There seem to be quite a few patients of P's here. He seems to work much in the same way as Thierry Hertoghe.
However, in H's practice, they no longer prescribe Armour, only Erfa. I understand that P prefers Armour, and that is what he recommends to patients?
I've read that Armour is now the most expensive NDT in the world. Perhaps that has something to do with it? I'm just guessing.
Dr P cannot prescribe or sell prescription meds, so price makes no odds to him. I suspect he just says Armour because that's the one he has personal experience of.
Sorry, not being British, I don't know all the details. Why cannot Dr. P prescribe any prescription meds? Is he not a medical doctor?
He *was* a fully qualified practising GP, but gave it up because our medical system did not allow him to practise medicine the way he wanted to. So for many years now he has practised privately under the guise of 'nutritional advisor' or something like that. This means he advises patients which medicines to take, but his patients have to buy their medicines themselves without prescription.
I see...interesting!
All I know is that the price of Armour has literally doubled in Belgium...
It was always more expensive than the rest, but is extortionately priced now. Yet another barrier to UK patient's fight to get prescribed desiccated thyroid on the NHS 
Anyone has a clue why? I mean, if there was a sudden shortage of pig thyroid, caused by an outbreak of swine fever or something similar, the price of other brands would be affected as well, right...?
In Belgium, one pharmacy has started making capsules made from 300 mg pills of Armour, crushed and mixed to various strengths, to keep costs down...
In his book, "Your Thyroid and how to keep it healthy", Dr P described his 'great privilege to know and be taught by' the grandson, Jacques Hertoghe, of the Belgian Master Eugene Hertoghe. The practice is now carried on by the children of Jacques, Thierry and Theresa Hertoghe. I think Erfa might be more common in France/Belg than is Armour... not sure?
Dr P is both a fine man and a fine doctor... who faced the very same system that did what it did to Dr Gordon Skinner... 'Lest we forget'...
Thérèse Hertoghe is in private practice in Brussels. Her brother is in charge of a bigger practice where several doctors take turns; as far as I know, he does not see patients himself on a regular basis, but only occasionally. The daily work is carried out by other doctors.
I was a patient there from 2004-06. During that time, I saw another doctor. I left because he insisted my TSH remain between 1 and 2 at all times, even on Armour...he eventually took me off Armour, and put me back on thyroxine only, because Armour failed to keep my TSH between 1 and 2...I ended up thinking that, if I had to go back on thyroxine, and keep my TSH between 1 and 2, any doctor could prescribe those meds, for 20€ per visit, instead of the 140€ I had to pay in H's clinic back then...in other words, I felt I did not get any added value from seeing a doctor in his clinic, I only felt I had to pay much more...
I know, I've heard this too - that the doctors working in their practice are pretty much like the *&^% we get here. Not good at all.
I would certainly pay more to see Thierry Hertoghe [not simply for thyroid hormones] but I take your point entirely; seems like a waste of money! Hope you are getting sorted out now?
We visit Brussels and Liege every year! Be well 
A couple of years ago, I contacted his practice to ask if there was any chance of seeing H himself. The answer I got was that it would be possible to see him once (this single consult would be charged 2000€), and then I would continue with another doctor. Simply not worth the trouble and the money, I figured.
I am seeing another Hertoghe doctor - outside Liège, go figure - and it works pretty well. I get all the hormones I need; the only problem is that she insists on prescribing Armour. But I have found a pharmacy willing to replace it with Erfa. I know there have been problems reported with Erfa as well but, if I take enough, I seems to work (at least so far). I took 5 grains until recently; then, as outside temperature dropped, i had to raise it slightly; first to 5.5 grains, and then to 6 grains, which seems OK for now.
Wow, thanks for this info - I would be prepared to pay that to see H himself but to be ongoing, certainly more than once! Great that its working out well for you. Yes Liege is a good place to visit, we do Brussels, Luxembourg, Trier Germany, Amsterdam... few areas and enjoy it a lot. [My husband had family ties in Belg., why I thought seeing H himself would be fine ]
I admire you going up to 5 grains per day, then increasing in cold weather. It is largely my temps that dictate whether I'm well or not... I've read that NOT taking the correct amount of Armour/NDT [for the individual] can make our thyroid issue worse. I never got beyond 2 grains, max... started to decline after 2 1/2 years and went onto T3 alone... even that goes wrong in winter [due entirely to cold... low temps are so dreadful].
Thanks so much re H, himself! Be well
All NDT is illegal in France.
Really?! So your only choice is to find a pharmacy abroad that will send it to you? I guess I always assumed that a product that can legally be sold in one EU country, is automatically considered legal in all other EU countries as well...with a few notable exceptions, such as cannabis and other soft drugs legalised in the Netherlands.
Oh no, that's not the way it works at all. Given their heads, the French governement would make all hormones illegal. So far they've only done it with NDT and HGH, but they're working on melatonin, and one pharmacy point-blank refused to sell me DEAH - on the whim of the pharmacist!
I did get it for myself on-line, but it didn't suit me, anyway.
Yes Linda, I'm a patient of Dr P, and so is my daughter. I thoroughly echo what you say about him, and Dr S was a wonderful dr too.
Dr P also recommends Nutri's thyroid glandular, much less expensive than Armour, and it's doing wonders for me.
Yes indeed ValTay, medicine - endocrinology in particular - could have learned a lot from these two doctors. I first went to see Dr Skinner in Birmingham but then in Glasgow... he was soo funny [doing a jig and singing songs about the English, eek 
]. The GMC, apparently or allegedly, used to call his patients, "The Skinnerettes"... to which I said, "I am more than happy to be called that, just not by GMC staff". I didn't accept everything Gordon Skinner said but I certainly respected his integrity as both a doctor and especially as a man! I only saw Dr P maybe once or twice but did the protocol via written communications... great man who understands what all of this is about.
Thank you for the info on Nutri's thyroid glandular and I'm pleased you've found something that works. I've used Armour and tried Erfa [no good for me] and take T3 alone now but its good to have that recommendation... none of us know how we're going to be next week even I use Nutri Adrenal Extra thanks to Dr P... can't abide the thoughts of what's in there [New Zealand is apparently safe] but we do what we have to do... in the face of disregard and way worse from many docs. You take care and your daughter too, what a difference it makes when something starts working. Be well xx
I know this is a subject already treated, discussed, debated...but I have several bottles of Armour expiring next year, and I would really like to understand some things:
Some say they do better on Armour, some that they do better on Erfa. Not necessarily strange, as many patients on synthetic drugs also seem to have their preferences. When I was on thyroxine only, for instance, I always did better on one of the three brands available in Belgium at the time. I have no idea why that is, but I definitely felt a difference if some pharmacy could not give me my preferred brand.
I would like to do well on Armour, maybe because that is the brand preferred by my doctor (who herself is on Armour). Dr. Hertoghe now prefers Erfa, and it seems the policy of his clinic nowadays is to prescribe Erfa. I know some pharmacies in Brussels (whom I have been in touch with) no longer carry Armour, only Erfa.
The STTM website has spent a lot of time complaining about Armour not being possible to take sublingually anymore, but no thyroid drug is intended to take sublingually. I know many patients prefer to take it that way, but the fact remains: that is not how they are supposed to be taken. I have never taken Erfa sublingually either, so that in itself is not a problem to me.
The STTM also claims that Armour is no longer being absorbed by the body like it used to , and blames cellulose. The STTM also recommends chewing the pills up to break down cellulose, while others recommend taking it with cellulase (known to break down cellulose, even if its main purpose is to treat candida infections).
There is a lot of contradictory and confusing information out there...I know, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and "stick to what works for you". However, I cannot help but note that, before Armour was reformulated in late 2008/early 2009, hardly any patients ever complained about its potency. Everyone on it seemed happy with it. The very few who did not well on it did not seem to do well on any drug containing T3. But, after the Armour reformulation, I feel there are simply too many unhappy customers to just dismiss them all, even if Forest has never seemed to take complaints seriously. I have no idea how or even if Actavis will react; I guess only time will tell...
But Erfa also has issues. Although they deny it, too many patients have complained about it in the past year or so. Does anyone know if Erfa is trying to figure things out, or have they just managed to dismiss all complaints...?
Wahhh, Erfa used to be cheaper!! The NHS appears to have done little over years to regulate HOW it purchases and from WHOM... anyone might feel able to assume that its long 'top heavy' management could at least chase down best prices... I'm not referring to the above, just the simple act that me/my husband takes when 'shopping round'.
I consult Dr. P. If he thinks NDT is suitable, he leaves it to us to buy whichever one we want. I decided on Nature-throid.
Dr Peatfield
Dr Peatfield
Dr Peatfield
Dr Peatfield has retired
Appointment with Dr. Peatfield?
