The article is interesting with good input from Lynn and others, unfortunately when you look at the comments after the article a lot of them are hinting / saying people want treated for under-active thyroid because
a) when you are on levo you get free prescriptions for life and
It's the daily hate mail, not known for critical thinking, & known for readers dissing other people for thinking they're getting something for nothing.
Generally speaking I too loathe the DM,and rarely read the online articles, but I have read through a good few of the comments, (and their are hundreds) many of which describe in detail the problems many have of being correctly diagnosed with hypothyroidism on the NHS, and the lack of adequate treatment.
I would hope that some people may be being educated a little about thyroid problems from the comments alone.
Maybe the DM should contact some of the commenters and ask them to give more detail about their experiences.
It's just the type of hype that some people extol in, i.e. that people are malingerers and how these people fathom out that those who're hypothyroid are 'cheating' the system, when in fact it is the guidelines who're doing a dis-service to those who are hypothyroid by not providing hormone replacements which suit the individual rather than palming everyone with levothyroxine alone. A majority on this forum do not get better on levo although we do know that those who don't have internet connection have no chance of trying to do so, with help/advice from others in the same boat.
Completely agree, I just thought that maybe a few people who do not really understand what hypothyroidism is and what it feels like to have it might just read some of the comments from people who do live with the condition and understand a little more about it.
Possibly a futile hope I agree, but lets face it, when the majority of the medical profession disregard our symptoms as "all in our heads" any converts are welcome.
Most of the article makes sense, and they seem to have contacted people who are hypo, Lynn has been interviewed and also a couple of endos / lecturers who have said that withdrawing levo will cause untold harm to patients as well as other comments that make sense.
It seems that people who have no idea of thyroid problems immediately latch on to the wrong angle which is very unfortunate.
Much as I dislike the tone of most stories in the DM, we do need someone to fight our corner. This and the previous article about liothyronine might have at least raised awareness of thyroid problems.
I have often wished that we could have an equivalent to Dr Malcolm Kendrick(whose main area of interest is heart disease and the cholesterol scam) in the medical profession, but judging by the lack of endocrinologists who seem to be knowledgable on thyroid matters we could be waiting some time!
I know, don’t know what it is about endocrinologists, I often feel they don’t really like their patients much. I’m not sure why a doctor would practice in a certain area unless they were sympathetic/ empathetic towards their patients but as far as endocrinologists go it seems they don’t have all that great a opinion of their patients.
They certainly don’t seem to be prepared to do what Malcolm Kendrick does and those who have fought our corner in the past have had life made incredibly difficult for themselves - presumably to set an example to anyone else who dares to try it.
Dr Kendrick was at one of TUK's Conferences a couple of years back. Very interesting it was and he was shocked when he heard some stories and the struggle to get options when levo wasn't working as the professionals expect.
Just when I think I’ve heard it all, along comes some poor soul with an even worse take of appalling treatment from doctors and endocrinologists. I find it really very sad not to mention weird that the response to people who for example need T3 which has been allowed to escalate in price in the U.K. is to stop testing T3!
I wonder if, in the not too distant future, that people (or their families) will prosecute the medical professionals for endangering patients' lives by refusing to prescribe the hormones that the patient needs to live a fulfilling life.
How many marriages are affected - because of the ailing person and confusion by the other half because they see this patient swallow tablets every day and are puzzled that the person is much worse and not improving at all.
How many with hypothyroidism are thought of as 'hypochondriacs' due to the many symptoms they still have but aren't believed and 'its all in the mind attitude' of the professionals and given anti-depressants etc.
Why do the professionals think they know better than those of us on this forum who've struggled, and struggled but whose doctors couldn't suss out why this patient is still complaining. After all 'their blood tests are fine'!!!!!!
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