Anyone wrote to Jeremy Hunt?

[lorrainecleaver]

Am sure I saw a reply from Jeremy Hunt before, to someone's letter about problems with hypothyroidism and access to medicines etc.

Does anyone remember such a thing?

Thanks

[Clutter]

Hi Lorraine, *waves*.

Have a look through these healthunlocked.com/search/j...

[lorrainecleaver in reply to Clutter]

Hi Clutter

I hardly ever get time to come on here these days. Miss you all!

Thanks for link, will take a look. My MP is about to ask something in parliament re this and wanted to dig out Hunt's thoughts to pass on.

[Clutter in reply to lorrainecleaver]

Lorraine, Hunt thinks?

[lorrainecleaver in reply to Clutter]

Hahaha I ought to have said the bilge Hunt was told to spout.

[Clutter in reply to lorrainecleaver]

Lorraine, I saw something from him along the lines of your GP is free to prescribe whatever blah blah totally oblivious of the constraints GPs are under to prescribe a la the flaming BTA protocols.

[lorrainecleaver in reply to Clutter]

Yes that's the one! Do you know where it is C? I can't find it on the search.

[Clutter in reply to lorrainecleaver]

Lorraine, the search function is less use than an endo I'll have a look and see if I can find anything.

[lorrainecleaver in reply to Clutter]

I didn't think that was possible!

[Clutter in reply to lorrainecleaver]

Lorraine, This is the letter I was thinking of, not sure if it's the one you're looking for healthunlocked.com/thyroidu....

[lorrainecleaver in reply to Clutter]

Oh I think that's it. Didn't realise it was Sheila's. Will ask her if it's ok to quote. Thanks Clutter x

[Treepie]

Still waiting a reply on rip off T3 price that someone else highlighted.

[lorrainecleaver in reply to Treepie]

Oh I can imagine it will take a while to come up with justification for that T3 price hike!

[Marz in reply to lorrainecleaver]

Sorry cannot help Lorraine - however I did write to the aforementioned man about his article in the Sunday Times about Alzheimers - OMG - such a patronising article - and the reply I received even more so.....

Good to have collided with you at the B12 Conference !

M x

[lorrainecleaver in reply to Marz]

Was great to see you Marz You look fabulous. Hope you sorted out that small matter we were talking of too. x

Speaking of patronising, did anyone see the Somatoform article in the Telegraph a couple of Saturdays ago? telegraph.co.uk/news/health...

[Marz in reply to lorrainecleaver]

Interesting article Lorraine ! No mention of B12 or VitD deficiencies then ? - or anything else that may be relevant. Dare I say thyroid ? Surely they should all be basic tests - whatever the medical discipline !

Wish I could remember that small matter we were talking about !

[shambles]

There's a few letters to Jeremy Hunt but can't find a reply from him.

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu....

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu....

Will keep looking

[lorrainecleaver in reply to shambles]

Thanks Shambles

[Anthea55]

I have found that the GPs will only prescribe T4 because they have no experience of using anything else. The endo will prescribe T3, but won't prescribe NDT because they have no experience of using it. They need to be taught more about it.

My local pharmacist had never heard of NDT, Armour or Erfa, so I've suggested he looks at the ThyroidUK website.

Find a doctor who suffers from thyroid problems and you might be getting somewhere.

[lorrainecleaver in reply to Anthea55]

Thanks Anthea. I did find a wonderful doctor who prescribed NDT thanks to this forum, the late Dr Skinner. I then bought it online and just recently my wonderful GP prescribed it on a private prescription. She is trying to get it for me on the NHS, thanks to a bit of education on my part.

I just want my MP to raise this matter again in Westminster but in such a way that the stock reply cannot be trotted out. I want yes or no answers and for those to be committed to record.

[Anthea55]

Lorraine, you are absolutely right in trying to get a statement which we can show our doctors saying that they can prescribe outside the guidelines. That would also help the doctors who have been struck off because they don't stick to the rules.

What I'm trying to say is that even if doctors are allowed to prescribe NDT or T3 they then come up with the argument that they have no experience of it so won't prescribe it as they won't be able to monitor your progress. More training needed I think.

[lorrainecleaver in reply to Anthea55]

Oh I see what you mean Anthea! Yes that's a common stumbling block, I agree. In my own case, it took a letter from my Endo to confirm I'd been taking it safely and effectively for three years and so please consider prescribing it. What chance folk who are just starting out?!

I remember reading a BMJ blog by a GP who had hypothyroidism. Must dig it out and see if she's still doing well on Levo...

I find GP's, broadly speaking, ill disposed to expert patient wisdom sadly. It's not entirely surprising, what with the time pressures and the stress they're all feeling these days. But we must try and requests in writing seem to help.

[Agapanthus]

I have been very lucky that even though my GP admits that I know more about the thyroid than she does, and so is not able to help me properly, she is willing to prescribe me T3 only, to monitor myself because an endo said it was OK for me to have it.

You would think it would interest her enough to research into the thyroid more and understand it but it doesn't seem to!

[lorrainecleaver in reply to Agapanthus]

My old GP gave me T3 Agapanthus, she saw how desperately ill I was and thought, hang the consequences. Sadly it didn't work for me but I appreciated her taking the risk. She shouldn't have been in that position though. The doctors must be allowed to treat and prescribe as they see fit, not some stuffy 'experts' who sit in a room plucking guidelines out of thin air.

[Agapanthus in reply to lorrainecleaver]

Very true. If I hadn't found an endo who was prepared to let the GP give me T3 then I would not have been allowed it. As it happens it hasn't been a panacea for me either but maybe just a small part of the bigger puzzle.

I am trying an adrenal supplement now which is helping a bit more but I have yet more things going on. Without my own research though I would be completely down a dark hole.

[veronica-howard]

When my doctor switched me from the branded Eltroxin (after more than 40 years) to the cheaper, generic levothyroxine, and I had adverse effects, I wrote to the pharmceutical companies and to Jeremy Hunt and my letter was shunted up to the House of Lords. They all came back singing the same tune that the medication was exactly the same, when I know it is not. The binders and fillers are not the same, so who are they trying to hoodwink. After reading of all the people on this site who health is adversely affected by the gross lack of understanding on the part of those who should know better, it is high time that a legal challenge was thrown out to these ignorant people on a no win no fee basis.

[lorrainecleaver in reply to veronica-howard]

I agree totally veronica. It's time for action.