Posted by barbaracat on April 2, 2005, at 19:52:42
In reply to Re: My doctor can't help me » barbaracat, posted by Phillipa on April 2, 2005, at 16:40:21
Phillipa,
Ah, my Dear, I'm flattered, but I don't have a book, at least not published as of yet (although working on it). I probably said something like 'in my book, this is what I'd do blah blah' as a figure of speach.But there are a few good books out there that address this thyroid epidemic. A good one is "Thyroid Power" by Richard and Karolee Shames, whom I know personally and can vouch for their dedication in this field. Another is the website www.thryoid.about.com, which is a wealth of information, simply great. Most docs I've talked to don't even know about this site, which they definitely should.
What's true is that most docs stop at the TSH numbers and don't go further on to test free T4, free T3, reverse T3, and thyroiditis autoimmune antibodies. TSH simply measures the feedback of how much T4 is floating around in the blood, NOT how well its being converted to T3 and used inside the cell. But then, extra tests cost money and time so unless you specifically know what you want and make a pest of yourself until you get what you deserve, you're at the mercy of the status quo.
Another overlooked contributor is pesticides, heavy metal toxicity, and surprise surprise, flouride! Flouridated water is a tragic misconception that it's doing a great thing. It replaces calcium in the teeth and bones and competes for thyroxine hormone. My husband and I are actively involved in preventing a statewide injunction to flouridate all drinking water. If you want flouride for teeth, get it topically, not systemically. Such folly!
> Barbaracat, What is the name of your book? I didn't realize you were an author. I knew you knew your stuff, but didn't know the extent. I've fought with endocrinologists, etc for years and as long as "your complete thyroid panel is WNL" you're okay. As I've said in previous Threads, one of the things that struck me when I worked as a psych RN in the hospital, were the number of pts who had thyroid problems. They were getting blamed for being noncompiant with meds, complainers, etc. Fondly, Phillipa
poster:barbaracat
thread:477221
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050330/msgs/479111.html