THIS IS A FOLLOW UP EMAIL TO THE PARTY ADDRESSED IN MY 7/27/12 POST:
Sorry you didn’t have a good experience with Dr. XXX. He really is a top-flight endocrinologist—it’s just that you and I aren’t on the same page with many otherwise top-flight endocrinologists when it comes to hypothyroidism-diagnosis-and-treatment philosophy.
There are a few important points for you to consider--for you wife’s good, and from a practical standpoint, before you bother to travel to see me:
(1) I agree with you that a TSH of .14 does not necessarily equal a “massive overdose,” but unfortunately that’s a tough nut to crack with a lot of doctors. That is because hyperthyroidism is dangerous. I just don’t think we should be assuming that everybody with a low TSH in hyperthyroid.
(2) I’ll be blunt here: those “holistic GP’s” are wrong about a lot of things; they’re right about some things too, and as I’ve said, the mainstream is, I think, wrong about some things. One group is too aggressive with thyroid hormone and the other too cautious. My book talks a lot about this--I really think you should read it if you haven’t. Basically they’re saying that patients feel better on their treatments, but they ignore the potential for harm years down the road. Just remember feeling good, is good, but it isn’t a good physician’s only goal. It has to be at least reasonably safe. Cocaine makes people feel good, but I assume you agree people shouldn’t be using it.
(3) The reason her T4 went down on Armour is because Armour doesn’t contain enough T4 and it contains too much T3, which is a potent, more potentially dangerous form of thyroid hormone. You don’t say if a T3 was checked, but I bet it’s too high or getting close to being too high.
(4) And remember, the natural situation--that is, normal human physiology--is for there to be a lot of T4 and a little bit of T3, only enough. Proponents of T3 and Armour (hyped as “natural thyroid hormone—perhaps it is, but it does not mimic natural human thyroid status) ignore this.
(5) Again, I’ll be blunt, and this is a very important point if you decide to come see me: I think starting with Armour, and insisting on it’s continued use is a mistake. I use it occasionally, but as a last resort when other options fail. Again, the book describes this in great detail and you should read it when deciding whether you want to come to me. If you come, I very likely will insist that Armour be stopped and that we try Synthroid alone (but perhaps in higher doses than most would use). I did exactly that with a new patient on Armour yesterday.
Please consider these comments.
jkr
Sorry you didn’t have a good experience with Dr. XXX. He really is a top-flight endocrinologist—it’s just that you and I aren’t on the same page with many otherwise top-flight endocrinologists when it comes to hypothyroidism-diagnosis-and-treatment philosophy.
There are a few important points for you to consider--for you wife’s good, and from a practical standpoint, before you bother to travel to see me:
(1) I agree with you that a TSH of .14 does not necessarily equal a “massive overdose,” but unfortunately that’s a tough nut to crack with a lot of doctors. That is because hyperthyroidism is dangerous. I just don’t think we should be assuming that everybody with a low TSH in hyperthyroid.
(2) I’ll be blunt here: those “holistic GP’s” are wrong about a lot of things; they’re right about some things too, and as I’ve said, the mainstream is, I think, wrong about some things. One group is too aggressive with thyroid hormone and the other too cautious. My book talks a lot about this--I really think you should read it if you haven’t. Basically they’re saying that patients feel better on their treatments, but they ignore the potential for harm years down the road. Just remember feeling good, is good, but it isn’t a good physician’s only goal. It has to be at least reasonably safe. Cocaine makes people feel good, but I assume you agree people shouldn’t be using it.
(3) The reason her T4 went down on Armour is because Armour doesn’t contain enough T4 and it contains too much T3, which is a potent, more potentially dangerous form of thyroid hormone. You don’t say if a T3 was checked, but I bet it’s too high or getting close to being too high.
(4) And remember, the natural situation--that is, normal human physiology--is for there to be a lot of T4 and a little bit of T3, only enough. Proponents of T3 and Armour (hyped as “natural thyroid hormone—perhaps it is, but it does not mimic natural human thyroid status) ignore this.
(5) Again, I’ll be blunt, and this is a very important point if you decide to come see me: I think starting with Armour, and insisting on it’s continued use is a mistake. I use it occasionally, but as a last resort when other options fail. Again, the book describes this in great detail and you should read it when deciding whether you want to come to me. If you come, I very likely will insist that Armour be stopped and that we try Synthroid alone (but perhaps in higher doses than most would use). I did exactly that with a new patient on Armour yesterday.
Please consider these comments.
jkr