According to the GP I saw today,the directive re stopping all future prescriptions for T3 states that any perceived benefit the patient experiences with T3,is solely down to the fact that T3 is absorbed quickly,and apart from that,it is identical in effect to thyroxine.
I now believe that the mindset around thyroxine & the TSH amongst the medical profession is like a creed,absorbed in blind faith & not to be questioned,by the majority.
I was really shocked by this young GP's sheep-like attitude to authority,and complete ignorance & lack of interest in hypothyroidism.
Thank goodness for Thyroid UK & the internet.
Written by
Naomi8
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What?! That makes no sense. It's not 'identical' as T4 must be converted and not everyone converts it as efficiently, either. Gob-smacked at the ignorance.
The GP probably went to the morning meeting and asked - "How do I tell patients they can't have T3?" and was told this bull would work on patients.
We all know the real reason is cost but they only will admit there is a cost reason behind their poor treatment if you question them hard enough.
I suggest you learn your biology, go in with a pen and paper in case you need to draw a diagram so the GP understands how the thyroid works and question the GP "innocently".
If you are asked where you got your knowledge from point out there are biology books in the library as everyone on the internet giving out information that differs from theirs is a "quack" or a "liar".
God helps those that help themselves and we are being forced to source our own T3 in order to have a healthy life and not to be beholden to the Powers that Be who pronounce such disgraceful and untruthful statements as they've actually no knowledge of prescribing T3 nor seem to be aware that levothyroxine HAS TO convert to T3 in order for us to function normally. Some people's bodies cannot and they don't state that levothyroxine has been proven to be ineffectual and can cause other more serious problems. They don't withdraw that do they?
"The second possible reason for your bad reaction to Synthroid is that T4-replacement simply won’t work for you. It doesn’t work for many hypothyroid patients. In a recent study in the United Kingdom, for example, T4-replacement left 50% of patient suffering from hypothyroid symptoms (Saravanan, P., Chau, W.F., Roberts, N., et al.: Psychological well-being in patients on ‘adequate doses of L-thyroxine: results of a large, controlled community-based questionnaire study. Clin. Endocrinol. (Oxf.), 57(5):577-585, 2002.) Unfortunately, through faulty reasoning, these researchers concluded that a much smaller percentage of patients suffered from symptoms despite being on T4-replacement. They are mistaken about the percentage. The evidence is overwhelming that T4-replacement is the lousiest approach to thyroid hormone therapy. I’ve documented the widespread failures of the approach in two critiques:
(links removed as they're archived)
Odds are, if you cooperate with your doctor and try T4-replacement again, you’ll waste time trying to get well. Moreover, you’ll most likely react badly again. T4-Replacement forsakes many patients. But most patients recover quickly with T4/T3 products such as Armour Thyroid, Westhroid, and Naturthroid, and with T3 alone—as long as the patients use high enough doses of the products. If your doctor will cooperate and treat you with one of these products and ignore your TSH level, you’re not likely to have another bad reaction to thyroid hormone therapy. Instead, other factors held constant, you can, I believe, expect a highly positive treatment outcome.
Dr. Lowe: I am sincerely sorry you're suffering needlessly—as millions of other patients are—from the ineffectiveness of T4-replacement. As you may know, we know have substantial evidence of a truly tragic phenomenon: many—perhaps most—patients who undergo antithyroid therapy and then use T4-replacement have chronic, often debilitating, health problems. By starting T4-replacement five years ago, you unfortunately joined this multitude of patients living in doctor-induced misery.
From your own experience, you obviously know that fatigue and widespread pain are among the chronic hypothyroid symptoms that can plague these patients. It has become fashionable for doctors to diagnosis the pain and fatigue as "fibromyalgia" and "chronic fatigue syndrome." These are misdiagnoses, of course. An accurate diagnosis is the chronic hypothyroid symptoms of pain and fatigue caused by the ineffectiveness of T4-replacement.
"Because you are hypothyroid, you most likely won’t have to find a doctor who’ll treat you with T3 alone. Most of our patients who became hypothyroid after antithyroid therapy don't use T3 alone; the majority fully recover their health using T4/T3 products. The particular product doesn’t matter; it may be Armour, Nature-Throid, Thyrolar, Westhroid, or over-the-counter desiccated thyroid. In our experience, all of these products are generally more effective than T4 alone.
What does matter is that your doctor not use the "replacement" practice of adjusting your dosage by your TSH, T4, and T3 levels. If he does, you’re not likely to fully recover your health. In contrast, if he adjusts your dosage by your symptoms and especially your resting metabolic rate, you stand the best possible chance of fully recovering."
"I did some research on the Internet and came across the FDA site where you can look up a drug to see if it's approved or pending approval. I was stunned when I read that Synthroid was awaiting approval or rather re-approval after so many complaints about its ineffectiveness. I copied some ten pages, took them to my internist, and asked for a different thyroid medicine. He looked me in the eye and told me that the drug was approved—when it was not. He told me he would never prescribe a medication that was not approved. He also told me there was nothing wrong with the drug, although the FDA site contradicts this. In so many words, he called me a liar. "
My forward looking GP put me on T3 via an endocrinologist at one hospital and it changed my life. However in the longer term I couldnt get on their books so referred to a different endocrinologist who wanted me off T3 altogether. My hair is falling out in handfulls and Im having up to 40 hot sweats per day and my memory is going again. I feel so sad about all of this. He wants to test my adrenals. I have a severely disabled child to care for and need to be well
Then I strongly suggest you do what many of us here are forced to do and that is to source it from somewhere else! Ask the questions and you will get many answers from where you can do this securely. Don't suffer just because one ignorant idiot is so far up his own backside he could pass for his own tonsils. Time to take charge of your own health! I wish you well.
For people living in the UK, it is possible (and legal) to buy prescription-only medicines abroad and import them for their own use. (Controlled drugs are not included in this.) So, if you live in the UK and want to buy some T3, create a post of your own, giving us some information about your thyroid health and your current and previous treatment, and ask for reliable sources for buying T3 abroad.
Any such suggestions are followed at your own risk... None of us (the members) can guarantee anything. And none of us can be assumed to have any medical training.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
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