Proposed book on treating hypothyroidism

[diogenes]

Prof Bianco in the States has questioned the universal use of T4 monotherapy and will publishing a book on the subject in autumn 2022. The aim is in this excerpt:

Rethinking Hypothyroidism: Why Treatment Must Change, and What Patients Can Do

Antonio Bianco

Dec 10

This book will be published by the University of Chicago Press in the Fall of 2022. The book is about the treatment of hypothyroidism, its history, underlying science, and the changes that occurred over time.

Most patients respond well to daily tablets of levothyroxine, but about ten to twenty percent (some two to three million individuals in the United States) are far from living a typical life. They exhibit “foggy brain”—low energy, confusion, and poor memory. Many doctors have shrugged off their complaints, believing they are unrelated to the thyroid disease.

In this book, I offer an accessible overview of the disease’s treatment and make the case that the current approach is failing some patients. I call for alternatives to improve lives, and I equip patients and their families to advocate for other treatments.

[helvella]

Thank you, diogenes.

I can't wait for the What Patients Can Do bit.

I also end up wondering, if ten to twenty percent are far from living a typical life, and surely need to be prioritised, could the other eighty to ninety percent actually do even better with some T3, even a tiny amount, in their mix?

[diogenes Remembering in reply to helvella]

I suppose it's the "worst first".

[dolphin5]

That sounds helpful!

[jimh111]

Thanks, good news. Bianco is highly regarded so provided his book is as positive as it sounds it will be very useful, difficult for doctors to ignore.

[humanbean in reply to jimh111]

Unfortunately, Bianco carefully avoids mentioning any of the research that diogenes and his research group do, as far as I can tell.

[jimh111 in reply to humanbean]

True. Researchers have a habit of referencing their own papers, partly because it's their speciality and partly to increase their own reference count. Bianco's speciality is a little different but I would have expected some citations where the subject matter overlaps with diogenes papers.

[TSH110 in reply to humanbean]

Yes that’s a jolly poor show

[Marz]

When we read and understand where the power lies in medicine today we can soon see why thyroid treatment is the poor relation.

[jgelliss in reply to Marz]

Thank You Marz......

[Marz in reply to jgelliss]

Pity part of my post was deleted - I really have no idea why.

[jgelliss in reply to Marz]

Marz what's going on?Please let me know that your fine.

[DippyDame]

Thank you diogenes Hopefully this book will help push the medics off their high horses to become grounded and to listen to the scientists because that, as we all know, is vastly overdue

[stiltzski]

Hopefully good news, although his list of symptoms of those not doing well on Levo is woefully short.

[Musicmonkey]

Very happy to see this helpful addition to the fight for better thyroid treatment! Roll on Autumn 2022.

[AliF]

Anything that helps with trying to improve the lives of the 10-20% is extremely welcome and can’t come a moment too soon. Thank you Diogenes for flagging and for all of your invaluable research, even if it hasn’t been cited by Antonio Bianco.

[jimh111 in reply to AliF]

Remember the 10% - 15% is those diagnosed with primary hypothyroidism based on an elevated TSH. There are many others who are hypothyroid with 'normal' blood hormone levels.

[AliF in reply to jimh111]

I was quoting Antonio Bianco but yes, I take your point, many more people are affected by thyroid disease and are not treated effectively, if at all. Anything that raises any of the issues around thyroid disease must at least be helpful.

[PaulRobinson]

Well, you are your colleagues Diogenes have been working hard on the science for a long time. Maybe, just maybe, all it needs is a few more dominos to fall and then, maybe, more will come,

It is a lovely thought at Christmas time and as we move forward into 2022. I am personally going to hang onto a bit of positive thought about it.

I echo all of Helvella's comments too - about 'the patient bit' (because doctors typically don't like patients trying to have an opinion on their own treatment), and the 'other eight to ninety per cent'.

Merry Christmas to all!

Trying not to do too much "Bah Humbug!"

[waveylines]

Thank you Diogenes for the info. I hope this book when it come out finally gets other practioners to see that monotherapy is definately not the solution for all.....thats its left a whole cohort of people to lead half lives unnecessarily or to go off piste & self treat.

And I thank you for the research you and the team are doing. Your research is like the beacon of light that shines out in a dark storm at sea. Its a life line. Thank u!

[BrynGlas]

This is music to my ears, until some Health Professionals acknowledge that hypopatients -and hyper patients no doubt - are being given short shrift we will get nothing different.

I have never been able to understand why the only option for most of us is Levothyroxine.

Mind you, Diabetics have only insulin, I wonder if any of them can go through the same type of hell on Insulin? I never thought of that before and my brother, his son and my grandson are all Type One! That makes me feel terrible now.

However there has been a lot of innovation put into Diabetes since my brother was diagnosed in his 20's, he is 68 now.

I think hypothyroid patients are generally thought to be of no real importance in some way.

[waveylines in reply to BrynGlas]

I know a diabectic who did indeed go through hell getting her treatment right. She had to fight for a piece of equipment that she desperately needed to keep her on an even keel but the NHS fought her. She got it in the end after a long battle. I suspect it doesn't matter which chronic condition you have if you don't fit the standard pattern/protocol of treatment you are faced with a battle. Depressing really lol....

[BrynGlas in reply to waveylines]

That's sad that she had to fight for new equipment, hope she found that it helped her.

My grandson, nephew and brother all seem to have modern equipment/pumps etc to deliver their insulin.

I just wondered if there might be anyone who couldn't tolerate synthetic insulin as some on this forum can't take synthetic T4/Levothyroxine.

[waveylines in reply to BrynGlas]

Yes thats true.....she had to fight for the animal version as she said its all moving across to the synthetic which she didn't find as good and didn't stay as stable. It was also the pump she had to fight for too. So I dont think all is necessarily rosie on the other side of the fence... Id hoped it was just hypothyroidism treatment but not so....Lol..

[BrynGlas in reply to waveylines]

My brother never says he has any problems and seems to be pretty stable. I have no idea which he uses and don't want to rock any boats either, so don't keep asking questions. At least it isn't just thyroid hormones which can be a pain in the rear!

Seasons Greetings one and all.

[waveylines in reply to BrynGlas]

So glad to hear this BrynGlas about ure brother - guess its like hypothyroidism, many do well but for some its more tricky....lol.

[humanbean in reply to BrynGlas]

Mind you, Diabetics have only insulin

There is a massive difference between insulin and thyroid hormones.

If you search for insulin in the British National Formulary it finds 308 results.

bnf.nice.org.uk/drug/#Searc...

If you search for "thyroid hormones" you get 16 results and some of those results are from drugs which aren't to treat a thyroid problem they are to treat something else and it has unwanted effects on thyroid hormones. (In other words there aren't 16 results to choose from for someone with a thyroid problem.)

bnf.nice.org.uk/drug/#Searc...

Diabetics have options of fast-acting insulin, slow release insulin, animal-derived insulin, and lab-produced insulin. If I knew more about insulin and diabetes I could probably say more about types of insulin.

[BrynGlas in reply to humanbean]

I really haven't had to think about insulin too much since my grandson was very young, diagnosed at age 3 years as was my nephew, my brother was a young adult when diagnosed.

I am pretty much out of practice now. He is 28 now, so I don't have to prick his little fingers and give him 'ouchies' in his tummy now thank God! I used to play being Cruella Deaville was it, at that time?

[Wired123]

We need this book NOW to hit doctors over the head with… hopefully it’s hardback.

Diogenes why don’t you and your team publish a book which highlights all your research and findings. Doctors will only pay attention if we can gift them a book which is backed up be peer reviewed research, nothing else matters to them… well except their NHS medicines budget!

[helvella in reply to Wired123]

I hope it is in PDF or Kindle (or whatever). So you can display it on a portable computer.

Then, whether passed gently or thrown violently, it would be an unusual reversal - where a patient gives their doctor a tablet.

[waveylines in reply to helvella]

🤣😀🤣 love that Helvella!

[diogenes Remembering in reply to Wired123]

We already have done so as an eBook and this is the Editorial which heads it. Downloadable. It's our position in 2018 which has developed further since then but the basis is here in several articles. The overall title of the eBook is in the editorial heading. However the great and good have held their noses and looked away.

Editorial: “Homeostasis and Allostasis of Thyroid Function”

Johannes W. Dietrich , John E. M. Midgley and Rudolf Hoermann

Published on 05 June 2018

Front. Endocrinol. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2018.00287