To keep you updated, this page is to inform you what has been added and when to the Stop the Thyroid Madness website by Thyroid Patient Activist Janie Bowthorpe. All new pages have also been added to the site map. Enjoy!
January 2012: Thyroid patient Cheryl contributed a page on STTM about selenium, and it’s a good read! Selenium is crucial for good thyroid production, as well as important with the use of iodine supplementation. It also helps lower RT3. I also added more updates about Milk Thistle on the RT3 page, beyond what I put in December, i.e. two warnings and how to overcome them.
December 2011: Updated the Reverse T3 page by giving more emphasis to using a good liver cleanse product with milk thistle as a way to lower one’s high RT3. It actually works, especially by doubling the amount of recommended milk thistle. Patients have also found that selenium lowered their RT3. Have also updated the Recommended books page with titles turned into actual links to purchase them.
November 2011: I’ve had several patients new to STTM or the subject of patient experience who felt overwhelmed by the vast amount of info on the site. So I re-did the Things We Have Learned page to give a somewhat step-by-step breakdown of information, and which sends them to the more thorough information on the site. It’s also good for those already informed, but who want to make sure they are on target!
October 2011: Have added a few more Give Me A Break examples, here, the past several weeks. Have also added info about Thiroyd on the Armour vs Other Brands page–that is doesn’t contain aluminum. Thanks Danielle for that info. Finally got around to adding a list of substances that can affect your adrenal cortisol saliva results, here. Thanks go to patients on the STTM Facebook group for additions to this list!
September 2011: Finally created the B12 page on STTM, combining information from a STTM blog post and other areas on the site into one page. Added it to the Site Map. Did important minor updates and additions to the Aldosterone page. Also added a study on the significance of T2 on the Medical Research page–thanks to thyroid patient Mary for sending this to me. It’s just one more reason why desiccated thyroid rocks.
July 2011: Oops. Just added info about the new generic desiccated thyroid, NP Thyroid by Acella, to the Armour vs. Other Brands page!
June 2011: Updated the Options for Thyroid Treatment page–realized I hadn’t added Acella. Plus I re-worked the entire page.
May 2011: New stand-alone page on the Revised book. And the website page on the book has been updated, here.
May 2011: Have updated the iodine page, mostly to look better, plus some very important additions–it was sorely needed.
April 2011: Added a remarkable Stories of Others page about Australian Ashley who had to endure maddening diagnoses of mental health issues including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder and schizo-effective disorder–all due to being on T4 meds (Sigma Oroxine and Eutroxsig in Australia and GSK Eltroxin in Europe), having a high RT3, and adrenal issues.
April 2011: Updated the Site Map, adding a “T3-only, Reverse T3, FT3/RT3 ratio” heading (i.e. pulled the first two from underneath the miscellaneous heading and into a section of their own with the new ratio calculator page). Also moved headings around to more logical places (at least I thought they were more logical. ha). My brainy techs have continued to update the RT3 online calculator, adding three more combinations.
April 2011: An exciting new page if you fear you have an RT3 excess problem and hate math: an online calculator to find the ratio between your Free T3 and RT3. I have also updated the Isocort page to reflect a change in Isocort, which is now plant-derived cortisol instead of adrenal cortex from New Zealand cows.
March 2011: Updated the Take Your Temp page. Added ingredients listing for Nutri-Meds Bovine on the Armour vs Other Brands page. Still need to add info on ThyroGold and will eventually. Added more updates to the ferritin page, plus Things We Have Learned pages.
March 2011: Added Erin’s story as one who had been to three doctors and was feeling suicidal until she discovered STTM and finally found answers that not one doctor had been able to give her. Also added more updates to the Reverse T3 page, and also discovered I inadvertently had the division backwards, i.e it needed to be the Free T3 divided by the RT3. Sometimes I just type too fast…
February 2011: Added Megan’s story of being a teenager with Graves, then the lousy T4-only meds, to living again at age 16 thanks to desiccated thyroid.
February 2011: Added Emily’s story of having lupus and undiagnosed hypothyroid, adrenal dysfunction and low Vit. D to the Stories of Others page.
February 2011: Finally, long overdue updates to the Adrenal Info page, the How to Treat page, the Isocort and Aldosterone pages thanks to patient experience and reported on many patient groups.
January 2011: Hashimotos thyroid patient Pam has written a page on STTM about hypothyroid and weight loss. If you are a hypothyroid patient and have a good weight loss and successful maintenance story, use the Contact Me form and send your story. I can put your weight loss story on STTM.
January 2011: Added another study to the Medical Research page about Thyroxine not giving enough free T3 in the brain.
January 2011: Added more links and info to the “unapproved drug” page about desiccated thyroid. This page will help keep you informed as to the history with the FDA, which is not always a pretty picture.
January 2011: Just added a story about Gayle on the Stories of Other page. She had blurriness in her right eye, and a scan which showed clear damage to her retina. Read what happened when she got on desiccated thyroid! I am continually amazed at the miracle of desiccated thyroid.
December 2010: Turned a STTM blog post from 2009 about potassium into a page right on STTM, as I, Janie, think I have symptoms of low potassium myself due to stress, which can lower your potassium levels as can a diet low in potassium. It’s a very important electrolyte in your overall health.
November 2010: Added a link to the Medical Research page about a 2005 journal article that states that the TSH range should be narrower, and it also states what I’ve said all along: that the volunteers used to establish the lousy “normal” ranges for the TSH were probably hypothyroid themselves!
Updated a few answers on the Common Questions and Answers page.
Revamped the Ferritin page, explaining in more detail why the other iron labs are important, since ferritin can “look” optimal in the presence of inflammation, infection or even cancer…plus other details.
October 2010: Added a story of a gal named Rosie who used LDN (Low Dose Naltrexone) for her Hashimotos and achieved excellent results. Also updated the ingredients within Naturethroid thanks to Nigel.
September 2010: Have added a story about Jacky who had Spamodic Dysphonia, a neurological disorder causing loss of voice, or a “smokers voice”, for years. Turns out it was her thyroid, and she got rid of it with the T3 in desiccated thyroid after doctors told her for years that it wasn’t due to her thyroid! (Reminds me of my own Dysautonomia which went away on desiccated thyroid.)
Added a link to the goitrogen page about the class action lawsuit in Australia against the makers of a soy milk.
September 2010: Added a page just to explain thyroiditis, since there are many “versions” in medical jargon. i.e. Hashimotos is just one of several. On the medical research page, added link about what a healthy thyroid produces and its equivalent to desiccated thyroid.
August 2010 Can’t believe I failed to add patient reports of heart problems thanks to T4-only on the Long and Pathetic list of problems while on T4 which went away on desiccated thyroid. So it’s done.
June, July 2010 Though these are busy summer months for my husband and I, these are also months where I have gone back to certain pages and updated them, cleaned them up, made new headings, etc. They include the page on TSH, the natural thyroid page, the options for thyroid treatment, and my own story.
May 2010: If you or a family member have autism, you will appreciate Andrea’s Story, added to the Stories of Others page. I have also added more info on the Ferritin page about both high ferritin levels, plus additional testing that can be needed for a full iron picture.
April 2010: Have added a facility for saliva labs in Germany here. I also updated the Rotten Tomatoes page for your reading enjoyment. Reminder: To keep up with Janie’s blog post, you can sign up for the “newsletter” on the left below the links.
March 2010: Have added an interesting story on the Stories of Others page about a MAN–Chuck–and his miserable experience on Synthroid with weight gain, and the complete change thanks to compounded thyroid.
February 2010: Thyroid patient Terry sent me another study for the Medical Research page which is just one more reason patients can need T3 with their T4: a variation in the gene that converts T4 to T3.
January 2010: Added one more study, #5, under the heading “T4 combined with T3 gives better results” to the Medical Research, Studies and Articles page. Also added two good blog posts, one about a clueless former Abbott Rep, and another about the Today Show.
January 2010: Added more detail to the celiac/gluten intolerance page, including non-GI symptoms and the Stool test, which some say is the only way they discovered their intolerance. Also added more information on the history page about desiccated thyroid and the FDA.
Late December 2009: The year of 2010 is the start of thyroid-patient-guest-posting on STTM’s blog.
December 2009: Have gotten way behind on adding new good thyroid and adrenal related websites to the Recommended Websites page, so am hopefully more caught up. Note these are in no order as to make them all equal in value. P.S. Hope to see some of these websites also mention STTM in return. We’re in this together.
December 2009: Healthcheck USA has finally created a “STTM page” on their website, plus a new code to get a 10% discount. I added the below to the Recommended Labwork page plus the Adrenal Info page:
LAB WORK packages designed specifically for readers of Stop the Thyroid Madness. Use the discount code STTM10 which will give you 10% off the already low prices! STTM Thyroid and Adrenal Lab Packages You can choose just saliva for cortisol, or use LabCorp facilities around the US for blood draws.
Also added ingredients for Cynomel on the Armour vs. Other Brands page.
December 2009: Added four more interesting references to desiccated thyroid on the page about older medical books–#4-7. I love this page and your contributions are needed! November and December have been two good months for information on my blog, ranging from topics about cellulose as the problem in thyroid meds, to questions about Jane Pauley, to good news from Erfa Canada and American Laboratories, and much more.
November 2009: There are more experiences with Lyme disease from Marvin and Tim on the Lyme page. A must read in case you might have Lyme disease causing your hypo and adrenal fatigue. Have also proposed that cellulose in thyroid meds is more of a problem than we ever imagine in this blog post.
October 2009: Forgot to mention that I finally separated “Thyroid-S” from “Thiroyd” as if they were made by the same Thailand pharm, and gave the latter it’s own description on the Armour vs. Other Brands page. I still need someone to let me know what the fillers are.
September 2009: Added a page to explain how desiccated thyroid was grandfathered in, being an unapproved drug, and the role of the FDA here. Also discovered that the Rotten Tomatoes page wasn’t in the Site Map list, so added it. On the Stories of Others page, you can read about Diana who got off Armour thanks to her use of iodine. Had a good blog post from an interview with a compounding pharmacist on Compounded Desiccated Thyroid.
August 2009: a busy month with blog posts pertaining to the shortage and the FDA. Also added a page of congresspersons to write about this crisis, plus a template letter to use and change as you may. Added Siobhan’s incredible story to the Stories of Others page.
August 2009: To the Medical Research page, have added a third study which shows that T4 combined with T3 shows superior results. You will also see information on the August 19th blog post about the actual maker of desiccated thyroid powder and how hard they are working to keep up with demand.
July 2009: Have added the ingredients to Australia’s compounded desiccated thyroid, which they call thyroid extract, here. HealthcheckUSA has now added STTM-created labwork for great prices, which you will find here.
May 2009: I knew it was coming–when this patient revolution gets just far enough into the offices that of doctors that we find some patients who never had to get on T4, and instead started their treatment right on desiccated thyroid. And Lauren’s story is that! Just added it.
May 2009: Added a good story about Jacki, whose triglycerides, LDL and cholesterol all came down, and HDL came up, simply from treating her hypothyroidism and adrenal fatigue correctly.
MAY 2009: I have added dosing information on the adrenal how-to-treat page, explaining that patients and doctors are finding success with “starting” on 20 mg cortisol rather than building up.
APRIL 2009: I get so much email from folks whose lives are changing that thought I’d share with you a sampling of what I get. I will be adding to this occasionally with more samples of the vast amount of emails I get. http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/feedback/
MARCH 2009: Have been compiling information on iodine and your thyroid the last few years, but never cleaned it up. Just now got it done: www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/iodine1234
MARCH 2009: Added two articles about UK-TPA’s fight for Armour:
www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/uk-tpas-response-to-the-rcp/
www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/relationship-between-the-RCP-and-MHRA/
JANUARY 2009: Added two links on smoking to Deborah’s page.
JANUARY 2009: Added a page to help you interpret the STTM-designed lab results. www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/how-to-interpret-lab-results/
JANUARY 2009: Darla’s Story has been added to the Stories of Others page. She was told to be tested for Alzheimers when her problem was being on Synthroid for 20 years!
JANUARY 2009: You will now find STTM-designed, patient-inspired labs to order. They are mentioned on the Recommended Labwork page, the Adrenal Info page, and in the January 6th blog.
DECEMBER 2008: Added a German brand of desiccated thyroid called THYREOGLAND to the Armour-vs-other-brands page.
NOVEMBER 2008: Join the STTM Facebook page. Check on the upper left of any page.
OCTOBER 2008: A page has been started on Deborah’s quest to stop smoking. She is a hypothyroid and low cortisol patient who struggles with smoking and her adrenals ability to adjust. www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/deborahs-story I have also recently added a blog entry about smoking and your adrenals.
SEPTEMBER 2008: I have been aware that when a few people are sent to STTM, and they read the home page, they find the message confusing or not to apply to them. Yet those that sent them KNEW it applies to them. SO for those people, a new page has been created, called For anyone who thinks this site doesn’t apply to you
AUGUST 2008: To the How To Treat Adrenals page, I have added the following excellent tip for those who have problems with higher amounts of HC: Another tip before raising your HC higher or switching to Medrol: try adding an HCL (hydrochloric acid) supplement to your HC dose, such as Hydrochloric Betaine. HCL represents the majority of your digestive fluids, and many hypothyroid folks can be low, making digestion less effective. Adding HCL can be the trick to absorb your HC better.
JULY 2008: I have now added a page where we can list Medical Research, Articles and Consensus which supports what patients already know. www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/medical-research It will give you ammunition to support better thyroid treatment when you have a doctor who’s not only clueless and unfazed by the experience of hundreds of thousands of patients worldwide, but a doctor who is rigid and needs research studies like a baby needs a bottle.
May 2008: www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/book
April 2008: The Stop the Thyroid Madness book is out! See the April 12th blog entry. The book contains most everything you see on the site, plus much more. Publishing website is here.
April 2008: Have added an iron supplement recommendation on the Ferritin page by a physician who contacted me. See last paragraph under heading “What’s the solution?”
April 2008: Tracy has written a fine article on her experience with Radioactive Iodine (RAI) and gives you food for thought.
April 2008: Added another saliva lab facility on the Recommended Labwork page–Direct Labs–which enough folks have used and pleased with that I decided it’s time to get it up. Louisiana-based.
Also, on the home page towards the bottom, you will find a link to hear Janie being interviewed on an internet radio call-in show.
February 2008: STTM now has bumperstickers which are both informative and humorous. Spread the word!!
December 2007: WEAR A THYROID ADVOCACY T-SHIRT. Because you asked for it, a t-shirt to wear in YOUR revolution for better treatment. Spread the word!
October 2007: OPTIMAL LAB VALUES This page tells you where you want to be with your lab results–thyroid, adrenals, ferritin, and B-12…and more as needed. It’s been created because being “in range” does not always equal “optimal”.
October 2007: ANNA TAKES DR. NORTHRUP’S ADVICE When Dr. Christiane Northrup appeared on the Oprah show in October, she implied that thyroid problems are due to a problem with how we live our lives. Oprah also implied that she cured her thyroid problem by taking a month off on vacation and eating right. This is patient Anna’s tongue-in-cheek response. It it linked from Janie’s blog concerning Oprah.
October 2007: ROTTEN TOMATOES This page is an overview of any possible criticism of STTM and the reasonable rebuttal. 
