stop the thyroid madness Archives - Page 7 of 21

Walter Reed Medical Center proclaims desiccated thyroid SAFE…and there’s more to the story!

Patients have known by their experiences the past 110 years that natural desiccated thyroid (NDT) was safe and effective.

Yet it took a recent study at Walter Reed Military Medical Center, and lead by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, to proclaim what patients already knew: Desiccated thyroid extract a safe alternative to levothyroxine in hypothyroidism, as reported on Endocrine Today. Good for Walter Reed Military Medical Center and Thanh D. Hoang, DO, the staff endocrinologist who reported it:

“At the end of the 16-week study, 34 patients (48.6%) preferred DTE therapy, whereas 13 (18.6%) preferred levothyroxine; 23 (32.9%) did not specify a preference, he said. Further analysis confirmed those who preferred DTE lost even more weight over a 4-month period.”

In other words, those doctors throughout the years…and especially negatively-biased Endocrinologists…who have outright proclaimed that NDT was….

ineffective
dangerous
inconsistent
unnecessary
“fill-in-the-blank”

…might want to eat a bit of the dirt from that potted plant in their office’s waiting room.

And what’s the “more to the story”??

In all probability, there were several patients who had either low iron or a cortisol problem—a common problem for many hypothyroid patients who’ve remained undiagnosed with their hypothyroidism. And with either or both, patients don’t do as well on NDT until they optimize either. And once they do, patients have soared on NDT, as reported for more than ten years!

Also, the TSH lab test was used in this study, and if patients are kept in the TSH “normal” range, they don’t do as well ! Dosing NDT should have NOTHING to do with a pituitary hormone lab result, we have learned over and over.

Bottom line: we might have seen that 48% much higher if the above had been recognized. But frankly, the results of this study are still POSITIVE and underscore what patients have already known and experienced for a long, long time!! Hooray!!

DO YOU HAVE SPANISH-SPEAKING FACEBOOK FRIENDS?

WIth the Spanish version of the Stop the Thyroid Madness book being out, I could use help in reaching folks who really don’t understand English well-enough to know why they are having problems with their thyroid treatment.

Please consider posting the following on your Facebook page to help reach your spanish-speaking friends from the misery of being undiagnosed or being on T4-only meds like Synthroid:

Pre-ordenar su copia de la versión española del libro DETENGAN LA LOCURA TIROIDEA: Una Revolución de Pacientes en Contra de Décadas de Mala Calidad !! http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/spanish/

EVEN WITH DAILY SUPPLEMENTATION, MY OWN VITAMIN D LEVEL FELL

I found myself with a Vit. D level of 45 two weeks ago. That was a shock considering I have been supplementing with 5000 IU’s almost daily and it was, in fact, lower that last time I checked. Sure, there have been intermittent periods where I would run out of my supplement, or forgot it on a vacation. But this was a drastic drop…considering. And my progressive doc wondered out loud if something is going on out there, as she’s seen this with several of her patients.

Granted, we know that one culprit which is huge for thyroid patients is low stomach acid. But are there other causes? Possibly.

In 2011, the National Center for Health Data reported on 9 reasons your D levels can fall. They include living in higher latitudes, pollution, having darker skin, obesity, and getting older. Two other important reasons include gut problems or kidney/liver issues. i.e. if your gut is compromised due to low stomach acid, Celiac, or any other digestive/absorption issues, you will probably need to keep a close watch on your levels and supplementation. And a stressed liver is not helping you either. That’s where doctors will test your ALT and AST to gauge the stress level of your liver.

For me, I’m back on 10,000 IU’s daily.

WANT TO SEE MORE MEDICAL STUDIES WHICH SUPPORT WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW?

STTM has a page showing several medical research studies which you might enjoy, and can use with your narrow-minded, research-obsessed doctor.

**Have you Liked the STTM Facebook page? You’ll get daily tips and information!

June 19th 2013 2 replies

Amazing things you should know concerning Stop the Thyroid Madness

Source: someecards.com via Janie on Pinterest

I, Janie, am not very political. I’m kinda private. I see myself as representing patients solely. And I don’t let my ego push me to play like I’m the only valuable thyroid patient advocate out there.

But…I can see the benefit in tooting the horn about Stop the Thyroid Madness! Because I think it inspires all of YOU to know what you are a part of when you use any groups associated with STTM, or the website, or the book.

1) The Stop the Thyroid Madness revolution began in spirit in in 2002. That was when I created the Yahoo group Natural Thyroid Hormones after my own life started to make a miraculous change. And we began talking…and talking…and talking. And from all the incredible things we were learning came the REAL Stop the Thyroid Madness, first appearing on the net in December 2005…and growing all the time to what you see right now.

2) The Stop the Thyroid Madness book has been sent to over 33 countries besides the United States since 2008 and in multiple amounts. That is from the publishing company stats from a year ago, and there’s probably more now. And that’s nothing to sneeze about and is satisfying that the message of successful patient experience is going far and wide. It’s also been the #1 rated thyroid book several times. And it’s now in German and Swedish with more translations coming.

3) The STTM website gets so many monthly hits (and has for a few years and keeps growing!!) that I am constantly forced to increase the hosting memory over and over to handle it all. This is why you may occasionally go to this site and it’s down–huge amount of hits at the same time. I keep trying to tackle it by increasing memory. And if YOU appreciate the website, please considering contributing to the burgeoning monthly hosting fees here.

4) Yahoo’s NTH (Natural Thyroid Hormones) group is now over 10,000 members and is the NUMBER ONE thyroid patient discussion group on Yahoo! It’s run by excellent moderators, ready and willing to give you excellent patient-to-patient experience information to consider.

6) Janie is also seeing more and more of the following:

Emails from doctors. Yes, I continue to get a steady stream of contacts from wonderful doctors who are more than willing to ask questions about patient experiences as laid out on STTM, and that is nothing but GOOD. They are listening, one by one, and we appreciate each of you for doing that. Sure, we still have to deal with other doctors who are narrow-minded, arrogant and just plain awful. But the growth of more open-minded doctors is impressive, and they will eventually crowd out the id-jits.
T4-only folks going downhill after a certain time of doing well. I know this outcome is hard to see when a T4-only treated thyroid patient feels they are doing well enough not to consider NDT, as if treatment is oh-so-individual. But sadly, when the failure of T4 hits, it can hit bad, like the young mother who did well for seven years on Synthroid, then came to me via phone coaching with the sudden misery of low cortisol. It had been creeping up all along. Or the 68 year old who also felt she did well for 21 years on T4, and now finds herself on three other meds (BP, statin and anti-depressant) and a lot of misery. She ignored for years what she saw coming…:(
Other websites in support of better thyroid diagnosis and treatment thanks to STTM. STTM’s content concerning successful patient experiences has clearly influenced the way certain things are written about on other websites and books, even if the authors of the content don’t give any credence to where it came from. But it’s clear where it came from! I’ve been doing this long enough to see the progression, and STTM’s content has clearly influenced a lot of what you see on other thyroid websites and groups.

Bottom line: I am proud, and I am excited. I’m excited how Stop the Thyroid Madness has been SO influential in educating patients, changing lives…and changing the way many doctors are practicing.

And I’m just as excited to see the ways others have been inspired to contribute their own websites and groups and energy to this worldwide thyroid patient revolution, especially those who recognize that WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER. i.e. it’s not just about one advocate or one website or one group. Someday, this entire thyroid patient movement…represented by many websites and groups….will be in history books as the most UNIQUE and INFLUENTIAL movement for change ever done.

Congratulations to ALL of us! Let’s continue to “Stop the Thyroid Madness” though all the variety of websites and groups!!

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* Send your BEFORE AND AFTER desiccated thyroid treatment photos here (or you before and after adrenal treatment, etc)

* Have fun with FLAT STTM!!

February 13th 2013 12 replies

Depression? High blood pressure? Weight gain? Need a nap? On a T4-only med like Synthroid? TEN RESULTS YOU NEED TO KNOW!

(This page was updated in 2015. Enjoy!)

STTM Thyroid Awareness Month January is THYROID AWARENESS MONTH, but no matter what month you are in, it pays to be an informed patient!

**A healthy thyroid, or the right treatment, will create the following TEN RESULTS:**

1) Bodily warmth

Because the active thyroid hormone T3 stimulates your metabolism is the right way, patients find themselves getting close to or at 98.6 F/ 37 C in the afternoons, plus warmer hands and feet.

2) Better mood

The right thyroid hormones increase neurotransmitter responsiveness in your brain (like serotonin), meaning it’s your natural anti-depressive…and depression is kicked to the wind.

3) The ability to concentrate

Just as they are anti-depressive, thyroid hormones promote better thought processing in your brain.

4) A healthy heart and blood pressure

Thyroid hormones play a strong role in the health of your cardiovascular system

5) Softer skin and better hair

The right thyroid hormones keep you moister, so you don’t have problems with dry hands, dry hair, eyebrow loss, hair thinning….etc.

6) Better weight maintenance

Your metabolism stays at a point where it’s easier to maintain your goal weight with healthy eating habits and exercise.

7) The ability to avoid naps

The right metabolism from the right thyroid hormones (after a good night’s sleep) keeps you awake and feeling fabulous even in the afternoons.

8) Healthy cholesterol

Thyroid hormones appear to have both an indirect and direct relationship to healthy cholesterol levels.

9) Easier and more regular bowel movements

Because of the extra moisture that the right amount of thyroid hormones give you, bowel movements are better, and constipation and hard stools belong to someone else.

10) A stronger immune system

Thyroid hormones play a direct role in the strength of your body’s ability to withstand infections and disease, or at the least, fight them quicker and more stronger if you do get sick.

So my friends, if anything above seems off to you, there are important things you need to do:

Find a doctor who will do the Free T3 and Free T4, NOT just the TSH. Just using the TSH lab test has kept many folks UNdiagnosed, or UNDERtreated.
Learn how to read those lab results here. Lab results have NOTHING do with just “falling in the range”.
Look into natural desiccated thyroid (NDT). It gives you all FIVE thyroid hormones, not just one left to depend upon like T4-only (aka Synthroid, Tirosent, Levothyroxine, Eltroxine, etc).
Find out about all problems associated with being left undiagnosed due to the TSH and undertreated due to T4-only meds, such as non-optimal levels of iron, high or low cortisol, low B12, depression and mental health issues, low Vitamin D and other problems. Any of these can also contribute to problems with the above ten results.
Order the revised STTM book. This is a compilation of successful patient experience and wisdom to help you achieve the above ten results. Learn from patients! Right now, it’s in ENGLISH, GERMAN, SPANISH AND SWEDISH.

**The above graphic was lovingly created by thyroid patient Marivia Gonzalez of Panama.

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* ADD A BLUE THYROID AWARENESS RIBBON to your Facebook profile pic here. It will end up on the lower right….

* Did you know there’s a STTM II book? Every chapter is written by medical practitioners! A great followup to the revised STTM book!

* Join the STTM Facebook page to get daily tips and inspiration!

January 4th 2013 31 replies

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: 2012 in perspective for thyroid patients worldwide

2012 represented my tenth year as an activist, which has given me great perspective of where we are today as to compared to where we were ten years ago. And it’s huge. We had NO Stop the Thyroid Madness compilation of successful patient experiences to learn from and very few patient groups. We’ve come a long way, baby and the fight for better thyroid treatment and wisdom continues!

To summarize, Clint Eastwood couldn’t have said it better as to the mix of what 2012 gave us as informed thyroid patients!

THE GOOD:

Armour returns to a softer tablet After Forest Labs disastrous reformulation of Armour natural desiccated thyroid in 2009, which made the tablets harder and caused a return of our hypothyroid symptoms, we started to see Armour tablets becoming softer again in mid-2012. And that meant we could choose to do Armour sublingually once again. In the meantime, this disaster allowed many patients to discover NP Thyroid by Acella, which has turned out to be a great product.
More doctors are getting it! I probably see this in a more widespread way than individual patients do thanks to all the emails I get, but it’s clear that a growing body of doctors are finally understanding the efficacy of natural desiccated thyroid and the idiocy of the TSH lab test in diagnosing and dosing NDT. Sure, the field of Endocrinology is still as backwards as it gets, as are many other doctors, but others are listening here or there. (But do note that even the best doctors aren’t caught up in other areas, so become informed and expect to guide them as to patient experience! STTM book helps you do that.)
STTM book now in German and Swedish I was proud and excited to offer these two translations to help spread the word to those who may not speak English.
Study being done comparing NDT with Synthroid Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland is doing a study, and seeking participants from the military, to compare the results of natural desiccated thyroid (which they call Natural Desiccated Extract or NDE, and will be Armour) and T4-only aka levothyroxine (and will be the infamous Synthroid). But there is a clear bad…..see below
Wichita, Kansas says no to Fluoride in their water. Considering that many of us suspect that the fluoride we are constantly exposed to could explain the huge influx of thyroid disease, this is extremely good news and we can only hope that other cities get this smart.
Thyroid Change In an attempt to unite all thyroid websites, leaders and focuses came this new website, Thyroid Change.

THE BAD:

John C. Lowe dies It was a terrible shock to lose this helpful medical professional in January due to the effects of a head injury the previous year. And his websites went with him for awhile due to probate. He will be sorely missed, as he was a champion for the use of NDT and understood SO much about better thyroid care.
The passing of Edna Kyrie Edna of the UK worked hard on the website Thyroid History, aka Thyroid Research, compiling everything she could find pertaining to thyroid research and science, even while dealing with the effects of MS (multiple sclerosis).
US now confiscates medications if they come into the country In July, Obama passed a bill called the FDA Safety and Innovation Act (S. 3187) which allows the government to destroy a package of personally imported drugs at their point of entry to the United States…even if some patients feel they need them when they can’t find any doctor wise enough to prescribe NDT, or enough NDT thanks to the poor use of the TSH lab test. And several patients have already had this happen to them.
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center study will sadly be using the TSH i.e. though it looks exciting to see a study comparing NDT to Synthroid, they are going “to keep TSH in normal range” (which for the majority can mean they are still hypothyroid) and aren’t even testing the FREE T3, just using the total T3, total T4, free T4, T3 resin uptake, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), and a lipid panel. Give me a break….

THE UGLY:

Professor honored in spite of stating that the majority of thyroid patients are mentally ill. In Scandinavia, the Novo Nordisk Foundation honored Anthony Weetman from the UK, despite the fact that this doctor has stated that the majority of thyroid patients have somatoform disorders, which means they are imagining their symptoms (i.e. think hypochondriac.)
91 year old New Zealand man first told he didn’t have a thyroid problem, then only got Synthroid I knew it was pretty bad in many other countries, but what happened to this dear now-91 year old man was extremely profound and sad.

Good thyroid patient discussion groups here.

Things we have learned here.

What’s new on STTM here.

What your Road to Recovery can look like here.

The revised STTM book here.

December 28th 2012 3 replies

Ladies: Hypothyroidism in pregnancy can be dangerous, says this woman who suffered a miscarriage

This Guest STTM blog post was written by hypothyroid mom Dana, who strongly feels that her miscarriage was due to her treatment with T4-only medications. She now has two healthy sons of which the second one came into the world after she switched to natural desiccated thyroid.

On a cold snowy day in New York City in early 2009, I lay on a medical exam table on what would be one of the worst days of my life. I had miscarried at 12 weeks and was preparing for a D&C. A technician had just taken an ultrasound and walked out of the room to confirm to the medical staff that my fetus had no heartbeat. I sprang off my bed and ran to the image on the screen. I felt my body shake and my fists clench as I stared at the image of my unborn child. What happened to my child?

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism following the birth of my first son in 2006. I trusted my doctors and followed their synthetic thyroid drug protocol to the letter …never once thinking they might not know everything there was to know about hypothyroidism. I trusted them as the experts especially when I became pregnant that second time.

In my first trimester, I was overcome by a sick, tired, weak feeling. I recall the night I told my husband, “I am worried that something is wrong with the baby.” My body was whispering a warning to me, but I trusted my doctors and didn’t question them when they responded that my thyroid levels were safe for pregnancy and that it was normal in early pregnancy to be tired. Somehow this “sick, tired, weak” feeling didn’t seem normal but I disregarded my body’s warning.

I would later learn that my Ivy League medical school trained and top awarded NYC doctors did not know enough about hypothyroidism especially as it related to pregnancy. Under their care my TSH soared far above the safe range for pregnancy and endangered my baby’s life. I miscarried at 12 weeks pregnancy.

A study presented June 2012 at The Endocrine Society’s 94^th Annual Meeting in Houston recommended that all pregnant women should undergo thyroid screening in the first trimester of pregnancy. The study was conducted on 1,000 pregnant women in their first trimester in Ludhiana in Punjab, India. According to the study’s lead author Jubbin Jagan Jacob, M.D.:

“The study found that even mild thyroid dysfunction could greatly increase the risk of serious problems. Women with mild thyroid dysfunction had double the risk of miscarriage, premature labor or low birth weight as compared to pregnant women with normal thyroid function. They also had seven times greater risk of still birth.”

In the Journal of Medical Screening, researchers in a large study of 9,400 pregnant women demonstrated that pregnant women with hypothyroidism had a second trimester miscarriage risk four times the risk of women who were not hypothyroid.

According to a 2008 study in the Indian Journal of Medical Sciences, hypothyroidism has a statistically significant relationship with recurrent pregnancy loss in the first trimester. According to researchers:

“Thyroid hormones are essential for the growth and metabolism of the growing fetus. Early in pregnancy the mother supplies her fetus with thyroid hormones. If the mother is hypothyroid, she cannot supply her fetus with enough thyroid hormones. Hence hypothyroidism is a risk factor for pregnancy loss.”

So why had I trusted my doctors unquestioningly?

My doctors tried to assure me there was no link between hypothyroidism and miscarriage, but my instincts told me they were wrong.

As the medical staff prepared me for my D&C that fateful day, the warrior mom came out of me. Don’t mess with my babies! I vowed that I would do everything in my power to research everything there was to know about this disease and warn women everywhere about the dangers. I would never trust my doctors unquestioningly ever again.

After 3 years of intense research and a quest to find the top thyroid health professionals, I am now in the best health ever. I changed to a great thyroid doctor who listened to my symptoms and discovered abnormally low free T3 levels despite my synthetic drug treatment. Thanks to a switch to the natural desiccated thyroid Nature-throid I am feeling great. I got pregnant naturally with my second son and gave birth to him in 2010. Dreams do come true for moms with hypothyroidism.

By Dana Trentini, creator of Hypothyroid Mom (http://hypothyroidmom.com).

You can read more about hypothyroidism and pregnancy in research here:

1. Endocrine Society (2012, June 23). Mild thyroid dysfunction in early pregnancy linked to serious complication. Newswise. Retrieved July 3, 2012 from http://www.newswise.com/articles/mild-thyroid-dysfunction-in-early-pregnancy-linked-to-serious-complications

2. Allan, W.C., J.E. Haddow, G.E. Palomaki, J.R. Williams, M.L. Mitchell, R.J. Hermos, J.D. Faix, R.Z. Klein. Maternal thyroid deficiency and pregnancy complications: implications for population screening. J Med Screen 2000; 7:127-130. Retrieved from http://171.66.127.126/content/7/3/127.full.pdf

3. Rao VR, Lakshmi A, Sadhnani MD. Prevalence of hypothyroidism in recurrent pregnancy loss in first trimester. Indian J Med Sci 2008;62:357-61. Retrieved from http://www.indianjmedsci.org/text.asp?2008/62/9/357/43122

HO! HO! HO! Did you know the Stop the Thyroid Madness book is now also in German and Swedish? You can order your copy as a Christmas present for your loved one or friend here.

Read about Pregnancy and Thyroid disease here.

November 28th 2012 37 replies

Tag: stop the thyroid madness