Renew the paradigm. Optimize our therapy.
Some members of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) have achieved a new ethical low. They have published in their official scientific journal, Thyroid, an article that blames thyroid patients for causing harm to themselves by making requests of doctors for tests and therapies. They titled their paper "Patient Requests for Tests and Treatments Impact Physician …
Continue reading 2019 ATA article engages in patient-blaming and doctor-shaming
We all know a "thyroidectomy" is the surgical removal of a thyroid gland. Nobody removes a vital gland without a patient's informed consent. If your medical system and doctor are ethical, you as a patient have the opportunity to weigh the risks and benefits of the procedure and give signed consent. We need to consider …
Continue reading Caution: Doctors perform T3-ectomies without our consent
Clinical guidelines are supposed to promote patient health and encourage evidence-based medicine and physician discernment, but thyroid guidelines aim to restrict testing, restrict medication, and prevent any change in therapy practices. Indeed, the enforcement of restrictions appears to be the main purpose of local and international thyroid therapy guidelines today. These thyroid therapy guidelines, and …
Continue reading How thyroid guidelines are being used to punish doctors
This week, a thyroid patient from British Columbia posted an image of a piece of paper handed to her at a LifeLabs laboratory. LifeLabs BC was using this paper leaflet to explain to her why "Free T3 and Free T4 will not be tested when the TSH is in reference range." THE LEAFLET GIVEN TO …
Continue reading LifeLabs BC handout reveals thyroid testing policy failure
In standard T4 thyroid therapy, TSH normalization is so easy to achieve that it is almost impossible to fail. First, TSH out of range is the judge of an initial DIAGNOSIS. Next, normal TSH becomes the sole TARGET of therapy. Finally, normal TSH becomes the sole JUDGE of therapy success. This is faulty reasoning. There …
When you are steeped in a medical paradigm, its fallacies can be as comfortable and taken for granted as an old pair of sneakers. In this post, I'll take apart several thyroid therapy fallacies, starting with the fallacy "description is not prescription." I will investigate many of the ways in which patients on T4 monotherapy …
Continue reading Several fallacies in the TSH-T4 paradigm of thyroid therapy
How many treated hypothyroid patients' TSH has fallen below range even when both their thyroid hormones are in normal range and when they have no symptoms or signs of hyperactivity or hypermetabolism? In my observation on thyroid patient forums, the answer is "too many." It's common among thyroid patients to resort to such forums for …
Continue reading TSH “can be very misleading” during thyroid therapy, say researchers
