Testing policy
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2019 ATA article engages in patient-blaming and doctor-shaming
Some members of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) have achieved a new ethical low. The ATA have published in their official scientific journal, Thyroid, an article by Esfandiari and colleagues (2019) that blames thyroid patients for causing harm to themselves by making requests of doctors for tests and therapies. They titled their paper “Patient Requests…
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Caution: Doctors perform T3-ectomies without our consent
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…
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How thyroid guidelines are being used to punish doctors
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…
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LifeLabs BC handout reveals thyroid testing policy failure
This week (as of October 4, 2019), 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…
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Overreliance on TSH is a thyroid therapy policy that fails to detect its own 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…