WHO ARE WE?
A patient-run registered not-for-profit organization that advocates for better diagnosis, testing, and treatment for patients with all types of thyroid disorders.
We also provide science-based peer support to patients in our private Facebook group.
Our mission
We promote health by providing individuals with thyroid disabilities with patient-led peer support communities and science-based public education, and by publicly advocating for improvements to thyroid health care policy and research.
Functional thyroid disorders
Hypothyroidism: An underactive thyroid gland, or a state of thyroid hormone deficiency, and/or deficient tissue thyroid hormone signaling.
Hyperthyroidism: An overactive thyroid gland that causes thyroid hormone excess.
Thyrotoxicosis: Thyroid hormone excess from any cause (including dosing), that induces excess tissue thyroid hormone signaling (i.e. high cardiac output).
Causes of thyroid disorders
Common: Autoimmunity. Thyroid cancers. Goiter. Thyroid nodules. Thyroid surgery or radioiodine ablation. Nonthyroidal illness syndrome (NTIS). Nutritional (i.e. iodine excess or deficiency). Endocrine disruptors (toxins such as BPA, cadmium). Genetics.
Rare: Postpartum. Central (pituitary/hypothalamic dysfunction). Congenital (thyroid agenesis, dysgenesis, dyshormonogenesis at birth). Subacute (infectious).
Thyroid disorders speak… But are people listening?
Thyroid diseases are a significant class of complex endocrine disorders that affect public health.
But no published scientific research has examined the prevalence of thyroid diseases in regions and citizen demographics across Canada, despite widespread unsupported and vague claims about the prevalence of thyroid disorders. Does “1 in 10 Canadians” really have “a thyroid disorder”? We don’t know.
Thyroid hormones co-regulate the healthy function of every tissue, organ, and system in the human body.
Scientific research has been revealing how low FT3/FT4 ratios and changes in FT3 and FT4 within the normal range correlate with incidence rates and adverse outcomes in many nonthyroidal diseases, even when TSH is normal. But many physicians believe the myth that thyroid hormone health risk only exists when TSH is high or low.
Delayed thyroid diagnosis, misdiagnosis, and mistreatment are tragic and can be more costly than “overtesting” and “overdiagnosis.”
Rigid TSH-first diagnostic algorithms are unable to detect anything beyond simple cases of primary hypo- or hyperthyroidism. They cannot diagnose many cases of inappropriate TSH secretion, dysfunctional thyroid nodules, impaired tissue T4-T3 metabolism, and overlaps among autoimmune, nutritional, and genetic thyroid disorders.
Physician expertise and data beyond TSH are necessary to adjust the treatment to the individual and reduce health risk.
During thyroid treatment, TSH normalization does not always restore euthyroidism. But laboratories are directed to cancel FT3 and FT4 tests whenever TSH is normal. Many physicians are not capable of interpreting TSH, FT3 and FT4 relationships in light of patient clinical response and thyroid health outcomes.