Imperial Healthcare Promoting the Withdrawal of Liothyronine

[jimh111]

I submitted a Freedom of Information request healthunlocked.com/thyroidu... about Imperial Healthcare's 'Liothyronine Withdrawal Clinic' which specifically asked how many patients are told that the intention is to deprescribe liothyronine. I believe most patients are not told at the outset that their liothyronine will be stopped regardless of consequences. I submitted a formal complaint to Imperial Heathcare in November 2022 about a doctor's dishonesty and working outside their capabilities, detailing numerous factual errors in their educational videos.

A recent 'Thyroid Masterclass' middleeasthealth.com/medica... was held which repeats false information.

Specifically, the talk is titled 'Helping patients on T3 or dessiccated thyroid extract to switch to evidence based levothroxine'. To the best of my knowledge their is no 'Help', patients are taken off T3 medication regardless of consequences. My FOI request asks for the numbers, for the proof.

There's the usual pseudo-science, for example: levothyroxine is 'evidence-based', well-being fluctuates so you can't trust response to therapy, we should not trial liothyronine or levothyroxine and 'reassuring them that their own T3 production is sufficient'.

The most important issue is that Imperial Healthcare have allowed a doctor currently under investigation to continue to promote harmful and unsafe policies.

[humanbean]

evidence based levothroxine

Didn't Levo get introduced for everyone in the 70s ? 80s? without any comparison testing being done between Levo and NDT, and no testing on patients to be sure it worked?

If there is such research available I'd love to see the papers and how the "research" was carried out.

Are the people running the T3 Withdrawal Clinic working for the NHS or some other organisation e.g. a private medicine group or company?

I just did a search and came across the following :

Imperial Healthcare UK Ltd

Imperial Private Healthcare

Imperial Healthcare Recruitment

Imperial Healthcare Group

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

Which one of the above runs the T3 Withdrawal Clinic?

[jimh111 in reply to humanbean]

It's the NHS trust. It's only recently the clinic was renamed 'liothyronine withdrawal', I believe after complaints. I and other patients were told it was where liothyronine prescribing was monitored. Given the doctor set up a petition to reduce the price of liothyronine it was perfectly reasonable to assume it would be prescribed where needed as per NICE guidelines.

[diogenes Remembering in reply to humanbean]

No formal comparative trials were done. But NDT was not well standardised at that date.

[diogenes Remembering]

Now there is a prime example of lack of knowledge and surety of opinion. The caravan is moving on so far, that one cannot see these people who've fallen so far behind, even their dust cloud.

[jimh111 in reply to diogenes]

Multiple letters describing severe adverse effects were ignored. I will follow it up via my MP after the FOI response.

[DippyDame]

Is there any other potentially life saving medication that is treated with so much high handed ignorance and unsubstantiated opinion?

I doubt it!

They are playing fast and loose with people's lives!

[LindaC in reply to DippyDame]

'They' simply don't give a damn. Pay cheques, that's pretty much it for thyroid issues. Someone, somewhere needs to flush this/them out.

[Zazbag]

Karim Meeran is under investigation? What for?

[jimh111 in reply to Zazbag]

I submitted a formal complaint via my MP in November 2022. The investigations are ongoing. Issues included dishonesty, failing to monitor the patient and videos of his training sessions reveal a poor understanding of thyroid hormones. I specifically asked that they correct a number of wrong statements such as 'every cell in the body converts T4 to T3', that trainees receive corrected information. It seems that nothing has been done and the same misplaced ideas are still being taught to junior doctors.

[Zazbag in reply to jimh111]

Thank you for doing this. I'm shocked to hear about a so-called doctor behaving in such an unprofessional and ignorant way.

[LindaC in reply to jimh111]

Good on you, jimh - need more of this to be happening! Thank you!!

[serenfach]

Thank you for this - and for fighting our corner. I know it is not easy when you are not well. There is probably a doctor somewhere who does not believe in anitbiotics as the body has its own way of fighting infection!

[jimh111 in reply to serenfach]

No doubt there is, but at least it has a self-correcting mechanism.

[jimh111]

You can't always believe FOI request replies!

Q. When was the name formally changed to "Liothyronine Withdrawal Clinic"?

A. It has always had this name.

photos.app.goo.gl/4i1bP55hF...

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to jimh111]

Deserves an Information Commissioner complaint for lying.

The evidence couldn't be clearer.

[jimh111 in reply to helvella]

I might ask them who supplied the information. The lying aspect is more important to my original complaint than to the Information Commissioner. I need to keep my powder dry at the moment.

[pennyannie in reply to jimh111]

I feel like smashing their faces together -

I feel sorry for anyone involved with either of these ' medical professionals ' :

Apart from incorrect information it was their flippancy that upset me so much that I couldn't sleep until I had complained - and overnight the video was taken down -

but it goes to show the attitude we seem to be facing in what is meant to be a 2 way working relationship :