I was unaware I’d committed a contravention(!) and extremely relieved the only punishment was to have my replies switched off! If we’re splitting hairs about what constitutes natural, the only additives in the products prescribed to me by Dr Peatfield are:
Having your replies switched off is not a punishment or a rebuke. It happens to everyone under certain circumstances.
Discussing doctors by name is not allowed on the public forum, and all such discussions must be done via private message. ThyroidUK does not want to leave itself open to accusations of libel. To avoid this replies are switched off to make sure such discussions don't happen publicly.
The other situation where replies are switched off is when people ask for sources for drugs or hormones which are prescription-only in the UK. Again such discussions must be carried out by private message.
Edit : I should clarify that people can ask a question about a specific doctor, but all replies must be private. The same is true of people asking for sources for T3 (for example) - you can ask the question but all replies must be private.
Thanks for prompt response. How do I go about sending a private message, should this in future, be necessary and are members aware generally, that this can be done?
Go to your icon/avatar/picture (top right in a browser on a computer), click on it, choose Help and use the facility to get information about private messages.
It has been observed, over a long time, that members are so keen to reply to requests, they completely ignore guidelines which say that doctors may not be discussed by name. Hasn't helped repeatedly posting requests to avoid doctor names. Nor even posting on the very same thread "NO DOCTOR NAMES" - it just gets ignored.
Therefore, without any other mechanism available, admins switch off replying on the thread. Doesn't stop anyone sending you a Private Message.
You cannot discuss named Doctors on a open forum but you can in private message. I would love to name the rubbish Endocrinologist who suggested I had counselling for my Graves' disease but it is just not allowed.
Nobody is splitting hairs about what is considered natural. If you'd stated in your post that you were taking Metavive, I would have known that there were no excipients in that.
You are not taking NDT, you are taking Metavive which is a thyroid glandular with no declared hormone content.
When I was consulting with Dr P he was actually prescribing NDT at the time, and after he could no longer prescribe he was recommending certain brands of NDT. Metavive is a relatively recent newcomer to the thyroid world.
As has been explained in other replies, you have not been punished. Turning off replies is what normally happens when someone asks for recommendations for doctors or suppliers of prescription only medication without prescription. The posting guidelines you agreed to when you joined the forum touch on this in guidelines #25 and #27.
Replies were switched off on the one post only, and the reason for this was given, both of which are clear in my reply:
However, if anyone can recommend another doctor for you, they will send you a Private Message as we can't discuss them on the forum without their permission.
I will turn off replies to your post so that no information is posted here.
Dr Lowe died so is no longer in the same category. (Also, Dr Skinner.)
It is all very well suggesting a tightening but the admins are few in number and are pure volunteers (except the TUK staff who have admin rights but only occasionally intervene). It is impossible to know that all posts/responses have even been seen, let alone properly read, thought about and acted on (if needed).
to be honest i think we should be thanking and applauding these admin for helping us, often for hours and hours addressing complex and sensitive questions. they give their time and patience to thousands. they are trying to maintain the integrity of the page/forum, so as to protect the only place we are able to discuss and seek peer support. i do not think any criticism or censorship is happening, and to waste time on this is taking away from more important tasks.
If we allowed discussion of individual doctors, even excluding the real possibility of legal issues, it would only be a matter of fairness to allow them some sort of right of reply. I don't think any of the admins would wish to oversee that sort of thread.
I didn't give my useless Endocrinologist a right of reply when he offered me counselling for feeling so ill ..... I just walked out of his clinic never to return. I think he got the message and just sent me a letter telling me I was no longer his patient. I then paid to see Dr Skinner in Birmingham and what a difference to be able to talk equally to a Doctor instead of being spoken down to all the time. He listened and took notes and then told me I needed Levothyroxine and he would write to my GP advising him of what dose etc. I feel sad there is no one else like him in the UK now.
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