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The dark ages in the United Kingdom–don’t think it might not happen where YOU live!

I have lived in the United States my entire life.

And there are other countries I have felt were similar to my own as far as being modern, forward-thinking, and intelligent. The United Kingdom is one.

But there is one area in the UK that is as close to the Dark Ages as it gets: the treatment of all forms and degrees of hypothyroidism.

Because of the British Thyroid Association (BTA) and the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) ‘guidance’ on the Diagnosis and Management of Primary Hypothyroidism, most UK doctors refuse to prescribe any form of  T3, whether adding synthetic T3 to one’s T4, or using natural desiccated thyroid, either because they have fallen in line like ducks in a row, or they fear for their job.

Why? Because “overwhelming evidence supports the use of Thyroxine (T4) alone in the treatment of hypothyroidism, and we do not recommend the prescribing of additional Triiodothyronine (T3) in any presently available formulation, including natural thyroid extract, as it is inconsistent with normal physiology, has not been scientifically proven to be of any benefit to patients, and may be harmful”.

Anybody puking yet??

And, says thyroid patient advocate Sheila Turner of TPA-UK, “never has the RCP, BTA  produced any of the ‘overwhelming evidence’ they claim as supporting the use of T4-only, even though they have been asked to do so on numerous occasions. Overwhelming evidence supports the use of synthetic T4/T3 and natural thyroid extract.”

And don’t think it won’t happen where YOU live. Stupidity can abound.

What to do about it?? Answer a short questionnaire, created by Sheila and TPA-UK, which is for those with symptoms of hypothyroidism when treated with T4-only, who then tried a T3 thyroid hormone product with success. “The results of this questionnaire will enable us to create the first ‘World-wide Register of Counterexamples to Levothyroxine (T4) – only therapy'”, underscores Sheila. “The objective is to draw attention to the dire need for an urgent re-examination of the existing protocol for the diagnosis and management of the symptoms of hypothyroidism.”

Don’t wait until stupidity and narrow-mindedness comes to where you live, as it also has in the country of Columbia, where Cynomel (T3) was retired more than 10 years now.  Give this a voice NOW to head it off at the pass.

P.S. While you are at it, sign up with Dr. Skinner’s World Thyroid Register.

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UK’s Royal College of Physicians continues to be deaf, blind and royally dumb.

throwingup1

Funny how things work. I had been wondering what the heck was going on with thyroid patients in the UK after the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) came out with their February 6th guideline stating that 1) thyroxine was the only medication needed for hypothyroidism, 2) “natural” medications were dangerous and 3) the only labs needed are the TSH and T4.

All the above goes totally against the life-changing experience of a growing body of patients.

Equally a part of this B-grade horror movie is the stand taken by the British Thyroid Association (BTA).  Read it. And UK-TPA thyroid patient advocate Sheila Turner began to go through her own hell when her Armour was taken away, which you can read about in the February 20th blog post here.

And suddenly, I get an email from Sheila, informing me that the RCP stand is as bad as it was three months ago for her and other thyroid patients.

Sheila states: This is absolutely unbelievable that out of the hundreds of references we sent to the Royal College of Physicians to show their guideline to be flawed, they have taken no account of one single one of them. They are publishing their previous guidance without one since change. The world has gone mad.

Dear Sheila, Further to my email of 6 April, the comments and materials received by the College have been reviewed. This position statement or guidance (not a guideline) was produced on behalf of the Royal College of Physicians, in particular its Patient and Carer Network and the Joint Specialty Committee for Endocrinology and Diabetes; the Association for Clinical Biochemistry; the Society for Endocrinology; the British Thyroid Association; the British Thyroid Foundation Patient Support Group and the British Society of Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes and is endorsed by The Royal College of General Practitioners. The President has asked me to let you know that this review has not resulted in any changes to that statement.  It should be noted that it is about the treatment of primary hypothyroidism and does not preclude other treatments for exceptional cases by specialist endocrinologists who can make clear to patients any associated risks. References supporting the statement are listed below. Yours sincerely, Catharine Perry Administrator -   Diagnosis and treatment of primary hypothyroidism. BMJ 2009;338:b725 -   Vaidya B, Pearce S. A Clinical Review of the management of hypothyroidism in adults. BMJ 2008;337:a801. This contains references for 35 articles and states that Armour thyroid is of no proved additional benefit to levothyroxine. – The Lancet Volume 363, Issue 9411, Pages 793 – 803, 6 March 2004.  This covers the history, epidemiology, pathophysiology, and clinical diagnosis and management of hypothyroidism and is written by Caroline GP Roberts and Paul Ladenson of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA.  This review, which references 164 clinical articles, states that the treatment of choice for hypothyroidism is levothyroxine sodium (thyroxine) and does not refer to Armour thyroid. -  Baloch Z, Carayon P, Conte-Devolx B, et al. Laboratory medicine practice guidelines. Laboratory support for the diagnosis and monitoring of thyroid disease.Thyroid 2003;13:3-126. -  Association of Clinical Biochemists BTA, British Thyroid Foundation. UK Guidelines for the use of thyroid function tests. http://acb.org.uk/docs/tftguidelinefinal.pdf -  Surks MI. Ortiz E, Daniels GH, et al. Subclinical thyroid disease: scientific review and guidelines for diagnosis and management. 2004;291:228-238.

And as your peruse the six references above which they use to defend their tunnel-visioned, moronic position, you realize that you, your words, and your positive-outcome experience on desiccated thyroid, as well as the use of far better labs, is about as important within the UK’s latest medical pronouncement as is dirt on the bottom of a rusted bucket in the middle of an empty field in nowhere. Yup.

Or as Harold Shipman stated about the RCP’s guidelines: What a brilliant wheeze.

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See below on the potential importance of potassium in your health and well-being. And on the May 7th post about the party being over with Forest Pharmaceuticals, comments continue to come in about experiences with the “new” Armour.

1 reply