• About this site

Whew.

I go away for a few days on business, and when I get back, I find out that the site has been down the entire time! Turns out that the Domain name had expired, and notices of its impending expiration were being sent to an old, non-existent email address. Thus, I got no warnings and had no idea the domain name was about to expire. But we are back up…and they have my correct email address.

And by the posts of alarm by thyroid patients on several yahoo groups, one thing sure stood out: THIS IS AN IMPORTANT WEBSITE for thyroid patients. The information compiled here was sorely missed!

Why was it missed? Because the information on STTM is ground-breaking, by patients and for patients. It reflects the hard-earned, tough-learned knowledge of YOU against decades of a thyroid treatment THAT HAS BEEN AND IS WRONG and HAS KEPT THYROID PATIENTS SICK!!

Equally as important, STTM gives ground-breaking information on the common condition of adrenal fatigue and how to treat it. There is now a growing body of thyroid patients who have successfully weaned off their HC thanks to the information presented here!

Second, I discovered via a few emails that there are some VERY generous and kind thyroid patients out there. One gal thought that something had gone financially wrong, and she offered to completely host the site and work on it according to my direction. HOW NICE!!

But do know that everything WILL be paid for (and especially now that they have the correct email. lol) You can also be a part of the cost by contributing to the web hosting. See the HOSTING DONATIONS ACCEPTED button at the bottom of each page, or go here. That donations allows YOU to be a part of this important information revolution for thyroid patients, besides helping me as the individual who owns this site and doesn’t have a rich uncle.

And I think I will beat the dead horse in a new post above this one…in a few days.

I have waited to post again on my blog until the forums became officially closed, and today is that day. To read the full story, go here. And after you read that, you can rest assured! I have replaced the forums link, which was on the left side of any page, with this one, called TALK TO OTHERS. You will see other alternatives, from another forums similar to what we had here (with some of the same mods), to groups that are excellent for patient-to-patient information (and with some of the same mods–lol). Enjoy! And I will add more as I find them–groups that have an excellent understanding of what thyroid patients have learned.

Am I sad at the closing? Very. But with me being freed from the responsibility of the forums, I now have time for my private life, AND I have time to do other things for this site, and for thyroid patient advocacy.

But do NOT think that STTM’s heart has ceased to beat simply because our forums are gone!! What propelled me to create STTM is still the ENERGY of this website: namely, a place to educate patients as to WHY they feel lousy on T4-only meds, why certain labwork has NOT worked, and other issues that a large body of thyroid patients have had to face: adrenal problems. It was also created to STOP the thyroid madness of hundreds of millions of thyroid patients!

You will continue to see new articles, updates to old ones, and other activity in the future. And by the way, check out the SITE MAP for our new category: FAQ pages. We have an excellent one for adrenals, another one for hypopituitary, and one coming as I write this…for B-12.

Below is a comment made by Ted on the forums on this site, and it expresses his appreciation to the moderators who give back their time and information to other patients.

But what I also see is that it’s patting the back of thousands of you whom I observed…and whose experiences I used, besides my own, to create the energy and message of this patient site–that T4-only treatment has been a disaster, that dosing by the TSH and it’s dubious range is mostly a failure, that there are better labs your doctor can use, that desiccated thyroid is a better treatment choice, and that many patients have adrenal fatigue that needs to be addressed by their doctors!

By the way, I can’t believe the veritable treasure trove of information on this forum. I’ve learned more about my health status, and how to deal with it in one month here, than I’ve learned in the last 15 years of searching books and talking with doctors. It’s hard to argue with all the practical experience and hard-learned lessons found here, even for a hard-headed retired biochemist. All you moderators are to be congratulated for your tireless energy and willingness to listen (and respond) to what seems to be an ever-growing number of very sick people. THANK YOU ALL!!!!!

And oh how I thank Ted back for those wonderful words. The very purpose of this site, and of those that contribute, is to educate patients. And it appears to be working! And hopefully, that education is being carried to the doctor’s office, and in turn, creating the beginning of a MAJOR change in the way hypothyroid patients are diagnosed and treated. It’s long overdue.

Off and on, I hear about a particular individual who has criticized this site for being a “self-treatment” site. I can only chuckle in dismay at that kind of hollow criticism and misinformation. So I want to explain what this site is, and what it is not.

This site is here to tell the world that patients have figured out that T4-only treatment does NOT work (anymore than an elevator in a 50 story building, which only rises to the 5th floor, “works’), and neither does dosing by the TSH. It is here to tell hypothyroid patients that they are not crazy for feeling awful on thyroxine treatment–that their depression, lack of stamina compared to others, constipation, dry skin and hair, high cholesterol….and SO many other symptoms, is due to a lousy medication and a poor adherance to a bad lab called the TSH and total T4.

Additionally, this site is here to tell patients, and hopefully doctors who are willing to listen, what we have learned! We are passing along INFORMATION, which I would say is the MAIN emphasis of this site.

This site also makes it clear that patients here are only expressing opinions, and the information presented is NOT intended to replace the relationship and personal medical advice between the patient and his/her doctor. It is meant to counter BAD information out there, and to provide YOU the patient with information to bring to your doctor so you can receive BETTER care.

Additionally, this site continually refers to the page called HOW TO FIND A GOOD DOC. We want you to find a good doc!

And here’s what we are NOT: we are not a “self-treatment site”. Does that mean that folks who choose to self-treat can’t get good information here? Nope. They can. Because this is a site of information to empower thyroid patients. But this is not a site that pushes patients to self-treat. If anyone uses this information to self-treat, that is THEIR choice, and is at their OWN risk.

And I will state that I totally understand why some patients turn to self-treatment. They do it because they can’t find a doctor who will put them on Armour; or, they can’t find a doctor who will pay attention to their screaming symptoms when labs are “normal”; they can’t find a doctor who will stop dosing them by the TSH alone: they can’t find a doctor who will pay attention to the free T3; they can’t find a doctor who understands about sluggish adrenals………and so on. Thyroid patients are sick and tired of being sick and tired at the hands of particular doctors who haven’t, and don’t understand what is going on!! And I CANNOT, and WILL NOT, criticize that. This site will support those who want to find a doctor, and will support those who make the personal choice to self treat!

So, we are doing our best here to spread the word about a MUCH better medication and a better treatment for doctors to use with their patients, to help patients be MUCH better informed when they enter the door of their doctors, and to help patients find a MUCH better doctor through the page mentioned above. Here’s raising my glass to PATIENTS, and to DOCTORS willing to listen, because we have walked a path to a much better life..and we are hoping you are LISTENING.