synthroid tags

I had a fun interview by the vivacious and interesting Jimmy Moore of the Livin’ La Vida Low Carb Show. If you haven’t yet heard it, you can listen to Jimmy and I by clicking right here.

Jimmy Moore is a living success story about the benefits of a low carb diet–losing 180+ pounds in 2004 and regaining his health and vitality.  As I do about far better thyroid treatment,  Jimmy has been on a one-man mission to tell the whole world what livin’ la vida low-carb can do for them.

Eating low carb can be a very important strategy for those with hypothyroidism, especially while on desiccated thyroid and seeking to reverse the damage of being on T4 meds like Synthroid, et al.

And for those of you with adrenal fatigue, following Jimmy’s low carb life style can be very beneficial when you need to be on cortisol, which can cause weight gain for some, but is an important treatment for your low cortisol situation.

Have a great day!

This past Saturday, while browsing at the next-to-last garage sale (one of my favorite Saturday morning events), my ears perked up like a bunny when I heard a gal chatting with the owner of the house.  I heard things like “sick for 5 years…fibromyalgia…a lot of pain all over my body…had to quit my job and live with my parents…in bed for two years…they had to bath me...” and more miserable images of something she was clearly glad to be over.

So, while my husband sat in the car with the patience of a saint, I lingered. When she finished chatting and was heading to her car, I walked towards her and said gingerly “I overheard your conversation. Can I ask you about the fibromyalgia and your experience??” I couldn’t help myself.

As a Thyroid Patient Activist who has stood up to the inane allopathic failure in the diagnosis and treatment of hypothyroidism, I knew that the majority of cases of “fibromyalgia” were due to undiagnosed or poorly treatment hypothyroidism, as well as the accompanying hell of adrenal fatigue,  thanks to the garbage can TSH lab test or the stupidity of T4-only treatment like Synthroid.  Yet, here was a young woman, Mel, who was now the picture of health. What was her story??

Mel’s story was a tale of sudden onset followed by five years of misery, all over body pain,  immense fatigue, utter helplessness, debilitation, and neck lymph nodes SO swollen that they looked like two huge goiters–right and left. It was also a scenario of no firm diagnoses, yet no hesitation by doctors to make stabs– from fibromyalgia to an unknown chronic fatigue disorder.

But I knew right away what she probably had: acute Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) reactivation.

I knew because I had the exact same malady which once took away more than a year of my life (as compared to Mel’s horrific five years).  And like her, with the use of meditation (and in my case, intense imagery and homeopathics), I got well as if it never happened.

And we also shared a reason why the EBV virus became activated in our bodies in the first place: STRESS.  For Mel, it appeared to have nothing to do with anything thyroid-related, but an extremely stressful helping-vocation that was eating her alive. For me, it was the stress of having to be where I didn’t want to be, feeling overtly powerless…and on top of being on the lousy Synthroid.

And for thyroid patients all over the world, including you, the risk of reactivation of the Epstein Barr Virus is a constant threat. It can result from one or more of the following biological stresses:

• being undiagnosed thanks to the inadequate TSH lab test
• being on a T4 medication like Synthroid, Levoxyl, Levothyroxine, Eltroxin, Oroxine, etc
• falling into low cortisol from adrenal fatigue
• having chronic side issues pulling your body down such as gluten intolerance or celiac, low ferritin, poor digestion, or making mistakes in your treatment

Even worse, add life’s stresses as icing on the cake, and you’re a sitting duck for the risk of reactivated EBV.

What is EBV? Epstein Barr Virus,  also called human herpesvirus 4 ( HHV-4) is an opportunistic virus that actually lies dormant in at least 95% of all adults over their 30′s. It’s what causes mononucleosis, aka “mono”, as a teenager,  but you don’t have to have had mono to carry the dormant virus. Wikipedia states that it also probably has a primary role in many autoimmune diseases, including ” dermatomyositis, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren’s syndrome, and multiple sclerosis.” i.e. this is one nasty virus!

Why do so many thyroid patients find themselves with it? Millions of thyroid patients live their lives compromised due to being on T4-only meds like Synthroid, Levoxyl, levothyroxine, Eltroxin, Oroxine, and other T4 med brands.  Additionally, patients find themselves with poorly functioning adrenals, poor digestion and other conditions related to a poor treatment–all adding to a lowered immune system, which allows the opportunistic EBV virus to take ahold, especially in the face of extreme or chronic life stress.

What are symptoms of a reactivated EBV? It can vary from patient-to-patient, but can include easy and excess fatigue, achiness, joint pain, all over body pain, swollen lymph nodes, slight fever, ringing in the ears, and a general I-don’t-feel-well. When my EBV antibodies were acute, I would be in bed for 2-3 days after pulling weeds for just twenty minutes while seated.  I couldn’t grocery shop; I couldn’t do housework. Nothing. Nada. I also had constant ringing in the ears and achiness.

How do I find out if I have it?? Ask your doctor to send you to a lab to be tested for it.   Or you can use Healthcheck USA–scroll down on the latter link to find the test. Put STTM10 in the form to get a discount.

How do I treat it?? It’s not easy. I personally benefitted from taking a prescribed anti-virus medication. Though that lessened my symptoms by 50%, it wasn’t enough. I then moved to homeopathic medications and some dedicated mental imagery to finally get rid of it, as well as lots of rest and the immune enhancing support of vitamins, minerals, supplements plus healthy strategies i.e. whatever it takes to nourish your immune system. Nourishing supplements include high dose Vit. C (2000 mg minimum),  Vit E as mixed tocopherals,  selenium (200 – 400 mcg), mushroom extracts, CoQ10, high dose B-vitamins, minerals plus plenty of healthy and raw foods.  And ultimately as a thyroid patient, being on a MUCH better hypothyroid treatment with natural desiccated thyroid is the key, besides treating one’s adrenal fatigue, gluten or digestive issues, low ferritin, and all other related conditions.

Bottom line, once you are adequately treating your thyroid problem (see the current Options for Thyroid Treatment), addressing potential adrenal fatigue, low ferritin, gluten issues, low B12, for example, and using good stress management in the face of pressures within your life, your risk of having a reactivation of the dormant EBV virus is very low.

They both GET IT.

Jeffrey Dach, MD, who is founder of  TrueMedMD clinic in Hollywood, Florida, has recently written just one more brilliant article titled Why Natural Thyroid is Better than Synthetic on OpEdNews. And patients can only derisively agree when Dach says “This nonsense really makes my blood boil and my eyes pop out of head” in response to articles on medical websites which still purport that synthetic T4 is a better treatment  than natural desiccated thyroid.

John O. Wycoff DO graciously had me on his radio program a week ago, called Health and Wellness Solutions radio, which runs each and every Saturday morning in Michigan or live streamed. And I couldn’t help but be impressed by this warm, friendly, and caring doctor who runs the Wycoff Wellness Center in East Lansing, Michigan. He definitely seemed to understand the use of desiccated thyroid and adrenals. Michigan patients are lucky to have this man.

And frankly, there seems to be a growing body of doctors who are GETTING IT, making the large body who still don’t look like medical cavemen and health ostriches.  Natural desiccated thyroid is a FAR better treatment, and millions of changed lives prove this over and over.

Both Dach and Wycoff will go down in history as being part of the founding members of doctors who really GOT IT in the first decade of the 21st century and have played a huge role to STOP THE THYROID MADNESS!!

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UPCOMING PROGRAM with Janie: You will be able to listen to me on Jimmy’s Moore’s Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb program on Thursday July 22nd, 2010 for what Jimmy has dubbed “The Truth About Thyroid Week.” As I see it, each time I’m on a variety of radio and internet podcasts like this, it’s going to mean reaching MORE folks about why they have depression, rising cholesterol or blood pressure, fatigue, hair loss, dry skin or hair, osteoporosis and more as a result of either the TSH lab test, or being on T4 meds like Synthroid!  I’ll announce this closer to the event, as well.

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MORE ABOUT MAGNESIUM: As I wrote about recently here, I found myself very low in my RBC Magnesium levels–the very bottom of the range. I am even lower than a friend who has Celiac disease, which affects digestion!!  No wonder I’ve had issues with muscle cramps for so long, as well as what I saw as a worsening of my MVP (mitral valve prolapse).   Since then, I’ve been on Magnesium Oil and a particular brand of buffered Vit. C which contains a good amount of magnesium. And lo and behold, I have found out that taking magnesium when you are deficient is like drinking water when you are dying of thirst–your body TAKES IT IN faster than you can give it to yourself.  So it’s important to take as high a dose as you can take in, and be patient for it all to level out.  And by the way, I’m already noticing an improvement in my huffin’ and puffin’ when I go out walking.  I do it less!!

(Monday April 5th Postscript to my blog post below: One of the patients interviewed by this reporter states the following: The report left the impression that we (desiccated thyroid users) are a teeny little group on the fringes of medicine, rather than a ground swell of well researched patients trying to improve our health (and every aspect of our lives) with rational, common sense alternatives. We are still voices crying in the wilderness, and ignored by the mainstream medical professionals. C’est la vie.)

Finally.

After years of near-complete silence by the mass media about the profound 60-year medical scandal of T4-only treatment like Synthroid, as well as lives changed due to natural desiccated thyroid, we have some progress.

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by health reporter Pauline Dakin of CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) Radio. She was preparing a report on thyroid treatment and desiccated thyroid, asking for names of Canadian patients and doctors who might speak of their own experiences. Among others, I got her in touch with Canadian thyroid patient Theresa Roberts, who has reminded me of this report.

And, Pauline Dakin’s report on desiccated thyroid will be presented TODAY, Easter Sunday, on CBC Radio One on “The World This Weekend” at 6:00 pm Eastern Time (5 pm Central, 4 pm Mountain and 3 pm Pacific). It’s a comprehensive 1/2 hour news program that airs nationally on weekend evenings and takes an in-depth look at current issues.

And even if you aren’t in Canada, you can listen to this program on CBC Radio One live at http://www.cbc.ca/worldthisweekend/ , or you can download the podcast (which may require free subscription).

HIGH FIVE to Pauline Dakin and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

The 60-year use of T4-only medications like Synthroid, Levoxyl, Eltroxin and other brands has NOT worked for hundreds of millions worldwide, resulting in each patient’s amount and degree of lingering symptoms of hypothyroidism as well as the added misery of adrenal fatigue.

We have also been bandaided with anti-depressants, statins, pain meds, high blood pressure meds and more, all the while being told by our clueless doctors that we are schizophrenically ‘”normal” because the also-lousy TSH test says so.

Or, like my own mother, we have been subjected to Electric Shock Therapy because of depression caused by T4 meds and their inadequate treatment.  You can read about my mother here.

Stop the Thyroid Madness™!

P.S. Sign up for the “newsletter notification” of this blog–see right below the links to the left. Or you can use your RSS feed page.

(Side note: I feel so stupid. If you have signed up to receive notification of STTM’s blog posts (see signup on left below links), I have inadvertently failed to check a particular box for the emails to go out. I won’t make that mistake again. See the two posts below, which you weren’t notified about when they came out. )

I recently chatted with Sheila Turner, a thyroid patient advocate in the UK who runs the website Thyroid Patient Advocacy–United Kingdom.

And she has become absolutely disgusted at what is happening in the UK–disgusted enough to stop being polite and to ask direct and pointed questions on the home page of her TPA-UK website.

What spurred her tough new stand?  Says Sheila, “The RCP (Royal College of Physicians), BTA (British Thyroid Association) et al are doing everything they can to boycott all T3 containing products and their latest ‘Statement’ on the diagnosis and management of primary hypothyroidism is banning general practitioners from prescribing T3 at all.“.

And, explains Sheila, it’s gotten to the point where most any General Practitioner is completely afraid to prescribe T3 or any T3-containing product like natural desiccated thyroid for fear of being reported. “The ONLY people allowed to recommend that T3 be prescribed are “accredited endocrinologists”, says Sheila. (And how many patients have experienced how close minded Endo’s can be towards desiccated thyroid.)

And here are her brilliant, in-your-face questions with links, which are pertinent for ALL of us, whether in the UK or not:

1. WHY do the GMC, the RCP, the BTA et al. deliberately choose to ignore the scientific evidence that has been available for over 40 years ?
2. WHY are medical associations ignoring the 13% failure rate of T4-only therapy for the past 50 years? Why are patient’s complaints dismissed?
3. WHY has there been no correction to the RCP statement when there are patients who are counterexamples to the validity of T4-only therapy?
4. WHY is the confusion of two definitions for ‘hypothyroidism allowed to continue?
5. WHY are guideline authorship and concise guidance to good practice protocols ignored?
6. WHY are individual symptoms of hypothyroidism stated to be “non-specific” when Baisier found groups of these symptoms may be quite specific?
7. WHAT further investigations for non-thyroidal causes are recommended as relevant to the symptoms of hypothyroidism when pituitary and thyroid GLAND function tests are biochemically normal – Levels of fT3, rT3 and adrenal levels?
8. WHY are the studies by Das (2007) and Lewis (2008), which found that patients could be successfully treated with thyroid extract being ignored?
9. WHY is medicine ignoring false negative test results?
10. WHY do doctors refuse to explain and/or justify their decisions, thereby withholding information necessary for valid consent to treatment?
11. WHY does the NHS refuse to take steps to protect human rights when sufferers are put at risk through a disregard of the demand that patients should be treated with fairness, respect, equality, dignity and autonomy?
12. WHY are laboratory discrepancies in serum testing being ignored?

I appreciate the tough stand Sheila is taking. We HAVE to take a strong stand in light of the worldwide ignorance about 60 years of patient suffering on T4 meds like Synthroid, Eltroxin et al, about better treatment with natural desiccated thyroid and T3 products, and about the lousy TSH lab test!

In fact, in light of practically NO mass media attention to this huge worldwide thyroid treatment scandal, we have to shout it wherever we can and hope that some WISE reporter or media personality gets this and will shine a media light at the idiocy going on out there towards thyroid patients. Stop the Thyroid Madness!™