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A Belgium Doctor “Let it Rips” about Crappy Hypothyroid Treatment in France–Good Job Dr. Resimont!

Hypothyroid patients, whether from Hashimoto’s disease, thyroid removal, genetics, or any other cause of having hypothyroidsim, have been finding out the bald crappy truth about how poorly hypothyroidism is treated by medical practitioners, especially in the use of T4-only.

And even worse, this crap treatment with nothing but T4, a storage hormone, has been going on for decades…decades!!! clearly affecting millions worldwide.

It’s T3, the active hormone, which we have experienced as changing our lives, NOT the storage hormone T4 by itself. We have discovered that are NOT meant to live for conversion to T3 alone. Even a healthy thyroid provides some direct T3 with the T4. It’s about T4 with T3, we have experienced repeatedly!

It’s exactly why I, Janie A. Bowthorpe, started this patient-to-patient movement called Stop the Thyroid Madness in 2002. i.e STOP the scandal of T4-only. WE, not doctors, had to find out the truth by our vast experiences about better treatment protocols with T3, better understanding of lab results and so, so, so much more.

SO it’s extremely satisfying for patients if a doctor himself speaks the TRUTH of the scandal of T4-only. And in this case, it’s a doctor in Belgium who is expressing his frustration towards France!

The following was written in 2020 by Dr. Stéphane Résimont of Brussels in Belgium in French, and this is a google translation to English. It’s not a perfect translation, but I think you’ll get the drift.

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For the attention of the President of the French High Authority for Health.

Dear Colleague,

We, myself and other colleagues, are literally drowned in French patients who come to seek help in Belgium….

Indeed, the practice of French doctors, given the pressure from the medical order, completely overwhelmed in its medical knowledge, and have seen a high health authority imposing obsolete and unsuitable treatments. Their patient population is in great suffering.

I will only speak here of the problem of treatment of hypothyroidism (*) which as you know is imposed as being the T4 (TCaps, Euthyrox, Levotyrox old and new formula) in France.

I have been a thyroid lecturer for twenty years and I am particularly familiar with this subject.

I ask you a simple question:

“Do you know what it takes to turn T4 into T3? â€œ (Which 90-95% of the population can no longer do).

Mg, Zinc, Se, B12, Iron, PROGESTERONE: GOLD (or gold could be translated as BUT)

T3 is the active hormone, T4 is a pro hormone, which can even drift towards Reverse T3 which blocks T3 if there is a blockage when it is activated …

Attached you will find one or the other lecture I gave on this subject.

And I come across your attached recommendations …

I would calify your recommendations as of criminals, at best the simple endangering of the life of others in view of CURRENT scientific knowledge.

You should be fully aware of the complications of unsupported or poorly managed hypothyroidism: overweight, diastolic hypertension, increased LDL cholesterol, depression, non-activation of beta-carotene in vitamin A, water infiltration in the tongue or in the palate which gives sleep apnea, morning fatigue and throughout the day, depression, hair loss, water retention, etc etc …

And finally when I see the ever-increasing number of French patients arriving by train or plane,  they are still treated with T4 and they still show all the signs of hypothyroidism, since they do not activate T4 in T3!!

I’m shocked to see that even endocrinologists prescribe T4 without worrying in the slightest bit about the possibility of transforming T4 into T3: no dosage of erythrocyte magnesium, zinc, B12, selenium, and they are not overly worried about the fate of T3 since, as you know, it needs vitamin D, vitamin A with a good omega 3 status and the absence of cytokines leading to dysbiosis, so that the receptor that goes nuclear power can ultimately act.

In recent years, I have had absolutely  no  patient in whom these assays were done… and these same patients are on T4… !!

I call it a monumental scandal!

It is very urgent that you bring your institutions up to date and that you stop forcing French doctors to work badly with your stupid recommendations.

Confraternally.

Dr RESIMONT

(*) the other big concern is the failure to take charge of pre-menopause and menopause (we would therefore leave without worrying to run a car without water, without oil because we are in our fifties …) by estradiol, progesterone, DHEA, testosterone when the clinic deficiency is there and biology confirms it.

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If you are impressed as I am, reply to this blog post with your praise to Dr. Resimont. And you can also express your total disgust about what STILL goes on today in the treatment of hypothyroidism.

NOTE: if you are reading this via the email notification, you need to click on the title of the blog post in the email to get to the actual blog post and where you can add a comment. Replying to that email does not allow anyone to see your comment.

**The original letter in French: https://www.asso-malades-thyroide.fr/wordpress/index.php/2020/01/05/lettre-du-docteur-resimont-a-la-haute-autorite-de-sante/

**Stop the Thyroid Madness’ page on the scandal of T4-only: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/t4-only-meds-dont-work

**And guess what being on nothing but T4 raises the risk of?? A cortisol problem due to the stress of still being hypothyroid. Here’s a saliva cortisol test you can order if in the US or Canada: https://saliva-cortisol.squarespace.com/ 

Or click the graphic below to see if being on nothing but T4, which is a lousy way to treat one’s hypothyroid state, has stressed your adrenals! This is for those in the United States or Canada only. 

54 replies

TWO NEW BOOKS: Hashimoto’s: Taming the Beast & Updated Revision STTM book.

One of the most important steps we have to do, as hypothyroid patients no matter the cause, is to be INFORMED, which the Stop the Thyroid Madness books aka STTM books, provide you.  

We have to look at the experiences and wisdom of patients before us who GOT WELL, which STTM gives you!

And we have to be prepared to guide our doctors with the information in the Stop the Thyroid Madness books…or fire them. 

Why? Because 1) the medical profession simply doesn’t get it 2) their training is awful  3) they accept the dark-ages bad information they are fed without questioning.

Thyroid treatment should have NEVER been about…

  1. putting us on only one of five thyroid hormones like T4-only (backfires sooner or later with growing problems)
  2. the insane use of the TSH lab test and range for diagnosis or treatment (keeps us hypothyroid)
  3. falling anywhere in those ridiculous “normal” ranges (keeps us hypothyroid)
  4. “doing nothing” and “letting it run its course” for those with autoimmune Hashimoto’s (which increases inflammation and the risk of other autoimmune diseases)

And all the while we have had continuing problems, we are told…

2019 updated revision of the classic Stop the Thyroid Madness

You are normal
It’s not your thyroid
You need to eat less
You need to exercise more
You need to see a therapist
You need to be on an anti-depressant, or this med, or that med

PRESENTING…..

1) The “updated revision” of the world-renowned STOP THE THYROID MADNESS BOOK (info below)

2) HASHIMOTO’S: TAMING THE BEAST (a companion book to the above updated revision) See below.

About the updated revision STOP THE THYROID MADNESS: A Patient Revolution Against Decades of Inferior Thyroid Treatment, @2019

Same chapter titles. A continuation of former good info. Yet now, you have updates throughout the book. 

  1. This world-renowned “bible of patient experiences” which is now updated, continues to have the life-changing information that it always has had with the same chapter titles…no matter your cause of hypothyroidism…
  2. …but it now has numerous updates throughout where needed, and out-of-date information removed. 
  3. Both adrenals chapters 5 and 6 have been updated, and there’s now details about the use of Adrenal Cortex (ACE), while still having info about hydrocortisone (HC). Chapter 6 now mentions what information applies to either ACE or HC, or BOTH.
  4. The T4 chapter now mentions Tirosint, but continues to explain the problem of forcing the body to live for conversion alone. T4-only is T4-only.
  5. There are now light gray rectangular boxes throughout the book, meant to highlight certain important sentences. 
  6. Emphasis is now on serum iron. i.e. the former book would mention both iron/ferritin, but we now know that it’s far more about serum iron as far as what to make “optimal”. The emphasis about ferritin is more about its ability to reveal inflammation, but can reveal a methylation issue when low with good or high iron.
  7. There is updated information about
    1. different kinds of iron products
    2. better explanations in areas alongside those which were already good
    3. some new tidbits at the end of some chapters
    4. some updates to the list of thyroid meds, etc.
  8. Throughout the book are many more mentions about being “optimal”, not just “on” NDT or T4/T3. It’s also explained often what optimal means in those several places in the book.
  9. There are great additions to the list of supplements as well as certain foods. 
  10. The chapter on Natural Desiccated Thyroid now has a little photo of an antique bottle of NDT--that’s to show that having T3 in our treatment has been helping patients a long time and safely! This book also mentions the alternative treatment with synthetic T4/T3. Plus various updates throughout while keeping what was always IMPORTANT.
  11. And there is more.

About HASHIMOTO’S: TAMING THE BEAST…
A “companion book” to the updated revision Stop the Thyroid Madness above

  1. “Taming the Beast”, a companion book to the updated STTM book shown below, has purposely been put together as concise, yet comprehensive. That means it purposely gets to the point about key information related to Hashimoto’s, while avoiding chattiness or long pages of stories to help those of you with brain fog and concentration problems. 🙂
  2. Some of the information you may have read before, while some is very unique to this wonderful book! 
  3. FOUR chapters fully pertaining to reported patient experiences and wisdom which can help change your life and reveal that you are NOT alone as a Hashi’s patient!
    1. Why and how Hashimoto’s patients go years without help or awareness of what is going on
    2. Patient-reported foods which were and are problematic for some and all the symptoms
    3. 43 most frustrating aspects of having Hashi’s as expressed by patients (especially about doctors)
    4. 95 short testimonies on what patients are using or doing to successfully lower their antibodies!
  4. Like research? You will see a total of 241 footnotes throughout this book that will send you to research articles, or just good information for further reading. Additionally, one chapter simply summarizes 46 research articles pertaining to Hashi’s in one (or two) sentences. And as intended, YOU can choose what you want to further read…or not.
  5. You will be made aware of, or reminded about, a variety of environmental triggers that can either birth autoimmune Hashi’s in the first place, or make one’s current antibodies worse. (Chapter 4)
  6. There is a chapter totally focused on Hashimoto’s inflammation--what it can do to you, inflammation labs, what to do about inflammation, supplements and foods to consider to counter inflammation, and short summaries of three ways to eat to counter inflammation. (Plus of course, good footnotes, and added URL’s in the body if needed)
  7. Two excellent and informative chapters on different gut health problems to explore, or be reacquainted with, including symptoms, types under each category, ways to treat, and more.
  8. Other examples of patient experiences inserted throughout many chapters
  9. Different lists of patient-reported symptoms within different chapters to help identify your issues, for example:
    • a chapter with symptoms from the autoimmune attack
    • another chapter highlighting symptoms of adrenal problems
    • more about hypothyroid symptoms that appear while on T4-only or being underdosed due to a doctor’s reliance on the lousy TSH lab test,
    • inflammation symptom list…etc.
  10. Each chapter has a lighthearted small drawing, pertaining to the subject, to send a friendly message about a serious topic, all drawn by Janie A. Bowthorpe, who is an artist.
  11. There is a blank “NOTES” page at the end of each chapter where you can put page numbers to remember, or additional information you have gleaned in this book or others! That way, you don’t have to flip through all the pages to find what was important to you.

AND SO MUCH MORE!! This book encourages you to underline, highlight, dog-ear, paper clip, and use the NOTES page at the end of each chapter. This is YOUR book.

Laughing Grape Publishing (LGP) now has a brand new, high-end ordering system for the Stop the Thyroid Madness books!! 

ORDER: http://laughinggrapepublishing.com 

74 replies

Feel better on T4 than you did on Natural Desiccated Thyroid?

Occasionally, hypothyroid patients will exclaim with conviction and truth that they outright feel better on Synthroid or Levothyroxine (T4-only meds) than they did when they tried Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT) or even T3-only.  And we believe them.

But…there is an explainable reason which does not mean T4-only is better for you. It really isn’t. Bear with me and read on…

Years ago, as many of us were starting on NDT after being on T4, we were seeing our lives change in a huge way, far more than T4 did! It was like a miracle! Those five hormones really made a difference.

But some others were having problems when raising something so miraculous for others. Huh?? We didn’t get that.

It took awhile longer to finally see why and to answer the “huh?” i.e. we began to see that there were three strong and correctible reasons why someone was not seeing the miracle of NDT as others were, and instead, were blaming the NDT (or T3) and moving back to T4-only…

The three main and correctible reasons why NDT, which gives all five thyroid hormones, seems to fail…

1) NOT BEING “OPTIMAL” WITH YOUR NDT DOSE (it’s NOT about just being in range and not about being held hostage to the TSH)

We all have had a tendency to believe that our doctors know what they are doing with NDT or T3. But, the majority do not. They tend to leave you on too-low doses, and/or pay attention to the lousy TSH. Thus, due to the natural suppression of the feedback loop (hypothalamus to pituitary to thyroid), you will get worse on those lower doses, sooner or later. i.e. you will get more hypo, and/or have rising adrenaline, cortisol, anxiety or other. And because of that, some exclaim “NDT didn’t work for me!” and they rush back to T4-only.  But NDT, with all five thyroid hormones, could have worked well IF you had known to be more optimal. Optimal puts the free T3 towards the top of the range and the free T4 mid-range, and puts the TSH below range…all three…and removes all symptoms. What amount does that is very individual—some start to achieve that in mid-2 grains, others are in the 3-5 grain area, others may be higher.

What if you tried to raise to be optimal, but had worsening problems? Read #2 and #3 below.

2) NOT BEING OPTIMAL WITH YOUR IRON LEVELS (it’s not about just being in range)

When this is brought up to patients who once tried NDT and failed, they will exclaim with all sincerity “But my iron levels were great”. We know that a very small percentage may have had good iron. But what is common with the majority is they did NOT have good levels “Falling in the normal range” does not equal a good level of iron. It’s WHERE one falls that tells the story.

For example, with two types of ranges for serum iron (NOT ferritin):

a) When the range is approx. 40?155: women who have optimal serum iron tend to be close to 110, or 109, or 108, etc. They are NOT in the 90’s and definitely not lower when optimal. Men tend to be in the upper 130’s.
b)  When the range is approx. 7-27: women are optimal around 23ish; men are towards the top.

If they are lower than the latter examples, it messes up the ability to raise NDT and feel great without issue. Why? Inadequate iron levels tend to raise the reverse T3 (RT3) as one is raising their NDT.  As the RT3 goes up due to inadequate iron, you will feel worse. And because of that, some exclaim “NDT didn’t work for me!” and they rush back to T4-only…but if they had had optimal iron, NDT WOULD have worked…as long as they also had optimal cortisol (See #3 below) and were working to find their optimal dose of NDT (see #1)

See more details about iron here: http://stopthethyroidmadness.com/ferritin

3) NOT BEING OPTIMAL WITH YOUR CORTISOL LEVELS (it’s not about just being in range, and it’s NOT about blood cortisol)

We noted years ago that at least 50% of those with hypothyroidism had a cortisol issue as revealed by saliva, not blood. What does a cortisol issue mean? Either their cortisol was too high (due to the stress of being undiagnosed, poorly treated, or being on T4) or was too low (due to the stress of being undiagnosed, poorly treated, or being on T4), or had both high and low (due to the stress of being undiagnosed, poorly treated, or being on T4).

And what happens with a cortisol issue when you are trying to work with NDT? Either RT3 will go too high (the inactive hormone), or one’s T3 will pool in the blood and not make it to the cells, or both…and you won’t feel well or have bad reactions like excess adrenaline, anxiety, shakiness, feel-bads.

And because of having a cortisol issue, some exclaim “NDT didn’t work for me!” and they rush back to T4-only…but if they had…

a) done the 4-point saliva test, not blood
b) compared the saliva results it to the lab-values page (it’s not about that normal range)
c) CORRECTLY treated it (see this page, plus Chapter 6 in the updated revision STTM book if saliva is VERY low, which also applies to Adrenal Cortex),

….they would have soared on NDT…along with good iron and being OPTIMAL on NDT (or T3)

Note: it’s always about the results of a saliva test, NOT blood cortisol.

Bottom line, it’s not as simple as “feeling better on T4”. It’s more about that you are NOT experiencing the side effects that you did on NDT from any of the above three problems, which were all correctible. That is different.

“That all sounds like too much trouble–I’m staying on T4-only!”, you may be exclaiming….

There is a big problem with that reasoning that I hope you will be open to….Namely, T4-only outright…

  • CAUSES low iron
  • CAUSES a cortisol problem
  • CAUSES many other issues like lowered B12, lowered Vitamin D, rising blood pressure, rising cholesterol, depression, anxiety, heart issues, bone thinning, chronic pain….and more. The individuality is in who gets which…but T4 users do get problems of their own kind, sooner or later.

Please note that the above is not an empty strong opinion. It’s based on years of reported patient experiences from many who were on T4! i.e. most of the following hypothyroid symptoms were experienced by T4 users!! They were still hypo!

Now you may state “But I know people on T4 who do not have those problems!”.

First, some outright DO have some of those problems, but don’t realize it or they deny it (while others see it in them). Adrenal issues, even those denied, can make certain people awash with defensiveness, argumentativeness, denial, anger, paranoia towards others observations, low patience, moodiness, etc.

Yes, some on T4 do, in fact, do better than others. But you know what we have observed? The longer they stay on T4-only, the more problems WILL, in fact, raise their ugly heads eventually…like either adrenal issues, or low iron, or low B12, or depression, or rising cholesterol, or rising blood pressure, or heart problems, or dry skin and hair, or chronic pain, or bone loss, or rising illnesses…..on and on. Forcing the body to live for conversion alone backfires….sooner or later.

Summary: A working Natural Desiccated Thyroid, or adding T3 to that T4 as a second choice and getting those frees optimal, is a much better way to go than being on nothing but T4, according to years of worldwide patient experiences

A working NDT gives you all five thyroid hormones, and does NOT force you to live for conversion of T4 to T3 alone, i.e. some of NDT is direct T3. Additionally with T4-only, some people have genetic mutations which hinder the conversion of T4 to T3 and may not realize it.

There is a good reason that millions of patients found out that T4-only is not the way to go for many reasons, and NDT is the way to go if you correct the reasons you did NOT to do well...or even adding T3 to your T4 in an OPTIMAL amount. But you will still need optimal iron and cortisol!

P.S. The above three reasons are the most common for not doing well on NDT (or T3) and should be considered first. A 4th less common reason: chronic inflammation of any cause. Read about inflammation. If this is true for you, the sad part is that T4-only will also backfire, as it raises RT3.

Mold exposure can also effect conversion.

Click on the graphic to order an excellent saliva cortisol test.

101 replies

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!

50 replies

15 Things which Thyroid Patients should teach their Doctors

Screen Shot 2015-08-07 at 4.28.31 PMMany thyroid patients will tell you they have, or have had, doctors they love! I, Janie, have had many of them.

But it doesn’t take away from the fact that those in a medical profession have been sorely lacking for decades about correct knowledge on how to diagnose and treat hypothyroidism or Hashimotos, besides have inappropriate familiarity about all the issues related to being hypothyroid. Even their knowledge on how to correctly read labwork has been lazy.

Because of that poverty of correct knowledge, patients were forced to take the bull by the horns and figure things out for themselves! Stop the Thyroid Madness, the flagship of “patient experiences and wisdom”, represents all that wisdom!

Here are 15 things that any thyroid patient not only has to learn, but needs to teach any medical practitioner the best way they know how:

1) My fatigue and weight gain is not simply because I need to exercise more and eat less.

Granted, we know that exercise and how we eat is important! But being undiagnosed hypothyroid, or poorly treated due to Synthroid or any other T4-only medication, or being held to the TSH, keeps many of us with a low metabolism. The latter results in very easy weight gain, or the failure to do the kind of exercise which would help us!

2) Depression is strongly related to continued hypothyroidism!

We know there can be a variety of reasons for depression, but for most thyroid patients, our depression is a sure sign that we are either undiagnosed due to the lousy TSH lab test, or undertreated due to being on only one of five thyroid hormones like T4-only, or being held hostage to the TSH, a pituitary hormone.

3) The TSH lab test has been a failure for too many years.  

Yes, though a seriously low TSH can detect if we have hypopituitary, for most of us, we’ve had a “normal” TSH yet obvious hypothyroid symptoms. Additionally, when we are optimally treated on Natural Desiccated Thyroid, T4/T3 or T3-only, our TSH lab test is always below range without one hint of bone loss or heart problems. We want to go by the free T3 and free T4, plus symptom removal and a good heartrate and blood pressure instead. //www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/tsh-why-its-useless

4) To figure out if I have Hashimotos,  BOTH antibodies labs need to be tested, not just one. 

To detect if we have the autoimmune version of thyroid problems, patients saw right away that one antibody could be high, but the other one not.  So we need both the anti-peroxidase AND the anti-thyroglobulin lab tests. And by the way, many Hashi’s patients soar on Natural Desiccated Thyroid if they raise it correctly. See #5.

5) Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT) has been changing patient lives for years now, just as it did for decades before Synthroid hit the market. 

Though some patients do better on T4-only meds than others…at first..there is simply too many reported experiences by patients for 15+ years that it’s not the way to go. And those same reports show that being on the five hormones that NDT gives makes much more sense.  Even adding synthetic T3 to synthetic T4 has produced better results.

6) I can’t wait six weeks before having a raise!

Thyroid patients found out the hard way that if they stay on a starting dose of NDT (which is usually one grain) longer than a few weeks, the feedback loop causes hypothyroidism to come back with a vengeance in some way or another. So we raise every two weeks and start slowing those raises in the two grain area or close to three to start finding our optimal dose. //www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/natural-thyroid-101

7) My lab results are not about being in the “normal” range.

This was a huge discovery by informed thyroid patients as they kept observing each others lab results for years: it’s about “where” the lab result falls that tells the story…not just because it falls in a suspicious “normal” range based on the testing participants the lab facility chose. //www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/lab-values

8) If I react poorly to NDT, it’s not because NDT isn’t right for me. 

Patients who have had problems with NDT found out that there are five correctible reasons for most of them:  a) being kept on lower doses far too long b) not raising high enough because of being held to the TSH range c) having low iron d) having a cortisol problem 5) having Lyme. This page explains: //www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/ndt-doesnt-work-for-me

9) Yes, there really is such a thing as adrenal fatigue/adrenal insufficiency/hypocortisolism.

Easily more than 50% of thyroid patients end up with a cortisol problem, either due to being undiagnosed for years thanks to the use of the faulty TSH lab test, or being put on only one of five thyroid hormones–T4. And to learn more about it, one of your doctor’s own colleagues has written a brilliant chapter as to biologically why we get low cortisol, found in the Stop the Thyroid Madness II book, chapter 15. And this:  //www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/adrenal-info

10) Saliva testing for cortisol is far more accurate than blood testing

Saliva is said to be testing one’s cellular levels of cortisol, plus it does so at four key times during a 24-hour period, which is important to know. And patients found that the results (from reputable companies) fit their symptoms! Whereas blood cortisol testing is measuring both bound and unbound cortisol, and most of the time does NOT fit the symptoms, showing high cortisol when we are really low, or vice versa. //www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/adrenal-info

11) If some or most of my saliva cortisol results are low, there are safe and effective ways to treat it. 

The adrenal area is one which thyroid patients took great time and care to learn, based on what we read from experts, plus our repeated experiences and wisdom. This is where our doctor, need to be open-minded enough to learn from Stop the Thyroid Madness, both on the website and in the revised STTM book, chapters 5 and 6.

12) If I have acid reflux or stomach problems, it’s usually due to low stomach acid caused by our hypothyroid state, not the need for Prilosec (Omeprazole). And some of us need to be off gluten, especially if we have Hashimotos.

i.e. what we need is to restore a better level of acid in our stomachs, which our hypothyroid state lowers–the latter which causes problems in absorbing vitamins and minerals. That’s why we need to put lemon juice or apple cider vinegar in the liquids we use to swallow our meds and supplements. And a large body of us with Hashimotos need to be off gluten.

13) I’m not stupid just because I didn’t go to medical school, plus I live in my own body. So I need you to see us as a team. 

Because of what Stop the Thyroid Madness gives me, both the website and the books, it’s important to me that you see us as a team–BOTH my knowledge and your own.

14) No, thyroid cancer is not the easy cancer.

Thyroid cancer patients hate their cancer as much as anyone does…plus it’s worrisome, surgery nor RAI is not a picnic, and recurrence is on our minds. //www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2015/01/31/thyroid-cancer-easy-cancer-thyroid-cancer-patients-appalled/

15) My thyroid labwork should be done before I take my thyroid meds for the day. 

Patients discovered that the T3 is NDT will peak about two hours after meds are taken, then a slow fall. If patients are on T3-only, it’s a 4-hour peak. We want to measure what still lingers in us, not the peak or rise.

What else do you think our doctors need to learn?

JanieSignature SEIZE THE WISDOM

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