTIONS FOR GOOD THYROID TREATMENT here.
As thyroid patients are not only in angst about a complete shortage of desiccated thyroid in the US, we all have questions and concerns about out future with no definitive answer. 