I am going to send this to the WHO European Director of Noncommunicable diseases. I am also writing to a female peer in the House of Lords, a former nurse, who has a particular interest in NHS matters, as well as the British Thyroid Association. I think it is important to push the issue of woman's rights, because petitions don't usually do so, but please men do sign as well. Some of the biggest legal settlements I have seen in my years in the workplace as a health journalist have involved gender discrimination. I think this politically correct button should be pushed hard and of course it is overwhelmingly true. I also think 'reference range endocrinology', doctors' training and a GP contract that awards the diagnosis of depression should be brought to the fore. The only way to get change is to get politicians to debate the matter and to put pressure on the appalling and obdurate RCP and other medical organisations and to address the matter of what goes into medical textbooks. Medical practice is 50 years behind the research.
Signed however it is global support that is needed. People that are not effected do not feel it of any concern to them however they don't see the big picture. To bring about change this petition should be directed at everyone there are men who have the condition too. I am getting confused I have signed so many petitions now concerning the thyroid it needs to be global. Nevertheless you are doing a great job.
To all fellow sufferers I support you all wholeheartedly. I am a sufferer and am going down hill fast. I have nothing to lose to help bring about change.
Hi Kerry, you have signed already. It is in fact pretty inclusive as usually petitions leave out the undiagnosed and people who are doomed to the diagnosis of ME/CFS/fibromyalgia and they don't talk about lack of training for docs or reliance on a blood test, or not ones I have seen. All petitions are good. Cages have to be rattled. The World Health Organisation is divided into regions, so since I live in the UK it will be directed to WHO Europe, if I can find a director of non communicable diseases for the whole world I will send it to them.
I too have signed and fully support this petition. I have to say though that although women thyroid patients do outnumber men by about 8 to 1, men also are told by ignorant uninformed doctors that they have depression etc. I was told that I no longer had a thyroid problem as I was being treated optimally and therefore it must be all in my mind!
Only by treating myself with NDT as they did 120 years ago have I got my life back and no longer depressed!
I have signed as i feel it is important to keep pressure on in as many ways as possible if us sufferers are ever to be heard, however I do agree that this should not really be pursued as a gender issue but as a fundamental medical inadequacy.
That being said, well done for taking the time to do this, it truly is greatly appreciated.
I think the gender issue is very important and not often tackled. I want to get people from the wider community to sign this and emphasising the gender issue is one way of doing this. My point is that if the disease was predominantly male it would probably be treated better. Men with hypo suffer because of the stereotyping too. There are good reasons why hypo people become depressed, low cortisol for one, which is more common in women. he point is out in the non hypo world there are lots of men whose sisters, mothers , daughters and partners could develop hypo,. These men need to be aware and men I know are signing because of this.
I am taking Naturethroid which I prefer to Armour. Are you on NDT?
Problem is that like many sufferers I get them from the US and you just don't know when they will clamp down on it!
We should not have to live in constant fear like this just because most doctors aren't brave enough to prescribe NDT! A doctor friend told me that during his training he only spent half a day learning about thyroid. He said I knew more about it than him!
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