I stumbled upon this article...I hope we are not only talking about NDT here...?!
channel4.com/news/mother-te...
Is this a typical example of narrow-mindedness on behalf of UK authorities, or are those alternative doctors a potential danger to their patients...?
Anna69,
NHS can be very heavy handed with parents who challenge their children's treatment (or lack thereof). Mary Kidson's daughter has been back home for over a year now.
Mary Kidson's mother went against the 'guidelines' of the UK. There has been a big 'ho-ha' about natural dessicated thyroid hormones even though they have been proven since 1892 to allow people to get back to a normal life without symptoms.
In the UK - due to the fact that since NDT was first used in 1892 up to the late 50's/60's when there was a big push by the pharma companies to introduced levothyroxine as the 'perfect' replacement.
As it has been proven not to be so 'perfect' for many patients they refuse to prescribe NDT as it has never been 'licenced'. In 1892 they were more concerned about people dying a horrific death due to no treatment whatsoever and should be called 'grandfathered' due to its long history of successful use.
These are previous posts re Mary Kidson :
I have to admit I am beginning to feel slightly hesitant about those so called Hertoghe doctors...and I'm seeing one myself. I am grateful for their existence as they are the one of the very few doctors in Europe to prescribe NDT, and to work with pharmacies that carry those and other drugs often prescribed by these doctors.
But I have read "The hormone solution" by T. Hertoghe, and it seems to be focused mainly on anti-aging hormone therapy...and that is where I begin to question those methods. It's one thing to treat a hormone deficiency (like in my case, thyroid hormone deficiency caused by Hashimoto's disease), quite another to restore hormone levels in range to youthful levels.
A woman in her 50s is not supposed to have the estrogen and progesterone levels of a 20-year-old. The latter is supposed to be able to conceive and carry a foetus to term; the former is not. And I am not sure it's even a good thing to manipulate hormone levels. If nature intended for them to decline as we age, why try to restore them to what they looked like 20 or 30 years ago? As far as I interpret Dr. H's ideas, our hormones peak in our early 20s, and begin to decline in our early 30s already. Does that mean the hormone levels of a healthy 20-year-old are those we should aim for in patients aged 50, 60, and even older?
If so, is that really a healthy approach, to go against what nature intended?
Human growth hormone (HGH) is another controversial matter. My doctor has wanted to prescribe it for me for years; so far, I have declined, not only because of the outrageous costs associated with this treatment, and that fact that it has to be injected daily, but also because I am not sure I should try to restore the HGH levels I had 25 years ago. My HGH levels are in range but not optimal, according to doctor. It's one thing to prescribe HGH to a child who otherwise would risk dwarfism (in which case it's reimbursed by social security), but quite another to prescribe it to individuals with levels in range, although not as high as in their youth.
I went to see a Hertoghe doctor because I was not doing well on T4 drugs only, and all other doctors seemed obsessed with the TSH (which never corresponded with how I felt). But now, treatment seems to be more and more focused on anti-ageing therapy, and that is when I start feeling uncomfortable about this whole business...as I am not convinced we should try to go against what nature intended, and try to reverse the normal aging process.
thecat346,
Aren't you manipulating your hormone levels by taking NDT? I don't consider taking HRT to relieve symptoms of menopause to be manipulating hormones or to be an anti-ageing therapy. If symptoms of any hormone deficiency can be relieved by supplementing or manipulating hormones, why not?
I think that you might misunderstand the hormone thing.
old woman syndrome is often referred to under active symptons.
I am 48 and old woman in the supermarket run round faster than me.and whenu i was having periods i used to say what is wrong with my brain why have i got brain fog .why do i feel different to other people.why i am I fat and hardly eat anything. Why do I exercise everyday and my friend doesn't exercise she is thin.And eats a lot.And I don't.
when I went to see my metabolic advisor who also see dr hetogge . Baring in mind she has hystorectomy at 40 and is now 60 .i went to see her at 45 i could barely walk and i am havi g periods. She is runni g around the kitxhen and running up and sown the stairs.
she ice skates. I can barely benddown at the moment
it's getting all the things imbalances
sorry to be down I wish I could afford to see them.
kjc
Yes, the cost is a problem. Not only are their fees horrendous, but those drugs are expensive, and several, including NDT, not reimbursed by social security.
Isn't there any doctor trained by Hertoghe in the UK? He organizes seminars and lectures all around Europe, so there must be doctors working according to his methods in other countries as well. If you add traveling to Belgium to all other costs, we are talking about a fortune...which is a shame. I wish all doctors were more open-minded, and willing to prescribe non-conventional drugs when clearly patients are not doing well on conventional ones...
Dr. Hertoghe, his sister (also a doctor in Brussels), and all of the Hertoghe doctors I know of take NDT themselves.
I think there are a couple in London, but I can't remember their names, I'm afraid.
Yes, but I am not talking about relieving symptoms, but about restoring hormone levels to youthful levels, when nature obviously intended for them to decline naturally. And I don't consider taking thyroid hormone replacement manipulating hormone levels, but taking something my body is unable to produce on its own, and this has nothing to do with my age. Without thyroid hormone replacement, I would eventually die.
I have nothing against using hormones if you need to feel them to feel truly well, but that is different from anti-ageing therapy...at least to me.
I am beginning to ask myself how far I am willing to let this go...but, that of course, is a choice every individual has to make.
I have talked to other patients of my doctor who have used HGH and felt great on it, but had to stop as they could no longer afford it...I guess I hesitate also because of doping scandals.
What have doping scandals got to do with HGH?
I'm afraid I'm in the same catagory as those other patients you speak of. I felt so good on HGH, but had to stop because of the price. I wish some doctor would prescribe it for me!
Haven't there been doping scandals where athletes injected themselves with HGH...? Or maybe I am confusing it with some other drug.
Anyway, I might try it (my doctor will most likely suggest that at my next appointment this summer). It seems it's incredibly expensive, but everyone who has tried it has loved it. Would you mind giving me an idea about the cost...mostly so I know what to expect...?
From what you say, I assume giving yourself an injection every day was not a problem...?
I've never heard of athlètes injecting themselves with HGH. And I can't imagine it would do them any good unless it was a dangerously high dose. It gives you more energy if you're deficient, but I Don't think it would do anything for a 'normal' person.
It was a long time ago I was on it. 9 or 10 years. But then it cost me to buy it in the pharmacy about €450 for three months supply. I've no idea how much it costs now. But it cost me a lot more than that because it meant a drive to Paris to see my doctor, €200 +/- for the appointment, drive to Brussels to buy it, and, as that took most of the day, a meal of some sort in Brussels. Quite a day out! Or, rather, two days.
It was absolutely no problem for me to inject myself. You Don't use a syringe, you use an epipen, tiny, tiny needle. You just pinch up the skin somewhere at the top of your abdomen, put the pen against it and push on the button at the top of the pen. You Don't feel a thing.
OK, thanks! Interesting. Something tells me the price of HGH has not decreased since...and it's only covered by the "mutualité" if it's administered to a child with a hypo-pituatary problem who cannot produce enough HGH...otherwise, you have to pay it out of your own pocket.
Same thing with DHEA and pregnenolone...DHEA is considered an "anti-ageing drug" and therefore not reimbursed, although it's an adrenal hormone just like cortisol and aldosterone...which are reimbursed if prescribed by a doctor.
Yup. It all came out of my Pocket. But, whilst I could afford it, it was more than Worth it!
Ok, thanks for your comments, I might decide to try it...last summer, my doc suggested it, but I still had some lingering doubts...now gone thanks to you! I saw myself with this use syringe in my hand, giving myself a painful injection every morning...!
GG, would you mind telling me about the main benefits of HGH? I am also considering it, as my doctor recommends it.
In adults, HGH is needed for reparation and renewal of cells. So, if yours is low, then nothing is getting repaired and you're slowly breaking down, so to speak.
Also, you need HGH for good conversion of T4 to T3.
When I was having my shots, I had more energy, lost weight, grew hair, felt happier and brighter. Low HGH affects the whole body, just like thyroid hormone. I would thoroughly recommend it.
Thanks, I actually think I will give it a try...my doctor has offered it a couple of times but, like someone else said, I hesitated, as I did not like the idea of daily injections...but, just like you, my doctor has assured me it's no hassle at all, works like a charm, and once you are on it, you never want to go off it...I get all prescriptions from this doctor filled in Belgium, which I think is good if HGH is not available in all countries.
I Don't know about the UK, but it's illegal in France! 
Really?! Incredible...Belgium really seems to be ahead of most countries in some areas, such as hormone replacement therapy...I do hope that children who would otherwise not develop normally are allowed to use HGH, though, even in France...?
Yes, I think Belgium is. Perhaps that's because of the Hertoghes, do you think?
Yes, children can have HGH, but only in hospital. It's adults that can't have it. They thing adults Don't need it. sigh But, then, there are some doctors that Don't think women need testosterone...
In some way, we're living in the Dark Ages...
Can anyone stop the illegal sale of medicines online? (BMJ)
Hormones 
would appreciate input on sex hormone levels and prescribed treatment
