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	<title>Stop The Thyroid Madness &#187; hypothyroidism</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/category/hypothyroidism/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com</link>
	<description>Thyroid Treatment Scandal and Hypothyroid Mistreatment</description>
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		<title>Senator John McCain&#8211;what in the HECK were you thinking?? Huh??</title>
		<link>http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/03/08/senator-john-mccain-what-the-heck-were-you-thinking/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/03/08/senator-john-mccain-what-the-heck-were-you-thinking/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:44:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Janie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[hypothyroidism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[anti-supplement bill]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[big pharma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[byron dorgan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[desiccated thyroid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dietary supplement health and education act]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dietary supplement safety act]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dr. john c. lowe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grape seed extract]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iodine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[john mccain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[selenium]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[statins]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[supplements]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[synthroidf]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/?p=4908</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Now let me start this post by saying that Senator John McCain and Senator Byron Dorgan&#8217;s anti-supplement bill&#8230;yes, a dim-wit ANTI-supplement bill&#8230;was squashed for now because he backed down thanks to plenty of public protest. 
And thank God, because it would have especially affected thyroid patients who have suffered thanks to Synthroid or other T4-only [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><a href="http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/wp/../images/McCain.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-4917" title="McCain" src="http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/wp/../images/McCain.jpg" alt="" width="91" height="115" /></a>Now let me start this post by saying that Senator John McCain and Senator Byron Dorgan&#8217;s anti-supplement bill&#8230;<em>yes, a dim-wit ANTI-supplement bill</em>&#8230;was squashed for now because he backed down thanks to plenty of public protest. </strong></p>
<p>And thank God, because it would have especially affected thyroid patients who have suffered thanks to Synthroid or other <a title="Why Synthroid or other T4 meds do NOT work" href="../../t4-only-meds-dont-work/">T4-only meds</a>, and are working diligently to regain their health with their freedom in choice of important supplements, besides <a title="All about natural desiccated thyroid" href="/natural-thyroid-101/">natural desiccated thyroid</a> and T3.  <em>Think selenium, iron, B-vitamins, Vit.  D, iodine, Grape Seed Extract, Isocort</em>, <em>St. Johns Wort, </em>and a slew of other supplements we freely and wisely take to undo the damage done to us by our <strong><a title="Why the TSH lab test is useless" href="/tsh-why-its-useless/">TSH</a>-and-T4-worshipping </strong>medical establishment.</p>
<p>In case you didn&#8217;t know, McCain sponsored a bill called the <em>The Dietary Supplement Safety Act (DSSA). </em>It would have nullified the protection of supplements from the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA). Those protected supplements are either those found in food without any chemical alteration, or those sold prior to 1994&#8230;i.e. it would somewhat stop the FDA from either banning those kind of supplements or reclassifying them as &#8220;drugs&#8221;.  And with the FDA being in a financial bed with Big Pharma, you betcha we would have seen those bans and reclassifications.</p>
<p>And what else might have happened? We would have lost our lower cost, safer, and more effective alternative to side-effect drugs. I have helped my husband lower his high cholesterol, high LDL and high triglycerides WITHOUT the nasty statins and WITH supplements.</p>
<p>I like how Dr. John C. Lowe put it in his latest <a href="http://www.drlowe.com/emailnewsletter/2010archive3.htm">newsletter</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>We appear to have won this time around. But a price we must pay for continuing freedom in our health care choices is to keep our noses in the air. Before long, the stench of Big Pharma&#8217;s greed will waft down upon us again in the form of some legislator&#8217;s bill. When it does, we must pay another price to keep our freedom: that is to organize once again and deliver a resounding &#8220;No!&#8221; to Congress.</p></blockquote>
<p>Want to read more about this?? Just google <em>&#8220;mccain&#8217;s supplement bill&#8221;</em> and get an eye-full.   And I hope to see you respond to this post with a list of IMPORTANT and LIFE CHANGING SUPPLEMENTS and how they are helping you.</p>
<p>*************************************</p>
<p>Are you from Europe and would like to see your own NTH group?? I&#8217;ve just started <a href="http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/NTHeurope/">NTH EUROPE</a> and if you live in Europe, you are invited to join.  Note that new groups can be slow to build, so put yourself on Daily Digest or Individual Emails and watch its growth.  We will be looking for level-headed moderators and your donation of good European information in the Files and Links.</p>
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		<slash:comments>22</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Gee golly: something positive associated with the makers of Synthroid??</title>
		<link>http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/03/05/something-positive-associated-with-the-makers-of-synthroid/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/03/05/something-positive-associated-with-the-makers-of-synthroid/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:31:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Janie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[hypothyroidism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[abbott laboratories]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[abbott labs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Armour]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[endocrinologists]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest labs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grace groner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hypothyroid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[naturethroid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RLC labs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[secret millionaire]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[synthroid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thyroid patients]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/?p=4880</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A large and growing body of hypothyroid patients have found out the hard way why they have felt like patooey crap for years&#8230;or at the very least, why they had pesky lingering symptoms of hypothyroidism:  being on Synthroid or any other T4-only med.  
And the anger many have felt about missed years of our [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/wp/../images/AbbottLabs.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-4889" title="AbbottLabs" src="http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/wp/../images/AbbottLabs.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="97" /></a>A large and growing body of hypothyroid patients have found out the hard way why they have felt like<strong> patooey crap</strong> for years&#8230;or at the very least, why they had pesky <a href="/long-and-pathetic/">lingering symptoms</a> of hypothyroidism:  <em>being on Synthroid or any other <a href="/t4-only-meds-dont-work/">T4-only med</a>. </em> <strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>And the anger many have felt about missed years of our lives because of such a lousy treatment has also translated to ill feelings towards a particular pharmaceutical: <em>Abbott Laboratories</em>.</strong> Abbott Labs has put hundreds of millions of dollars in what patients deem &#8220;brainwashing&#8221; of doctors, especially Endodrinologists, about Synthroid for years.</p>
<p>But I recently found a little news piece, in the form of the following video, which at least puts just a slight positive note to the term &#8220;Abbott Laboratories&#8221;, even if the name conjurs up a bit of nausea in the guts of informed thyroid patients:   <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8o-e-iLsUM">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8o-e-iLsUM</a> Hope you enjoy the irony of it the way I did.  lol. Her name was Grace Groner, the secret Millionaire.</p>
<p>**********************************************  <strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Getting older and becoming hypothyroid:</strong> Below this post, you&#8217;ll see information that can affect your parents, relatives, spouses and friends and how they may face the same run-around we have all had to deal with&#8212;the lousy <a href="/tsh-why-its-useless/">TSH lab test</a>, being put on all sorts of band-aid drugs like statins, anti-depressants, blood pressure meds and more, or being put on a T4 med like Synthroid.  Go <a href="http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/03/01/getting-older-and-hypothyroidism/">here.</a></p>
<p><strong>FDA and shortages:</strong> I also mention above about a recent statement by the FDA:  <em>Forest reports manufacturing issues involving the raw material and RLC reports increased demand. FDA has not ordered Forest or RLC to remove these thyroid (desiccated) tablets from the market.</em> A few patients are suspicious enough of the FDA to feel it means nothing.  Others, and I am one, have honestly felt like we simply had a shortage of desiccated thyroid, not a conspiracy by the FDA to remove it.  So I found that statement confirming, even if there can be more to the story. But time will tell.  <strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Naturethroid: </strong><a href="http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/02/20/heres-the-skinny-about-the-new-naturethroid/">Here</a> you can read information about this med returning to pharmacies around the country, and what might have changed in the tablets. Once again, pharmaceuticals are not telling us what is going on ahead of time, and it&#8217;s aggravating when we discover changes in our medications. <em>Thyroid patients do not care to be treated like buffoons. </em>I suspect that pharmaceuticals are guided to say so little because of legal advice. It&#8217;s still aggravating.  <strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Why do I rarely mention Armour anymore?</strong> Because it doesn&#8217;t seem worth my time since it was reformulated. Too many patients <em>continue</em> to report lingering symptoms, even occurring months after they thought they were doing great on it.  And too many report that after they switched to Erfa&#8217;s &#8220;Thyroid&#8221;, Naturethroid or compounded with acidolpholus as a filler,  they saw a resolution of those lingering symptoms.  <strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Another reason to improve your Vit. D levels: </strong>Research shows that low levels of Vit. D in your blood can result in increased fat deposits around your waist and other areas.  From the <a href="http://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/content/59/1/242.abstract">Diabetes Journal</a>.</p>
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		<title>It ain&#8217;t for sissies: getting older and hypothyroidism (plus FDA says it did NOT tell pharms to stop desiccated thyroid)</title>
		<link>http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/03/01/getting-older-and-hypothyroidism/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/03/01/getting-older-and-hypothyroidism/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:14:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Janie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[hypothyroidism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[aarp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adrenal fatigue]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cholesterol]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[depression]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[desiccated thyroid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fatigue]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hypothyroid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[naturethroid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[osteoporosis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ostepenia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[synthroid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tsh]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/?p=4826</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Yup, we&#8217;re all heading in the same direction&#8212;being just a tad older every single year and getting that first mailing from AARP.  Yup.
And getting older increases the incidence of thyroid disease.
Even worse, those who acquire it at an older age are probably going to go through the same bunk and bull those younger have gone [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/wp/../images/OldLadyWithFist.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-4847" title="OldLadyWithFist" src="http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/wp/../images/OldLadyWithFist.jpg" alt="" width="145" height="150" /></a>Yup, we&#8217;re all heading in the same direction&#8212;being just a <em>tad</em> older every single year and getting that first mailing from AARP.  Yup.</p>
<p>And getting older increases the incidence of thyroid disease.</p>
<p>Even worse, those who acquire it at an older age are probably going to go through the same <em>bunk and bull</em> those younger have gone through&#8211;having <em>depression, rising cholesterol, osteoporosis or ostepenia, weight gain, easy fatigue, couch potato syndrome, dry skin and hair, plus <a href="/long-and-pathetic/">more</a>&#8211;</em>-all classic symptoms of undiagnosed or undertreated hypothyroidism.</p>
<p>But older folks are told it&#8217;s all just part of aging so here&#8217;s your latest tablet for your handy-dandy Wal Mart pill box.</p>
<p>I recently found a great blog by Pam whose Feb. 23rd, 2010 post is titled Older Women and Low Thyroid. She turned 65 in 2009 <em>(and she looks a lot younger)</em> and writes how she found herself with hypothyroid at a later age as well.  And Pam is WAY ahead of the game in her knowledge. She understands that most older folks are put on <a title="How Synthroid or other T4 meds don't work" href="/t4-only-meds-dont-work/">Synthroid</a> (which can be a lousy way to treat hypothyroidism for many), that getting older means conversion from T4 to T3 can be more difficult,  that being on <a title="All about natural desiccated thyroid" href="/natural-thyroid-101/">desiccated thyroid</a> or T3-only just might be the better treatment, and you can get <a title="low cortisol" href="/adrenal-info/">adrenal fatigue</a> at an older age as well (thanks to poor treatment with <a title="Why T4-only is a lousy treatment" href="/t4-only-meds-dont-work/">T4</a>, the <a title="Why the TSH lab test is useless" href="/tsh-why-its-useless/">TSH</a> lab test, or being <a title="Mistakes patients make on desiccated thyroid" href="/mistakes-patients-make/">underdosed</a> even on desiccated thyroid).</p>
<p>You can read Pam&#8217;s post <a href="http://weightvest4osteoporosis.com/blog/2010/02/older-women-and-low-thyroid/">here</a>, as well as about the phone call from her friend who is 50 lbs overweight, has brain fog, is out of work, has no energy&#8230;and voila&#8211;is on Synthroid so it can&#8217;t POSSIBLY be her thyroid. Sad. In fact, what has happened to Pam&#8217;s friend is what I keep stating to those who feel they are just doing peachy on T4: <em>watch out, because as you age, the truth about T4 will reveal itself!</em></p>
<p>Pam, I love your blog posts, and I&#8217;m going to hope to see more of those in the &#8220;venerable age range&#8221; be just as wise as you are!!</p>
<p>**********************************************</p>
<p><strong>FDA HAS MADE A STATEMENT ABOUT NATURAL DESICCATED THYROID: </strong> Just before I was going to plop into my bed for the evening, I checked my notifications to discover that right on the FDA website and their <a title="Drug Shortages, including desiccated thyroid" href="http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/DrugShortages/ucm050792.htm#thyroid">2010 Drug Shortages</a> page (3rd column up from bottom), it states: <em>Forest reports manufacturing issues involving the raw material and RLC reports increased demand. FDA has not ordered Forest or RLC to remove these thyroid (desiccated) tablets from the market. </em>BINGO. I&#8217;ve been waiting for this for months, because though websites and groups were formed last year as if we needed to &#8220;rescue&#8221; desiccated thyroid from being banned, I couldn&#8217;t join the fearful rally of a few because my gut was telling me something quite different.  And a few others, I discovered, had the same feeling.  And hooray! Our guts were right on!</p>
<p>Does this mean the FDA &#8220;gets it&#8221; about desiccated thyroid? Maybe, or maybe not. Yes, their timing WAS awful last year with Time Caps Labs, right when we were starting a shortage. And there does appear to be some kind of <a title="The FDA stance from the beginning to now" href="http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/desiccated-thyroid-unapproved-drug/">future requirement</a> &#8220;proving&#8221; the safety and efficacy of dess. thyroid&#8211;two things we ALREADY KNOW from 110 years of safe and effective use. <em>Duhhh on the FDA.</em> But it&#8217;s FAR more hopeful now, and <em>realistic</em>, and will hopefully promote more reasonable thinking from now on.</p>
<p>Onward and upward, folks.</p>
<p>***************************************</p>
<p>Naturethroid is coming back in pharmacies all over the US! See the blog post below or <a href="http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/02/20/heres-the-skinny-about-the-new-naturethroid/">here</a> for information about  the &#8220;new&#8221; Naturethroid.</p>
<p>(If you are reading this via the Newsletter email notification, just click on the title of this blog post to come directly to the site where you can Comment).</p>
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		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Here&#8217;s the skinny about the &#8220;new&#8221; Naturethroid: the good, the bad, and the curious</title>
		<link>http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/02/20/heres-the-skinny-about-the-new-naturethroid/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/02/20/heres-the-skinny-about-the-new-naturethroid/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Feb 2010 19:52:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Janie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[hypothyroidism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[naturethroid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Armour]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[desiccated thyroid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dr lowe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[john c. lowe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[methylcellolose]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[microcrystalline cellulose]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RLC labs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[stephanie buist]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[t3]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/?p=4785</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As the one grain tabs of Naturethroid desiccated thyroid by RLC Labs are hitting pharmacy shelves again all across the nation here and there after the recent shortages and the sad reformulation of Armour,  and patients are starting to use the new Naturethroid, we are gathering some good information, both anecdotal and factual:

The typical smell [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/wp/../images/PigswithEarUp7.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-4804" title="PigswithEarUp" src="http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/wp/../images/PigswithEarUp7.jpg" alt="" width="175" height="135" /></a>As the one grain tabs of Naturethroid desiccated thyroid by RLC Labs are hitting pharmacy shelves again all across the nation here and there after the recent shortages and the sad reformulation of Armour,  and patients are starting to use the new Naturethroid, we are gathering some good information, both anecdotal and factual:</p>
<ul>
<li>The typical smell of desiccated porcine is less intense with the new tablets. We have no idea why.</li>
<li>The tablets are now stamped with RLC on one side, and N over 1 on the other, whereas before you&#8217;d see just NT1 or a reference to the fact that Time Caps Labs (TCL) used to make Naturethroid for RLC Labs</li>
<li>The package insert is no longer inside the bottle but stuck on top of the cap</li>
<li>Lot number info used to be on the edge of the label running vertically, whereas now, it runs along the bottom of the label  under the ingredients.</li>
</ul>
<p>One grain is still 65 mg, with the T3 content being at 9 mcg and the T4 content being at 38 mcg.  The T2, T1 and calcitonin still unmeasured.</p>
<p>There are filler/inactive ingredients which have changed:</p>
<ul>
<li>Calcium filler has moved up from 16 mg to 17 mg (calcium binds thyroid, but you just take more. Don&#8217;t swallow it with milk, please.)</li>
<li>The old contained Magnesium,  Potassium, and Sodium (each at less than 1 mg), whereas in the new, potassium is now removed</li>
<li><strong>And here&#8217;s the best part: </strong>the old NT had Hydropropyl <em>Methyl</em>cellulose&#8211;that&#8217;s the larger size cellulose structure which we know binds some of the thyroid hormones. Now, the new NT has <em>Micro</em>crystaline Cellulose, the smaller size. (Too bad we can&#8217;t see all cellulose removed!)</li>
</ul>
<p>Below are the new NT fillers, which are identical to the old except for the cellulose change:</p>
<blockquote><p>Carnaba Wax,  Colloidal Silicon Dioxide, Dicalcium Phosphate, Hypromellose, Lactose  Monohydrate, Magnesium Stearate, Microcrystaline Cellulose, Polyethylene Glycol  (PEG)-400, Sodium Starch Glycolate, Stearic Acid.</p></blockquote>
<p>Most all the above comes courtesy of Stephanie Buist, owner of the Iodine group on Yahoo and thyroid and adrenal patient and advocate.  Thank you, Steph!  You can read about the fillers <a href="/armour-vs-other-brands/">here</a> by scrolling down.</p>
<p><em>Oh and by the way, the new tablets are now scored. A helpful addition!</em></p>
<p>In patient groups, we are seeing a variety of experiences with the new Naturethroid.  Most folks seem happy with it so far, and even some report it seems a tad stronger than the old (the cellulose change may have caused that). Occasionally, someone will report problems, but they appear to be from underdosing or a potential RT3 problem which has arisen and needs treatment with T3-only.  Changing brands can also bring different reactions, so you have to wiggle the dosage around sometimes to find your sweet spot once again.</p>
<p>All in all, it looks good.</p>
<p>P.S. If you are reading this via the Newsletter Notification, just click on the above link to put yourself right on the actual blog post if you want to comment. Let&#8217;s gather all our experiences with the new Naturethroid.</p>
<p>********************************************</p>
<p><strong>If you missed the last internet radio Thyroid Patient Community Call with Dr. Kent Holtorf, you missed a VERY good one.</strong> Thank you Dr. Holtorf for excellent information. But good news! All the shows are recorded.  Just go to the following link, scroll down, and you can click on any past interviews, including two with Dr.  John C. Lowe and a great one with Endocrinologist Dr Pepper&#8211;one of a rare breed of open-minded Endos.  (I&#8217;ve also stopped doing my long intro&#8217;s about me in the last two, figuring if someone wants to know, they can go to the About Me page, or read the Introduction in the book which has even more detail. lol.)</p>
<p><a href="http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=62603&amp;amp;cmd=tc">http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=62603&amp;amp;cmd=tc</a></p>
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		<slash:comments>11</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Did you set your cell phone alarm? Reminded yourself with a note?</title>
		<link>http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/02/16/did-you-set-your-cell-phone-alarm/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/02/16/did-you-set-your-cell-phone-alarm/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Feb 2010 03:51:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Janie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[hypothyroidism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dr. Kent Holtorf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[holtorf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kent holtorf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reverse T3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RT3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[synthroid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[talkshoe]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/?p=4769</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ Just one more reminder here: this Wednesday night on Talkshoe, I&#8217;ll be interviewing a courageous doctor, Kent Holtorf, MD, who is making a stand for far better hypothyroid treatment that goes beyond the TSH lab test and T4 alone like Synthroid, et al.  He is also a medical professional who has played a huge [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/wp/../images/KentHoltorf2.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-4775" title="KentHoltorf2" src="http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/wp/../images/KentHoltorf2.jpg" alt="" width="135" height="104" /></a> Just one more reminder here: this Wednesday night on Talkshoe, I&#8217;ll be interviewing a courageous doctor, <strong>Kent Holtorf, MD</strong>, who is making a stand for far better hypothyroid treatment that goes beyond the TSH lab test and T4 alone like Synthroid, et al.  He is also a medical professional who has played a huge role in educating us about RT3 , aka Reverse T3. This is a man you&#8217;ll want to get to know, because I have a strong feeling he&#8217;s going to gain even more media attention because of his courageous stands!</p>
<blockquote><p><strong>Join us as I chat with him about the recent Today Show piece where an Endo said he was simply &#8220;laying on of hands&#8221;, this WEDNESDAY, FEB. 17th at 6 pm Pacific, 7 pm Mountain, 8 pm Central, and 9 pm Eastern, right on your computer&#8217;s audio on STTM&#8217;s Talkshoe Call webpage (below). Call in to ask questions, too. MARK YOUR CALENDER! SET YOUR CELL PHONE ALARM! This is one introduction that I&#8217;m going to have fun with, don&#8217;t ya think??</strong></p></blockquote>
<p><a href="http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=62603&amp;amp;cmd=tc">http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=62603&amp;amp;cmd=tc</a></p>
<p><strong>Want to learn more about him to better appreciate this Community Call?<br />
</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>His clinic&#8217;s website: <a href="http://www.holtorfmed.com/">http://www.holtorfmed.com/</a></li>
<li>About him: <a href="http://www.fibro360.com/dr-kent-holtorfs-story.htm">http://www.fibro360.com/dr-kent-holtorfs-story.htm</a></li>
<li>His new website targeted to doctors: <a href="http://nahypothyroidism.org/">http://nahypothyroidism.org/</a></li>
<li>His info about RT3: <a href="http://www.holtorfmed.com/topics/thyroid/reverse-t3-is-the-best-measurement-of-tissue-thyroid-levels">http://www.holtorfmed.com/topics/thyroid/reverse-t3-is-the-best-measurement-of-tissue-thyroid-levels</a></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p>***************************************<br />
<strong>Have something to say? Use the Comment function at the bottom of this blog post. If you are reading this via the Newsletter email notification, just click on the title of this blog post to take you directly to the actual blog post. </strong></p>
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		<item>
		<title>Guess who I&#8217;m going to be talking with next week on Talkshoe??</title>
		<link>http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/02/10/guess-who-im-going-to-be-talking-to/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/02/10/guess-who-im-going-to-be-talking-to/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 11 Feb 2010 04:33:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Janie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[hypothyroidism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dr. Kent Holtorf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[endocrinologist]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eola force]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hypothyroid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[national academy of hypothyroidism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NBC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sttm blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Today show]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tsh]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tsh lab test]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/?p=4734</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you read my recent blog post about it (click on link below or just scroll down on the STTM blog), or if you saw NBC&#8217;s Today Show, you&#8217;ll know that Dr. Kent Holtorf correctly diagnosed a clearly-hypothyroid woman, Nurse Practitioner Eola Force, by not going just by the TSH, and changed her life. He [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If you read my recent blog post about it (click on link below or just scroll down <a href="http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/wp/../images/holtorf2.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-4737" title="holtorf2" src="http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/wp/../images/holtorf2.jpg" alt="" width="89" height="107" /></a>on the STTM blog), or if you saw NBC&#8217;s Today Show, you&#8217;ll know that Dr. Kent Holtorf correctly diagnosed a clearly-hypothyroid woman, Nurse Practitioner Eola Force, by not going <em>just</em> by the TSH, and changed her life. He was criticized by an Endocrinologist as having <em>“no real scientific basis”</em>&nbsp; for what he does in his practice, and it was equivalent to the <em>“laying on of hands”.</em>&nbsp; (chuckle)</p>
<p><a href="http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/01/28/endocrinologists-tsh-lab-test/">http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/01/28/endocrinologists-tsh-lab-test/</a></p>
<p><strong>Well, it&#8217;s time to hear what Dr. Holtorf has to say!</strong></p>
<p>Join us as I chat with him about this incident next <strong>WEDNESDAY, FEB. 17th</strong> at 6 pm Pacific, 7 pm Mountain, 8 pm Central, and 9 pm Eastern, right on your computer&#8217;s audio on STTM&#8217;s Talkshoe Call webpage (below). Call in to ask questions, too. MARK YOUR CALENDER! SET YOUR CELL PHONE ALARM! This is one introduction that I&#8217;m going to have fun with, don&#8217;t ya think??<strong><br />
</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=62603&amp;cmd=tc">http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=62603&amp;cmd=tc</a></p>
<p>***Note that we moved it to Wednesday nights. That should help with any dropped calls that were happening on busy Thursdays.</p>
<p>By the way,  Dr. Holtorf recently launched his new <a href="http://nahypothyroidism.org/">website</a>, called <em>The Non-Profit National Academy of Hypothyroidism</em> in an attempt to reach doctors about <em>appropriate diagnosis and treatment of hypothyroidism, </em>which patients know does NOT include just the lousy <a href="/tsh-why-its-useless/">TSH lab test</a>.  Will doctors, and especially Endocrinologists, ever figure out this clear and easy truth?  Don&#8217;t we hope so.</p>
<p><strong>Have something to say? Use the Comment function at the bottom of this blog post. If you are reading this via an email notification, just click on the title of this blog post to take you directly to the actual blog post. </strong></p>
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		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>This and that&#8211;an array of interesting info for your thyroid pleasure</title>
		<link>http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/02/08/this-and-that/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/02/08/this-and-that/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:10:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Janie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[+Audience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[goitrogens]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hypothyroidism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adrenal fatigue]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Armour]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[erfa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ferritin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[free t3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green powder]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hypothyroid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural desiccated thyroid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[naturethroid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Peter Gott]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[synthroid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vitamin d]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/?p=4708</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;ve been distracted the past week, having to do extensive research and traveling to find the perfect &#8220;new used car&#8221;.
Then I caught a cold from hell&#8211;rare for me.  I was taking zinc and Vit. C. But a good friend reminded me about Vit. D and it&#8217;s immune enhancing effect. OMG, I forgot about it!  So [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/wp/../images/IMG_20071.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-4722" title="IMG_2007" src="http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/wp/../images/IMG_20071-150x104.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="104" /></a>I&#8217;ve been distracted the past week, having to do extensive research and traveling to find the perfect &#8220;new used car&#8221;.</p>
<p>Then I caught a cold from hell&#8211;rare for me.  I was taking zinc and Vit. C. But a good friend reminded me about <strong>Vit. D and it&#8217;s immune enhancing effect.</strong> OMG, I forgot about it!  So later last night, I took what I thought was 12,000 IU on the first night of being sicker than a dog.  They say to take 1000 mg per 10 lbs of weight. Turned out the gel caps were not 1000 IU each, as I thought, but 2000 IU each. So I ended up taking 22,000 IU.  lol. But the long and short of it is this: though I woke up this morning quite tired and weak, I&#8217;ve slowly gotten better all day!! My congestion has hugely improved.  Read this: <a href="http://pandemicsurvivor.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/eliminate-the-common-cold/">http://pandemicsurvivor.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/eliminate-the-common-cold/</a></p>
<p><strong>Love your green powder drink?</strong> Just a word of caution: much of what is in many of those powdered greens are <a href="/goitrogen/">goitrogens</a>, which inhibit thyroid production, such as wheat grass, barley grass, broccoli, spinach,  cabbage, maca and spinach, plus much more. But that doesn&#8217;t mean you can&#8217;t use the green powder. You&#8217;ll just have to be sure to use it in moderation, and not consume too many other goitrogen foods each and every day. Or, raise your thyroid meds.</p>
<p><strong>Dr. Peter Gott can give even better information to readers. </strong>I noticed that a <a href="http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?subjectid=359&amp;articleid=20100205_17_D4_DearDr428231">column</a> on the Tulsa website by Peter Gott, MD of the Newspaper Enterprise Association  could have given different information to a distressed reader who couldn&#8217;t find Armour anywhere.  He recommended to this reader, who already stated that Synthroid is not a well-handled treatment, to see if her physician could <em>&#8220;alter the Synthroid dosage to find a level&#8221;</em>&nbsp; that could be tolerated.  Actually, there are far better options during this backordered time, which I have compiled <a href="/options-for-thyroid-treatment/">here</a>, and includes Erfa&#8217;s Thyroid and more.</p>
<p><strong>Naturethroid is appearing in pharmacies!</strong> Yup, patients are reporting it! No, it&#8217;s not all pharmacies. But you might want to call and see if YOUR local pharmacy has it. Otherwise, it&#8217;s coming.  For options during the current natural desiccated thyroid shortages, go <a href="/options-for-thyroid-treatment/">here.</a> To see why we are where we are today, read <a href="/desiccated-thyroid-unapproved-drug/">this</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Is there research to prove having a free T3 in the upper quarter of the range when on desiccated thyroid?? </strong>A gal emailed me, wanting studies to show her doc. But unfortunately, the answer appears to be no. Instead, this is what patients all over thyroid groups discovered from their lab results when they were feeling fabulous again with no lingering symptoms.  So we simply spread the word. Patient experiences DO count for something.  P.S. <a href="/medical-research/">Here&#8217;s</a> an ongoing list of research that DOES prove some things patients KNOW first hand.  And by the way, when you have a high free T3 and continuing symptoms, time to do labs for <a href="/ferritin/">ferritin</a> and <a href="/adrenal-info/">adrenal fatigue</a>.</p>
<p><strong>By using a code, you can save on labs from HealthcheckUSA. </strong>I was informed from HealthcheckUSA that many patients were forgetting to mention the discount code. So look again, and be sure and use it from the <a href="/recommended-labwork/">Recommended Labwork</a> page.</p>
<p><strong>Janie on radio shows, and a great guest for the upcoming Talkshoe Thyroid Patient Community Call. </strong>Can&#8217;t say much more, because it&#8217;s in the works. Watch for announcements soon.</p>
<p><strong>A new way to be informed of these thyroid posts. </strong>The former Notifixious notifications went out of business. But we have a new and GOOD one, referring to the notification as a newletter, and you can sign up free and with no strings attached.  See on left below on the links. <img src='http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/wp/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' />   Also, there are many more important posts right below this.</p>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Will the FDA be more transparent for thyroid patients? We&#8217;ll see.</title>
		<link>http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/01/12/will-the-fda-be-more-transparent/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/01/12/will-the-fda-be-more-transparent/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 12 Jan 2010 20:49:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Janie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[hypothyroidism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[aspirin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[clinical trials]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dr lowe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[food and drug administration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[naturethroid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new drug application]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RLC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[talkshoe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thyroid patients]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[westhroid]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/?p=4488</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A press release just came out stating that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has &#8220;unveiled the first phase of its Transparency Initiative which is designed to explain agency operations, how it makes decisions, and the drug approval process.&#8221; 
Of course, this doesn&#8217;t mean thyroid patients can stop what seems like an inane decision [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-4494" title="TransparencyFDA" src="http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/wp/../images/TransparencyFDA.jpg" alt="TransparencyFDA" width="159" height="175" />A <a href="http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm197222.htm">press release</a> just came out stating that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has<em> &#8220;unveiled the first phase of its Transparency Initiative which is designed to explain agency operations, how it makes deci</em>sions, <em>and the drug approval process.&#8221; </em></p>
<p>Of course, this doesn&#8217;t mean thyroid patients can stop what seems like an inane decision to require makers of desiccated thyroid to &#8220;prove&#8221; , via expensive clinical trials, that it&#8217;s a safe and effective medication. RLC Labs, for example, the makers of Naturethroid and Westhroid, will be affected.  Over 110 years of patient use, with 70 years by RLC, certainly reveal it&#8217;s a safe and effective treatment. But at least this transparency initiative will &#8220;potentially&#8221;  give us better information about the process. We&#8217;ll see.</p>
<p><strong>About the upcoming Part 2 with Dr. Lowe (see the blog post right below this):</strong> Some folks were booted off last Thursday and had to quickly get back on. The problem is when you get back on, you may lose your ability to chat.  i.e. the system stops the chat ability once there are 300 individuals already on the chat.  You can listen, but you can&#8217;t chat after 300 are on.</p>
<p>So there are three things you can do to prevent being booted off and having to get back on:  first, make sure you have closed anything else on your computer&#8211;i.e only Talkshoe should be up. Second, make sure no other programs are running in the background, or will come on, like your anti-virus, and 3) ahead of time, download Live Pro from Talkshoe and use that. It&#8217;s more stable.</p>
<p>I, in turn, will be doing a strategy to strengthen this call from boots.  Additionally, if necessary, some who aren&#8217;t chatting out of the first 300 will have their option changed to no-chat to allow those who came in latter to do it.  It&#8217;s not personal because I don&#8217;t know who a lot of you are. It&#8217;s just spreading the ability into the call.</p>
<p><strong>Do you take regular aspirin? </strong>Just as we warn about swallowing your meds when you have just eaten anything with calcium, iron or estrogen (they bind the thyroid hormones), you need to be aware that <a title="Variable Effects of Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Agents on Thyroid Test Results " href="http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/88/12/5710">aspirin</a> can have a negative affect on your thyroid levels, as well.  i.e. though it may help lower high thyroid levels, it&#8217;s not good for your thyroid treatment if you regularly take it.</p>
<p><strong>How did we get to where we are with the FDA&#8217;s actions towards desiccated thyroid today?</strong> Go <a title="Timeline of FDA to todays issue with dess. thyroid" href="http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/desiccated-thyroid-unapproved-drug/">here</a>.</p>
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		<item>
		<title>Dr. Lowe wants to talk to you more directly this Thursday&#8211;post your questions here!</title>
		<link>http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/01/11/dr-lowe-wants-to-talk-to-you/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/01/11/dr-lowe-wants-to-talk-to-you/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:29:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Janie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[hypothyroidism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[autoimmune]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[community call]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dr lowe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dr. john c. lowe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drlowe.com]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fibro]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fibromyalgia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hashimotos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iodine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[john c. lowe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[john lowe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lab test]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[metabolism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[t3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[talkshoe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thyroid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thyroid disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thyroid patient]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thyroidscience.com]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tsh]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tsh lab test]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/?p=4477</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Please note: Dr. Lowe is NOT an MD or DO who see&#8217;s patients and can prescribe. He&#8217;s a thyroid and fibro &#8220;researcher&#8221; with good knowledge about T3,  fibro, metabolism, supplements etc. Many questions have been coming in which are already answered on STTM, or are more targeted to a practicing physician, not a researcher. FYI.
 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-4480" title="Dr.JohnCLowe" src="http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/wp/../images/Dr.JohnCLowe3.jpg" alt="Dr.JohnCLowe" width="117" height="150" /></strong></p>
<address>Please note: Dr. Lowe is NOT an MD or DO who see&#8217;s patients and can prescribe. He&#8217;s a thyroid and fibro &#8220;researcher&#8221; with good knowledge about T3,  fibro, metabolism, supplements etc. Many questions have been coming in which are already answered on STTM, or are more targeted to a practicing physician, not a researcher. FYI.<br />
 <img src='http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/wp/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </address>
<address> </address>
<address><strong>1-14-08: COMMENTS with your QUESTIONS ARE NOW CLOSED TO POSTING.  There are more than he can answer right now.</strong> <strong>See you tonite!</strong><br />
</address>
<p><strong>On the heels of an informative </strong><strong>and wonderful THYROID PATIENT COMMUNITY CALL on Talkshoe last week with Dr. John C. Lowe (see posts below), we&#8217;re going to do it again this coming Thursday, January 14th.  Join us for Part 2! </strong></p>
<p>Dr. Lowe is a fibromyalgia, thyroid, and metabolism researcher who has always been such a champion for better diagnosis and treatment in thyroid patients. He is Editor-in-Chief of the open access journal <a href="http://www.thyroidscience.com/">www.thyroidscience.com</a> as well as his own <a href="http://www.drlowe.com">www.drlowe.com</a></p>
<p><em>And this time, Dr. Lowe is going to spend more time answering  your specific questions.</em> Check out his websites above to get an idea what his expertise is, which includes the use of T3,  Hashimotos autoimmune thyroid disease, iodine, fibromyalgia, the tyranny of the TSH lab test, good supplements, the FDA, and more.</p>
<p>So here&#8217;s your chance: <strong><em>think of one or two questions you&#8217;d like to hear him answer.</em></strong> Please, if you have more more than two,  narrow them down to the two most important, and keep them <em>brief</em>.  No exceptions. Two max only, and brief.  Then use the Comments below to post them.  Be sure and check out if your questions have already been asked in other comments.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ll be collecting the questions ahead of time and will let him preview them. He wants to give you his best.</p>
<p><strong>TIPS ABOUT TALKSHOE:</strong> Some reported being booted off and having to quickly rejoin. One step that may help is to download the Talk Shoe Live Pro ahead of time (takes 25 minutes for some) and use that software during the call, since it gives you far more stability.  Also, make SURE you have everything else closed and/or not running on your computer at the same time you are in the Talkshoe call. I will also be chatting with Talkshoe support and will get more ideas.</p>
<p>Also, don&#8217;t wait until the call occurs to mention your question. We found it difficult to try collecting them on the Chat. Ask now!!</p>
<p>Yes, you can also call in live during the Call, but it&#8217;s good to first let me know your question here.</p>
<p>And finally, at a certain point of those who join (after 300 on chat), Talkshoe participants are automatically unable to post on the chat. You can listen, but no chatting. So if you want to chat, join as soon as the Call opens up, which is 15 minutes before the actual audio begins. Times for the audio are 9 pm Eastern, 8 pm Central, 7 Mountain, and 6 pm Pacific.</p>
<blockquote><p><strong>The Stop the Thyroid Madness Talkshoe page: <a href="http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=62603&amp;cmd=tc">http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=62603&amp;cmd=tc</a></strong></p></blockquote>
<p>********************<br />
<em><strong>See the blog post below those about Lowe for a very insightful <a href="/writing-a-guest-blog-post-on-sttm/">Guest Blog Post</a> by Amy about her role as an Undercover Thyroid Advocate. Below that, you can read how I was wrong about what it was like to be thyroidless, and several great comments. </strong></em></p>
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		<item>
		<title>Confessions of an Undercover Thyroid Advocate</title>
		<link>http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/01/01/confessions-of-an-undercover-thyroid-advocate/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2010/01/01/confessions-of-an-undercover-thyroid-advocate/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 01 Jan 2010 23:37:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Janie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[hypothyroidism]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/?p=4397</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The following guest blog post is written by Amy McMullen, who had undiagnosed &#38; symptomatic hypothyroidism for 20 years due to the sole use of the TSH, resulting in multiple health problems. She is now treating per the guidelines on STTM including T3 for thyroid hormone resistance, adrenal support, and desiccated thyroid.
 I found her story [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>The following guest blog post is written by Amy McMullen, who had undiagnosed &amp; symptomatic hypothyroidism for 20 years due to the sole use of the TSH, resulting in multiple health problems. She is now treating per the guidelines on STTM including T3 for thyroid hormone resistance, adrenal support, and desiccated thyroid.</em></p>
<p><em> I found her story below as an undercover advocate fascinating,  and think Amy is caring and committed,  in spite of severe restrictions!</em> <em>Bless you, Amy. </em></p>
<p>I spend an inordinate amount of time these days contributing to a well-known online thyroid disorders forum I’ll call &#8220;Thyroid Health Forum&#8221; (not its real name).</p>
<p>It’s a tricky forum with draconian rules: they don’t allow you to post any links to resources, talk about where you get your online labs done, include quotes from studies, or post any names of thyroid advocates. You can’t use a username you’ve used on any other forums and you can’t mention using their personal messaging system.</p>
<p>I’ve received a few “infractions” from the ever-vigilant board “administrators” and “moderators” (never could color inside the lines, I guess) and have been warned to never, under any circumstances, use the words “Stop the Thyroid Madness” or any references to this website or book in my posts.</p>
<p>At more than one point I was ready to walk away and just give up on it.  How can you share your experiences when there were so many rules that seemed designed to inhibit a free flow of information, to the point of not being allowed to mention the title of a good book by name or type in the word Google?</p>
<p>But I would read the following posts submitted by desperate people and this would keep me coming back to try, somehow, to help:</p>
<ul>
<li> “Hi, my doctor says my labs are all normal but I’ve got so many symptoms, I can hardly function…”</li>
<li> “My doctor says that free T3 and free T4 testing is not useful, that my TSH is normal and that unless my TSH is high he won’t order any antibody tests…”</li>
<li> “My doctor says that my TSH is too low and wants me to cut back on my thyroid hormones, but I know I will start feeling bad if I do this… Help!”</li>
<li> “I am taking Synthroid but I feel terrible and my hair is falling out and now my doc wants me to take an antidepressant…”</li>
</ul>
<p>You see, I was in this very same boat for far too many years. About 20 years back I started noticing symptoms:  fatigue, depression, menstrual irregularities, and dizzy spells. I went to see my doc who did the usual TSH test and when it came back “normal”, prescribed antidepressants. The antidepressants did help, but my menstrual problems intensified and other symptoms increased until I finally underwent a hysterectomy for dysfunctional uterine bleeding. Shortly thereafter, I collapsed with heart irregularities and autonomic nervous system dysfunction in the fall of 2006.</p>
<p>I went to over 10 different specialists spending thousands of dollars for medical bills with no real answers&#8211;just a lot of shrugged shoulders and a fibromyalgia diagnosis.</p>
<p>It wasn’t until my mother was hospitalized and routine blood testing came back with a TSH of over 6 that I looked again at my own thyroid. My TSH was never above 3. I had one free T4 test done following my initial collapse but, again, all tests were flagged “normal” and thyroid was passed over once again.</p>
<p>But a search about TSH lab ranges led me to Mary Shomon’s About.com articles, and while she seemed to be stuck on the idea that 3 was an acceptable number for the top of range for TSH, based entirely on the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists recommendations, I finally found the Stop the Thyroid Madness site and learned otherwise.</p>
<p>It was here that I learned about other <a title="Recommended labwork" href="/recommended-labwork/">testing</a> like free T3, free T4, <a title="All about Hashimotos Disease" href="/hashimotos/">thyroid antibodies</a>, vitamin and <a title="All about Ferritin in hypothyroid patients" href="/ferritin/">ferritin</a> levels and, very importantly, that the <a title="Why the TSH lab test is useless" href="/tsh-why-its-useless/">TSH</a> should be the LAST test done for diagnosing hypothyroidism instead of the ONLY test. I finally caught on to how the medical establishment has failed miserably to adequately diagnose and treat hypothyroidism. I felt both incredibly empowered and very, very angry.</p>
<p>I quickly delved into the thyroid forums to share what I’d <a title="Important things thyroid patients have learned" href="/things-we-have-learned/">learned</a> and to learn from others. The first forum I found was the aforementioned  “Thyroid Health Forum”, and since this is one of the best-known, it is where many of the newbies, like me, find themselves. There were both natural and synthetic hormone proponents on the board and the advice ranged from very good to quite bad. I soon found there were better forums like <a href="/talk-to-others/">Realthyroidhelp</a> and the natural thyroid hormone Yahoo <a href="/talk-to-others/">groups</a> that had really smart people who were happy to share resources and information that was truly useful. I spent a lot of time on these and learned a great deal.</p>
<p>But for some reason I couldn’t seem to leave the &#8220;Thyroid Health Forum&#8221;. The people who stumbled on there seemed so lost and I felt compelled to impart what I had learned to them. I would offer alternatives to the synthetics and explain why natural desiccated thyroid (NDT) was a superior treatment option and, more importantly, that they did have an option for their treatment, despite what their doctor told them. I’d relay what I had learned from other boards about access to NDT during the shortages.</p>
<p>When I figured out I had <a href="/adrenal-info/">adrenal fatigue</a> and later thyroid hormone resistance as a result of being undiagnosed for so long, I started relaying information about these issues to the many who were having difficulties getting optimized on their hormone replacement therapy. I found it to be both rewarding and enormously educating for myself as I would spend time researching questions that were asked about supplements, lab tests, and studies. I was not allowed to post links so had to summarize things I had learned and this taught me even more. The main messages I pushed were (and are):  get the right labs done, learn how to interpret them correctly, be your own advocate, know your <a title="Important things thyroid patients have learned" href="/things-we-have-learned/">treatment options</a>, and don’t implicitly trust doctors.</p>
<p>I will continue to contribute what I’ve learned to the &#8220;Thyroid Health Forum&#8221;. So far I’ve managed to fly under the radar and play, however grudgingly, by their rules. I figure if I can get just one or two people to question the present thyroid clinical guidelines, as written by our friends at big pharma, I’ll be more than satisfied. I actually believe that by getting good information out there to as many sufferers as possible, we may create a groundswell of people who will no longer accept being dismissed as depressed complainers by their healthcare providers. And this is one more way we can help enact real change to the currently abysmal medical practice of thyroid diagnosis and treatment. Well worth it in my book!</p>
<p>*******************************</p>
<blockquote><p><strong>Latest news from RLC: </strong> Shipments of Naturethroid are beginning Monday, January 4th and the first two weeks with backorders going out ASAP.  Medco should have some by the end of January. Their <strong>Patient Information Line:</strong> Naturethroid/Westhroid: 877-600-4752</p></blockquote>
<p><strong>Thyroid  patient guest posts can be read about here:</strong> <a href="../../writing-a-guest-blog-post-on-sttm/">/writing-a-guest-blog-post-on-sttm/</a></p>
<p><strong>Want to honor someone who has helped you??</strong> See the blog post below and thank someone.</p>
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