Things We Have Learned

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they
fight you, then you win.”   ~~Mahatma Gandhi

This is the perfect page for…

• beginners to the subject 
• if you feel overwhelmed by the large amount of information on STTM
• if  you just need to fine-tune what you already know!

This page is provided to break down the information about successful patient experience and our gained knowledge over the past several years. When there is more information to be read, click on the underlined words, then come back as needed. Are there places below to be fine tuned? Yes, and as patient experience grows and looks right, it gets added. Enjoy!

**It is strongly recommended to order the Revised Stop the Thyroid Madness book, as it has more details, can be easier to use it many situations, can be useful at the doctor’s office, and you can share it with others, when needed.  Many patients also order it to be sent to their doctor!  

1. Why Stop the Thyroid Madness was started Since the early 1960′s, thyroid patients have had problems, yet our doctors either proclaimed us “normal”, or said our symptoms (depression, high cholesterol and blood pressure, weight gain, pain, etc) were due to something else, and bandaided them with more and more medications.  Something had to be done!  Thanks to the internet, thyroid patients started comparing notes, and that lead to discoveries of far better ways to diagnose and treat our hypothyroidism.  So Janie began to compile it all on this website, then in the #1 rated thyroid book of the same name with even more details. The purpose?  To create better informed patients who, in turn, can take this information into their doctors offices and create change in what they feel is a 50+ year medical scandal!
2. The two main problems: T4-only medications, and the TSH lab test  It didn’t take us long to see that T4-only medications like Synthroid, Levoxyl, generic Levothyroxine, Oroxine, Eltroxin and other brands were not doing the job. They leave too many of us with our own degree and kind of lingering symptoms of hypothyroidism. You can read about T4 here, and there’s even more in the revised STTM book. A second problem was and is the TSH lab test. The TSH result could be “normal” for years while we suffer from clear hypothyroid symptoms. Even worse, using it once on thyroid meds STILL keeps us hypothyroid! Both T4 and the TSH have a chapter of their own in the revised STTM book. 
3. Natural Desiccated Thyroid–a better treatment is discovered   All along, there was always a treatment which worked–natural desiccated thyroid.  Changing over to this simple, regulated, consistent and quality natural medication has changed lives!  It has exactly what our own thyroid would make: T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin. Some doctors will exclaim that it’s complicated, unregulated, inconsistent and unreliable. NOT SO, say patients!  Clicking on the link will tell you about it, how we dose it, what our labs tell us, and more. You can see all the known brands and ingredients here, and more about which to take here.  More about T3 below. Chapter 2 in the book has more detail. 
   
4. Better labwork   At the beginning of the quest, we recommend getting particular labwork (and do NOT take your thyroid meds before your blood draw).  If your current doctor won’t order all the labwork, you can order your own–links on that page!
5. How to Read Labwork   This was a huge discovery for patients. Namely, being “in range” has nothing to do with being optimal! It’s “where” we fall into the ranges that count. You can read about that here. Also in revised book. Do NOT take desiccated thyroid before your labs or you can get a false high FT3.  
6. Hashimotos Disease   If, through getting the thyroid antibodies labwork mentioned on the above link, you find you have autoimmune form of Hashimotos disease, read all about it here.  It’s important to be informed. Revised book has good chapter devoted to Hashimotos with even more detail. 
7. Why some don’t tolerate Natural Desiccated Thyroid It’s usually always due to either low iron (and you need four iron labs, not one) and/or Cortisol problems, which causes T3 pooling in the blood and hyper-like symptoms. Read # 8 and 9 below.
8. Adrenal Fatigue   Sadly, since thyroid patients can remain hypothyroid a long time because of the inadequate TSH lab test, or because patients can remain hypothyroid due to T4-only meds,  many fall into sluggish adrenal function from adrenals being overworked to compensate, plus from low T3 levels due to poor treatment.  And low cortisol can cause problems when raising desiccated thyroid or using any T3, and your clueless doctor mistakingly blames the medication!  So patients have found it VERY wise to learn about the adrenals early on by starting with the Discovery Steps (with even more detail in the revised book). If we find ourselves with low cortisol, it can be wise to work with a good doctor about treatment. See the How to Treat page. See Chapters 5 and 6 in revised STTM book for even more details.
9. Iron Deficiency   This is all-too common with thyroid patients, both female and male, and like adrenal issues, can cause problems when you try to raise natural desiccated thyroid if not corrected.  It’s probably due to the fact that when hypothyroid, you “dry up”. i.e, you stomach acid goes too low, and you stop absorbing important nutrients as well.  You can read about it all here.  The latter page URL has “ferritin” in it, which is your storage iron, but you will need to look at three other iron labs as well. Lots more in the Odds and End chapter of the revised STTM book.
10. The Use of T3-only   Some patients have a defect in the ability to convert, so going on T3 is an answer. Others patients with ongoing health issues, or those with adrenal fatigue, can find themselves with too-high levels of Reverse T3. The latter page explains it. So some patients choose to go on  T3-only. It can be more a little more complicated without having T4 converting to T3 for you, but is do-able. There’s an excellent chapter devoted to T3 in the revised STTM book. A must read.
11. Mistakes Patients Make   Because a patient’s doctor may not have caught up with successful patient experience, or a patient’s brain fog makes it hard to understand it all, lots of mistakes are made. Read about them here.  (Chapter 11 covers them, too, with more details).
12. How to Find a Good Doctor   Many of us have doctors who aren’t knowledgeable enough, or who send us to an Endocrinologist who ends up disappointing us with their rigid reliance on the TSH and T4 meds. So the search for a good doctor may need to be broader than that, whether ending up with an Endo or not!  Here is how to find a Good Doctor.  Do your homework and you can find one who will HELP, not hinder you. There’s a chapter in the revised book directed to doctors. 
13. Iodine   Since thyroid hormone are primarily composed of iodine, the use of iodine has sparked a lot of interest with thyroid patients. And iodine has SO many useful properties, including breast health for women, removal of toxins, as well as anti-cancer properties for all.  Unfortunately, some patients are grossly misinformed about the use of iodine, ranging from over-exaggerated claims of its positive effects, to false claims as to problems. Instead of believing everything you hear, go to a good patient-to-patient group on iodine–there’s a link to it from here.  Good websites on iodine use: www.breastcancerchoices.org and www.iodine4health.com  Iodine is covered in the Odds & Ends Chapter of revised book. 
14. Depression, BiPolar and Other Mental Health problems   Yes, we found out that our hypothyroidism, and complicated by Adrenal issues, can be the root cause of a variety of mental health problems! Read about it here. There’s a chapter devoted to this. 
15. Be inspired!  You can read Janie’s story here, and you can read other stories here. More in the revised book.
16. Talk to Other Patients  There are many good patient groups to get support and information from. Many are listed here. Be careful with what is stated, as not all information is good whereas others just may be!  NO GROUP is meant to replace a relationship with a doctor! Compare what you read to what patient information is on STTM.  You can also do a one-on-one personalized phone consultation with Janie, which many patients love. It’s mentioned at the top of the same link above.
17. Medical Research plus more books.  Here is what we have found so far that backs up patient experience! Here are other books to add to having the revised STTM book (the latter the ONLY patient-to-patient book on the market).
18. More Information  Here is the Site Map for all pages on STTM.  The most IMPORTANT part of this process is YOU. You have be very informed when you walk into that doctor’s office in order to guide him or her in the right direction if you value successful patient experience. You can also make wiser decisions for whatever else a good doc has to give you.  We are always evolving. And it’s strongly recommended to have the revised STTM book, as it has even more detail, and it’s recommended to have with you in the doctor’s office. 

To be continued…

Want to order your own labwork to take to your doctor for consultation?? Check out facilities here: recommended-labwork