Anyone have a recommendation for east coast thyroid specialists and/or holistic/funtional doctors who will prescribe Armour/Nature Throid? My mother is having some difficulties w her gp and thyroid treatment. Now that she's getting older they are forever trying to reduce her dose and/or get her back on levo. She lives in southern NJ but will travel.
We've looked at some new docs but that MD VIP thing is a beast, everyone's at it and my mum already pays $1600 per year to see her gp so would like to avoid doing that more than once. She has Medicare + a secondary insurer but if all else fails she'd pay out of pocket if necessary.
I know now there are nationwide franchises (the same business model as Cancer Treatment Centers of America if you see what I mean) and someone told me about a holistic version of that but I can't find the message.
Grateful for suggestions. Feel free to pm me. TIA.
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puncturedbicycle
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Yes, I don't think she'd have a problem finding an endo. (In fact she already has a new one and an old one. )The problem is that, similar to the UK there is an orthodoxy around thyroid treatment which most doctors adhere to and you could spend a lifetime trawling around looking for one who will make you well.
My mum's been to two recommended docs and one is trying to reduce her meds and get her back on levo and the other is more concerned about bone scans (I suspect because she's going to 'prove' my mum's low tsh and ndt are ruining her bones), which is fine *alongside* dealing with the thyroid but everything has stopped while my mum now has a new part-time job trying to get all these bone scans and treatments.
So, just to explain the 'holistic' focus (even thought I myself have some scepticism about the word/concept/meaning), we're looking for someone who isn't afraid to use ndt and keep my mum where she feels good on her meds.
In my experience (having looked into this at more than one excellent hospital in Manhattan) what they mean by holistic is that they have an acupuncturist and a nutritionist and they offer yoga, meditation etc usually in conjunction with cancer treatment. None of these interacts in any way with thyroid hormone treatment, which is standard. And I believe the hospitals to be the most conservative in this respect.
I'd be happy to be corrected by someone whose experience is different!
I see a private MD, Dr. Kenneth Blanchard, in Newton, Mass. He trests hypo patients all around the world. He doesn't take insurance but I have hound him to be worth every cent.
He is a firm believer in treating the patient based upon symptoms. I'm not sure he uses Armour, BUT he will prescribe times release compounded T3, in addition to Levo if a patient requires it.
He has written two books "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Hypothyroidism" and "Functional Approach to Hypothyroidism: Bridging Traditional and Alternative Treatment Approaches for Total Patient Wellness".
I was thinking about Dr B but my understanding is that he has some ideas about the t3:t4 ratio that don't support the use of ndt. I'm glad to hear he has helped you though!
I think it is worth talking to him. If I understand correctly, his issues with products that combine T3 and T4 together is that they all have too high concentration of T3. Also, he believes that not everyone has conversion issues requiring T3 supplementation so if that person goes on NDT, they will not feel better as their hormones will be way off balance. Makes sense, no?
He rather supplement T4 and T3 (timed release compounded with inert ingredients) separately so that each one can be controlled or changed independent of the other one.
However, if something works for YOU, he will listen. He is constantly learning from his patients.
He also believes in "seasonal" changes, meaning you typically have to increase slightly in fall-winter and decrease slightly in spring-summer.
He is an amazing doctor. He listens to his patients and works WITH you to find your optimum state. I can contact him at any time either by phone or email and he WILL get back to me. Amazing. We just had a conversation yesterday - lovely man.
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)The problem is that, similar to the UK there is an orthodoxy around thyroid treatment which most doctors adhere to and you could spend a lifetime trawling around looking for one who will make you well. 
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