And worse (anybody identify with this?), she’s been told she is NORMAL for 14 years!!! Why? Because the TSH lab result said so. Talking about it brings her to tears.

I sent her to a MUCH better and hopeful doctor.

In 2006, the World Health Organization defined health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. So…if you stuck “normal” in front of that definition of health, as ignorant doctors so routinely tell us we are, it means that we have the symptoms expected of one who is in complete physical, mental and social well-being. THEN WHY DON’T WE FEEL THAT WAY?????

Yessirree, somewhere along the medical perspective timeline, the ability to pay attention to CLINICAL PRESENTATION ran right down the sewer. And with that loss has come HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of patients worldwide with the schizophrenic diagnosis of “normal” with raging symptoms thanks to ink spots on a piece of paper called the erroneous TSH range. Exactly why this website is necessary, as is the book and YOUR demands for better treatment.

I was schizophrenically normal for over 17 years. My relative has been for 14. How about YOU?

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.

The YES

Sometimes I can say a resounding yes! There are many doctors around the world who are looking at Stop the Thyroid Madness (STTM) and listening to what is says. STTM is about the real life changing experience of patients! Some doctors tell me outright, either via the Contact Me form or by responding to my blog posts here, that they are reading it and approving the information. Or, I find out about other doctors second hand by patients who tell me their doctor TOLD THE PATIENT to read STTM. The latter definitely makes me chuckle when so many doctors tell patients that information on the internet is DANGEROUS!

I can also say yes when I read the comments of patients on various thyroid patient groups on the internet. Because of the information patients have learned from STTM, which is in turn passed into the groups, patients all over the world are making demands in their doctor’s offices, and some progress is being made all over the world.

And a final yes can be uttered by me when I see a few but growing number of websites promote desiccated thyroid.

The NO

But there are so many situations where I have to say no. 1) When doctors on internet forums TO THIS DAY continue to give lousy advice to thyroid patients, it’s disheartening. 2) When patients on thyroid patient groups TO THIS DAY continue to have doctors state each and every ridiculous give me a break comment, it’s sad. 3) When a famous female talk show host continues to ignore each and every email sent to her for years about the deplorable situation across the world with thyroid patients, as well as seem to misunderstand her OWN thyroid and potential adrenal problem, it’s maddening. 4) And when I can run into patients DAILY when I go to the grocery store, or to the gas station, or to any public place, who are still on Synthroid or Levoxyl and coping with innumerable symptoms of a poor treatment, not excluding adrenal fatigue, it’s scandalous.

So the complete answer? Yes and no. The ball has definitely been rolling for better treatment. Some doctors out there are truly listening. Many patients out there are learning and demanding change. It’s happening. But baby, we have a LONG WAY TO GO. And the power will be in the hand of patients who question their treatment, find answers via STTM and other websites and patient forums, and continue to demand change from their doctors and the entire medical establishment. I just hope to see more change sooner than later, don’t you?!

p.s. Want to spread the word?? Go HERE to order a t-shirt or bumper stickers. You CAN make a difference!

Nope. And neither does what Medicare has decided about Armour Thyroid.

Medicare is the government’s health insurance for those of you age 65 or older. It’s also available for those with certain disabilities, and for any age with permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant. And recently, the almighty Medicare has notified those using Medicare that it will no longer cover Armour. Why? Because it fits under medications considered “less than effective.” And poop on top of garbage…Medicare also recommends T4.

You have got to be kidding.

Armour thyroid is conclusively, adamently and overwhelmingly changing the lives of those who switch to it. Conversely, T4-only medications like Synthroid, Levoxyl and others have conclusively, adamently and overwhelmingly left most if not all hypothyroid patients with continuing hypothyroid symptoms of one degree or another. Yet, Medicare has dictated that an inferior treatment is the medication of choice and will be covered, and a medication that changes lives is not worth being on their formulary.

There is a pervasive madness going on out there.

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A gal suggested I also have bumper stickers in addition to the t-shirts, and I think she’s right. I have a bumper sticker on my car of Calvin peeing on a particular brand of T4 (I can’t sell those since I name the brand–lol). But it definitely catches attention! Just the other day, as we had parked our car in front of a Walgreens, a gal came up with her camera to take a photo of the bumper sticker. She laughingly explained that she works in the pharmacy and wanted to show it to the pharmacist.

And I have to wonder how MANY view that bumper sticker when I am sitting in line behind a red light, or parked somewhere. It has to create thought. And that is exactly what we ALL want–to create thought in this T4-obsessed, TSH-worshipping society.

You will see four different kinds of bumper stickers on this site before March, and I will announce them here. Three use good ole tongue-in-cheek humor. WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Stop the thyroid madness!

1) The FDA has stopped manufacture of all grandfathered drugs like Armour.
2) Armour will no longer be available at your local pharmacy

i.e. it’s being banned, discontinued, taken off the market, gotten rid off…you name it.

Now first let me clarify that all are totally and completely false. Forest Labs is still making Armour, and you can also find Armour at your local pharmacy, even if certain strengths are easier found than others.

Here is what is going on: In the January-February issue of the 2007 (i.e. a YEAR AGO) FDA Consumer Magazine, an article came out by Michelle Meadows titled The FDA Takes Action Against Unapproved Drugs. But this is NOT new news. This is based on the June 2006 release guidance by the FDA, called Marketed Unapproved Drugs—Compliance Policy Guide. What the FDA is doing is working to get unapproved drugs meet their approval guidelines.

What is an unapproved drug? For one, they are those drugs which were around before the FDA (Federal Drug Administration) came into existence in 1938, and these drugs were ‘grandfathered’ in with the subsequent FDA-approved drugs thereafter. (Armour is an example. Synthroid was too until it did what it took to be approved in 2002) Other examples, as explained in the January/February 2007 article, are when only one company may have approval to market a drug, but other companies are illegally marketing their versions of the drug without having gone through the FDA’s approval process. Another scenario is that a combination of ingredients is approved by the FDA, but a company is marketing a single ingredient without approval.

The article also clearly states: Before pursuing regulatory action against unapproved drugs, the FDA plans to consider the effects on the public health, including whether the product is medically necessary. The agency recognizes that some unapproved therapies offer benefits. An example is Phenobarbital, a drug used to control seizures. In some cases, FDA action requiring drug approvals will be gradual to avoid shortages of medically necessary products. In other words, whenever the day may come that Forest Labs is asked that Armour meet the regulations of the FDA, the process will be gradual and Forest will be given a fair deadline to do what it takes.

Kathy, a pharmacist with Forest Labs, reminds us that Armour has never been asked to go through that process (or they may not be admitting it yet so they can go through it in peace.). And if the day comes, they will do what it takes. Armour is a safe and life-giving product. And you bet your booties that even if it looked threatened some day, there would be a huge uprising from patients to stop it. But that’s not going to happen, just as it was for Synthroid where Abbott labs did what it took to be approved, and succeeded.

So, take heart: everything is fine. Armour is still being made. Your pharmacies still have it, even when some strengths are easier to come by than others. And I’ll keep you informed. And remember: I’ve always told you to stock up on your desiccated thyroid products anyway.

p.s. The root of the rumor comes from a recent recall by Forest Labs concerning its 3, 4 and 5 grain tablets, which had a 6-month potency problem, and a misunderstanding about it’s implications by individuals. Those tablets are currently scheduled to be out again by the end of January.

http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2007/107_drug.html
http://www.fda.gov/cder/guidance/6911fnl.pdf

***Want to spread the word and be your own thyroid patient advocate? Get your t-shirt here.

And how she is moving on TOTALLY impresses me, and I think all of you reading this should consider this positively assertive and self-advocating strategy.

First, she scoured through her list of doctors on her insurance plan, and found one that looked promising. She called and spoke to his nurse on the phone. She then told us the following: I explained that I use Armour and refuse to change meds; I am VERY involved in my health; I watch my Frees carefully and don’t rely on the TSH at all since the feedback loop is interrupted by meds..etc. With that said, the nurse stated she would check with the doctor.

In other words, my friend Kerry refused to do what all of us have done most of our lives–approach the doctor passively. She clearly outlined who she is, where her intelligence is about her body, and that she expects a partnership, not a demi-god, one-sided dictatorship of what is right and what isn’t right for her health care.

She also stated that if this doctor didn’t come through, her next strategy was to write a letter about her health needs and how she wants to be very involved in her treatment, then fax it to every available doctor on her insurance list in her area and see if she gets someone calling.

MAJOR, HAND-CLAPPING BRAVO, Kerry!!

THAT, friends, is the way each and every thyroid patient should approach their health care: candid as to your beliefs about your treatment, and what you want from the doctor. And eventually, your assertive approach will produce a doctor who is going to be a gem for you! Remember: it’s YOUR body and YOU live in it.

p.s. Without an insurance plan? Pull out the Yellow pages! And don’t hesitate to use parts of this Dear Doctor template letter to help you flesh out and compose your words or letter.

***WANT TO MAKE A FASHION STATEMENT ABOUT YOUR THYROID TREATMENT? Go HERE for a thyroid advocacy t-shirt. I dare you to wear it to your doctors appointment. (But if you don’t, wear it everywhere else. It does attract questions.)

1) expect that the relationship with my doctor will be a TEAM approach to my health care: not just his medical school/continuing education/experience, but also my own important knowledge and wisdom that I have gained (from reading sites like this), plus my subjective experience on my medication. My doctor does not live in my body or experience my symptoms; I do.

2) take the time to find a better doctor if my doctor refuses to respect the knowledge I have gained from reading sites like this, and/or will not listen to my subjective experience in my own body!

3) make my symptoms far more important than ink spots on a piece of paper called lab results, and will not passively allow a doctor to treat me ONLY according to those lab results.

4) give myself important supplements, including, but not limited to: selenium and zinc (helps conversion of T4 to T3), other minerals which may include magnesium, etc., plenty of B-vitamins (which are needed as I improve my thyroid function, besides supporting my adrenals), Vitamin C (also supports my adrenals) and more that I feel are suited for my needs.

5) be open to the fact that if Armour or other desiccated thyroid products don’t seem to be working, I am making one of several mistakes in my use of it, and will identify my mistakes and correct them.

Do you have others as a thyroid patient? Just respond to this post.

And if you think that because you are on a large thyroid forum or group, it means the word is getting out–it is! But we’ve only scratched the surface. There are still millions out there who don’t know why they gain weight so easily, feel tired, have rising cholesterol, hair is thinning, or have depression. They need to hear about this.

We have to change the current LOUSY thyroid treatment protocol from the bottom up by spreading the word. It’s WE who will go to our doctors offices and demand change! It’s WE who will stop putting money into the pockets of those doctors who won’t listen to what patients have learned and go to those who WILL.

Enjoy the shirt! And feel proud for the part YOU can play garnering attention and spreading the word! p.s. Right now, orders are from the US only. As soon as Bidpay updates their checkout, I’ll add International. STTM is not just MY website: it is YOURS.

ALSO REMEMBER: if you use Bidpay, you’ll need to use the CONTACT ME form at the bottom of the page to let me know which size. The Bidpay function has no place to designate size.

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.