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• Thyroid treatment

Ever heard of perchlorate?? It’s a salt taken from perchloric acid, and it’s used in rocket fuel and explosives.  It was also once used in a medication to treat hyperthyroidism.

And guess where residues of it are hiding? In our drinking water and in infant formula. (EPA map shows where perchlorate is manufactured just in the US—nearly every state)

In a recent article by the Environmental Working Group,  it’s estimated that 15 brands of infant formula are contaminated with it, and two of the most contaminated brands of those 15 made up 87% of powdered formula used in 2000…all according to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

As bad as that is, this goes beyond infant formula. It’s estimated that the drinking water of 28 states is contaminated by perchlorate, and other estimates are 35.  In addition,  the majority of women who breastfeed have it in their milk.  And you can find it in water-rich foods such as tomatoes and melons, or carrots and spinach.  It could even be found in milk.  Ouch.

So we not only have millions of US babies being exposed to a toxin which can diminish thyroid health, but adults who can be drinking their water and eating their food.

But guess what can counter the toxic effect of perchlorate? Iodine supplementation, if you take enough. In spite of some controversy with the use of iodine supplementation, this gives one pause in favor of it.

Luckily for all of us who know that desiccated thyroid like Armour is a better thyroid treatment, it also contains iodine. And some go beyond that, adding iodine to their supplements via Lugols or Iodoral.  It might be worth looking into.

P.S. The buck doesn’t stop with perchlorates in our water. We could also be exposed to a variety of pesticides, chemicals from deposed prescription drugs, and even mercury in our water.  Sad.  Our poor thyroids are assaulted.

Six years ago, when I got involved in thyroid patient advocacy by starting the Natural Thyroid Hormone Users group on Yahoo, I did it because I was amazed and shocked what switching to desiccated natural thyroid did for me! There I was, on the brink of applying for Social Security Disability after YEARS of misery & lack of answers, and simply changing to a different thyroid treatment completely turned my life around. I owe some of that change on what I found out on Mary Shomon’s Thyroid group in early 2002.

And it dawned on me: if desiccated thyroid with its T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin did this for ME, what could it do for others?!I  A group was NEEDED with a direct focus on desiccated natural thyroid.

And over time, as NTH grew and other fine internet patient groups evolved and grew, other patients were just as amazed at what it was doing for them, as well.  This wasn’t coming across at ALL as a treatment only for “some”. It was coming across as a treatment that might just benefit quite a large body on individuals! We also learned by the seat of our collective pants about low ferritin, low cortisol, low B-12, Celiac and gluten intolerance–you name it.

From all the above came the STTM movement: a patient-to-patient compilation of all we have learned–and then the book with even more information.  The STTM movement was created because “internet groups” were NOT enough to get the word out about the efficacy of desiccated thyroid, nor were they enough to change the huge and rigid medical establishment. Change had to come from the bottom up–in other words, educate patients, who in turn can take the new information into their doctor’s offices.

But sadly, with the success of patient information about the amazing results of desiccated thyroid treatment has come veiled criticism and overblown misconceptions within our own ranks. And it’s a sad thing to behold!

Namely, we can now read a September 10th internet blog “conversation” by so-called thyroid patient advocates who imply that it is “dogma and narrow-minded” if anyone dares state there just might be a thyroid treatment which JUST MIGHT BE better for most all thyroid patients. IMAGINE the audacity!! I guess it was just as “dogmatic and narrow-minded” when it was first suggested there were better ways to deal with certain health conditions than bloodletting. I can hear it now: “To deny bloodletting is just boxing people in!” “Offering bloodletting as a choice is helping people expand.”

And contrary to the self-righteous tone, condescending misrepresentations, and veiled criticisms towards certain patient groups, this patient movement is not a one size fits all movement.  Instead, it’s a “one size JUST MIGHT BE a better alternative” than the other available alternatives, and we strongly encourage that each patient consider finding a doctor to help them give it a try.  And, if something about desiccated thyroid isn’t working, we strongly encourage patients to look at particular reasons that can underlie problems.

If you think T4 is working for you, go for it! The same goes for the use of T3 only, or synthetic T4/T3, or certain ratios of T4 and T3.  Choice is a blessing we can all respect.  Just keep an eye out for depression, rising cholesterol, less stamina than others, adrenal issues and/or a myriad of other continuing hypo symptoms that just might creep up on you as you age on these treatments.  Or, consider that we’ve seen many people on these treatments, who, when they switched to desiccated thyroid like Armour, Naturethroid, Westhroid, etc, they reported even better results. (The use of T3-only for high RT3 is a different issue and is where T3-only may be absolutely needed and good. We also respect those who have ethical issues with animal products.)

Finally, I encourage others who consider themselves thyroid patient advocates to TAKE A BIG BREATH and TAKE THE TIME to be in open-minded dialogue with all patients, including me and all of us over here, instead of openly ignoring our existence or deciding what we promote is simply narrow-minded dogma.  You might find that direct communication and kindness is a far better method to help thyroid patients instead of the underhanded veiled bashings and misrepresentations within this recent blog conversation.

Have you ever had someone say something in JUST a way that it hits you between the eyes?? That’s what Diane did to me. She’s a thyroid and adrenal patient, and we were discussing the way a huge medical website still gives out backwards and harmful thyroid treatment information, telling patients to “raise their Synthroid” to counter their continuing hypothyroid symptoms (which doesn’t work), or pronouncing that because their TSH is “normal”, those symptoms are not related to hypothyroid (they are.) This huge website has kept patients sick for YEARS, and is one of the main reasons I created STTM!

And Diane said to me “Somehow the true message needs to get into the main stream.”

Boink! That just hit me squarely between the eyes! Sure, I’ve been saying the same in a different way for years–that our message needs to get out. But when Diane mentioned the “mainstream”, it hit me.

Here we are, victims of a medical scandal which has been going on for 50 years, and which has effected HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS all that time. Some of those victims are dead; and many more are still alive, with new victims happening DAILY. Yet, the “mainstream media” has never taken the time or interest to report on this. HUHHH??

Wikipedia defines the mainstream media as the section of the media specifically envisioned and designed to reach a very large audience, and that might include television, radio, newspapers and magazines. Yet, what do you see on any of those mediums? You see the regurgitation of the old-boy, Pollyanna methods of hypothyroid diagnosis and treatment–the use of the TSH and total T4, plus T4-only meds like Synthroid, Levoxyl, Levothyroxine, et al. And if there is mention of desiccated thyroid, it’s bare. YAWN.

Some pundants feel that there is a form of literary censorship going on in the main media…i.e. if it’s not sensational, forget it. Others will cite bias and manipulation by those that report, especially in the political arena.

But what I lean to believe is that there’s a monkey-see, monkey-do mentality in the media. Namely, the mainstream media lazily conforms itself to the loudest, longest or most financially-influential voice. And who’s had that voice in the thyroid treatment arena?? The money-grubbing pharmaceuticals, who thrust billions of dollars into medical schools, besides their bright-eyed reps, to eventually convince every doctor since the early 1960’s that the lousy T4-only medications (Synthroid, Levoxyl, et al), and the dubious TSH lab tests, are from God Almighty.

So, that lie keeps being repeated, ad nauseum, and the TRUTH, which comes from everyday patients all around the world, gets ignored by the mainstream media. Thus, millions out there still sit, miserable or compromised in their day-to-day lives, and on a myriad of other pills to counter the lingering symptoms…because their main contact with the world–the mainstream media–is deaf and dumb–and they have not yet found Stop the Thyroid Madness, and may not for years!

So….what can YOU do?? Contact the mainstream media. SCREAM at the mainstream media. DOG the mainstream media. I have worked hard to put YOUR truth up here and in the book. You can help by spreading that word, one by one, like the Lilliputians who moved the giant.

*To contact ABC, go here.
*To contact MSNBC, go here or email Health@MSNBC.com
*To contact CBS, go here. Use the drop down menu to click on a news program
*To contact Fox News, go here.
*To contact CNN, go here.
*The top 20 Women’s magazines are here.

Want to add more emails or website URL’s for contact? Just add a comment to this post below.

**Patients are reporting that the STTM book is even better than the website! Yeehaw! To order your copy, go to the publishing website here. There are also options to order one for your doctor, and one for Oprah!

UPDATE: I am pleased to announce that the most gutsy, revolutionary, comprehensive and practical book on the subject of diagnosis, treatment, and medications for hypothyroid, as well as related conditions, including low ferritin, adrenal fatigue and other problems which befall hypothyroid patients…is out! This is YOUR book as a patient-to-patient book.

The link below will take you to the Publisher’s website. On the home page, you can read about the publisher. Then click on the PRODUCTS page to see the book and information. Click on the DOUBLE GREEN ARROWS to open up the entire text plus shipping information.

www.laughinggrapepublishing.com

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Yup, it’s done. It’s complete. And I can say without a doubt that there is NO book on hypothyroid as hands-on as this one. Why can I say that? Because the book is based on YOUR EXPERIENCE and thousands like you. Because this is THE patient-to-patient book. Yes, I wrote it, but YOU wrote it, too.

Where is the STTM book available? It will FIRST be available right here on the site in approximately two weeks. It’s about 300 pages and will sell for 19.95. So keep coming back here.

Is the STTM book a copy of the website? Not exactly. Yes, you will see some things in the book that ARE on the website. That was important. But….you will also find a chapter totally on T3. You will learn some history that’s not on the website. You will get more details on adrenal support. You will have new stories of others. You will read a chapter totally written for and about doctors. And there’s much more that is not right on the STTM site…little details inserted here and inserted there.

Why did I write it? Because though the STTM website has done WONDERS to reach people, MORE is needed. There are folks out there who are NOT coming to the web, or even know to look for answers, and this book will reach them. And….it can simply be more productive to have a BOOK to refer to and a BOOK to read when you are traveling in the airplane or waiting in the doctor’s office. AND…..FINALLY, we have something to HAND THE DOCTOR when he or she doesn’t get what we are talking about…or to our family or friends when they don’t get it, either.

Get ready. I’m excited. I hope you are too.

P.S. Guess what Oprah Winfrey may be drinking daily?? Soy milk. And since soy is a known thyroid inhibitor, guess what she’s doing to her thyroid? Quoted directly from her site: Thanks to all the yogurt and calcium-enriched soymilk she consumes, she’s getting an average of about 1,100 mg of calcium daily OOPS.

I have had many folks email me about their concern that Oprah is not only failing to get the message about her thyroid issue, but thyroid advocates and interviews are not sending the message about what information is needed out there…and the media has STILL not caught on to this HUGE treatment scandal of the use of T4-only meds and the TSH lab. So, by request, I have created a letter template that you can use to be part of a massive letter-writing campaign to Oprah.

Yes, I’m sure she’s very distracted by the heartsick tragedy of her Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, but it may also worsen her thyroid condition, as well as create a potential adrenal problem. So THIS is the TIME to make a MOUNTAIN in her mail room. Go here: www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/letter-to-oprah-winfrey/

Please note that you can also use the above template letter to email her, but if we can ALSO send REAL LIVE letters as outlined in the above page, that can make a HUGE VISUAL difference as to what we are trying to tell her.