Renew the paradigm. Optimize our therapy.
Lack of knowledge about Free T3 peaks and valleys contributes to failure and frustration in T3-based therapies, including desiccated thyroid and T3-T4 combination therapy. On patient support groups, I often see conversations that go like this: "My FT3 result was over reference range, FT4 low in range, and my TSH was low, so my doctor …
Continue reading Free T3 peaks and valleys in T3 and NDT therapy
Sigh. Just sigh. Even some of our best thyroid patient advocates can unknowingly share misinformation about thyroid therapy. Mary Shomon's thyroid articles on Verywell.com are usually to be trusted. But yesterday I was saddened to see that an article supposedly authored by Mary Shomon was spreading unscientific myths about "normal" thyroid secretion ratios being 13:1 …
Continue reading Stop spreading the unscientific myth about the normal T4:T3 ratio!
If we want to disagree with the American Thyroid Association's prejudice against animal sources of thyroid hormone, we should to at least prove we're trying to listen to them. Then we should fairly point out what they didn't say, what truths they would rather not admit, and where they are being unfair or inconsistent. This post …
Continue reading 2014 ATA Therapy guidelines: 3. Desiccated thyroid
Here I move on to part 2 of my summary of ATA thyroid therapy guidelines, where they try to defend the ethics their own stance (Jonklaas et al, 2014). Their self-righteous, defensive and arrogant reply to question 11 deserves its own post. ("WE" = Endocrinologists and other doctors who treat hypothyroidism. Anything in quotation marks is directly …
Continue reading 2014 ATA Thyroid therapy guidelines: 2. Ethics
Any fair criticism of a medication's potential for harm or benefit should first examine the properties of the medication and how it interacts with the human body in general. Next, we should distinguish the content of a pharmaceutical tool from its use (dosing adjustments, circumstances). Then finally, we should consider this: The therapy has to …
By Tania S. Smith. Updated May 8, 2019 "Thyroid pharmaceutical prejudice" is simply a bias against one thyroid hormone pharmaceutical type in favor of another. Prejudice claims that a particular thyroid medication is intrinsically unsafe or ineffective, for all patients under almost all circumstances. It's a type of "sweeping generalization" fallacy. The main aim of …
Continue reading Thyroid pharmaceutical prejudice: How it works
This guest post is authored by Gisele Gautreau, a Canadian thyroid patient who has given us permission to share her image and story. Gisele: For those questioning the plight of thyroid patients in this country, the following is my story: I'm in New Brunswick, and I was diagnosed with a thyroid autoimmune disease called Hashimoto's …
