Men's Health Forum: This is a discussion on A Good Link on Thyroid. within the Anabolic Steroids forums, part of the extensive steroid information at MESO-Rx; I printed this out and am giving it to my Dr. so I can get on some Armour.
http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/dommisse.htm...
Very nice link Phil. This is one of the few doctors that gets it. Note that this doctor is not an endo. Rather, a psychiatrist who saw for himself what hypothyroidism is about. Using the TSH as a arbitor of treatment is very flawed. I wonder if this doctor is aware of the thyroid-adrenal connection? If so, he is millenia ahead of his time.
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All male doctors need to be on a one year cycle of Proscar and Androcur. Maybe then, a hypogonadal man would be treated with the same care given to other patients.
Mary Shomon is a great resource. I am not sure yet (haven't reviewed everything thoroughly) enough to know whether she's correct on every count, but she has prompted me to think outside the narrow box on the subject of thyroid, and for that I am completely grateful. I am familiar with her because she has spoken about thyroid in connection with trisomy 21 (Down syndrome.) My husband and I have a child with trisomy 21; she is doing extremely well. Individuals with trisomy 21 have a high rate of occurrence of thyroid dysfunction (so far our daughter does not) and this is, in large part, what contributes to previously-untreated compounding of intellectual delay and growth delay, resulting in generations of way-shorter-than-they-should-have been individuals with a host of manifestations of low thyroid function that was previously written off as "just part of their syndrome." As in, "they're supposed to be mentally retarded." Yes, maybe, and to a slight degree, but severe M.R. results from a thyroid so slow it's dead, when present in the developmental years. Many doctors still do not understand the best current diagnosis and treatment of thyroid dysfunction among individuals with t21, so we educate ourselves so as to stay on top of this, should the need arise. I have seen peers of my daughters already falling woefully behind on growth charts (feet nearly stop growing, height slows and levels off at 4 foot something, and lagging in development way more than they should due to doctors saying, "TSH of 7.9, that's OK, that's in the lab reference range."
I know this is outside the scope, and I know this guy is not going to be competing with some of the people on your site, but since this topic is obviously close to my heart, I'd like to show you a young man (teenager, no less!) with trisomy 21 who says, "Handicap? What handicap!" with his trainer in the gym. Thanks for looking.
I am glaid I found this link and hope it helps others to know that most Dr. 's are not up on testing or treating thyroid. Sorry to here about your child but you seem to be on top of everything and that is 90% of the battle.
Dr. Marianco has posted dam good info but printing it and showing it to my Dr. did me no good.
So I feel now with this link I have some ground to stand on.
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Don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you see.
Phil
Thanks, and I know you mean only well, but don't be sorry about our child, she's the greatest - a competent, vital individual - (part of a family of three brothers who also wouldn't change a hair on her head) and we're all born a little different, aren't we? We wouldn't really have her any other way - she is who she is and is perfect just as she is. But I have appreciated the prompt to learn a lot more in the world of medicine than I otherwise would have (she's healthy as an ox but I still like to learn.. Being part of her community has opened my eyes to the fact that education is up to the health consumer - no one can count on any doctor to lead the way.)
At six month checks, her TSH went from 1.7 to 2.1 to 1.6, and lately up to 3.4, so we're keeping a nervous eye on it. Absolutely no signs of slowdown, yet (more energy and strength, too, than any kid should be allowed to have) but we'll never stop watching it. Young kids are different, and that number can fluctuate some without any real pathology going on.
Good luck with your doctor. Self-education is what it's all about. Gone are the days of saying, "Whatever you say, doctor, I can't understand any of this anyway..." It used to be that spending the day in a college library was our only option to learn little snippets here and there. Now, the resources are available at our fingertips and the learning is there for us to take as we wish!
Thanks, and I know you mean only well, but don't be sorry about our child, she's the greatest - a competent, vital individual - (part of a family of three brothers who also wouldn't change a hair on her head) and we're all born a little different, aren't we? We wouldn't really have her any other way - she is who she is and is perfect just as she is. But I have appreciated the prompt to learn a lot more in the world of medicine than I otherwise would have (she's healthy as an ox but I still like to learn.. Being part of her community has opened my eyes to the fact that education is up to the health consumer - no one can count on any doctor to lead the way.)
At six month checks, her TSH went from 1.7 to 2.1 to 1.6, and lately up to 3.4, so we're keeping a nervous eye on it. Absolutely no signs of slowdown, yet (more energy and strength, too, than any kid should be allowed to have) but we'll never stop watching it. Young kids are different, and that number can fluctuate some without any real pathology going on.
Good luck with your doctor. Self-education is what it's all about. Gone are the days of saying, "Whatever you say, doctor, I can't understand any of this anyway..." It used to be that spending the day in a college library was our only option to learn little snippets here and there. Now, the resources are available at our fingertips and the learning is there for us to take as we wish!
__________________
Don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you see.
Phil
From my point of view, it is far more important to examine a patient for signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism than to rely solely on blood tests.
For example, there is a common condition involving genetically impaired mitochondrial function which causes symptoms of hypothyroidism with fully normal blood tests. Symptoms include myxedema, cold intolerance, lack of energy, low body temperature, frequent colds, etc. It is a type of thyroid hormone resistance disease - though usually in thyroid hormone resistance, high thyroid hormone levels are found.
There is no test for this mitochondrial illness. The diagnosis is obtained primarily from the history and exam. The best treatment is thyroid hormone augmentation. A clinical trial of thyroid hormone is then warranted given the signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism.
Overreliance on lab tests (such as by most physicians) wll cause one to completely miss the diagnosis of hypothyroidism even if the physical signs are right in front of you. Unfortunately, the overreliance on lab tests for thyroid function has caused many physicians (and endocrinologists) to forget what signs of hypothyroidism are. For example, how do you diagnosis myxedema? The textbook descriptions and pictures are not good or missing.
__________________ Any statement I make on this site is for educational purposes only and will change as medical knowledge progresses. It does not constitute medical advice, does not substitute for proper medical evaluation from physician, does not create a doctor/patient relationship or liability. If you would like medical advice, please ask your doctor. Thank you.
Overreliance on lab tests (such as by most physicians) wll cause one to completely miss the diagnosis of hypothyroidism even if the physical signs are right in front of you. Unfortunately, the overreliance on lab tests for thyroid function has caused many physicians (and endocrinologists) to forget what signs of hypothyroidism are. For example, how do you diagnosis myxedema? The textbook descriptions and pictures are not good or missing.
These same doctors also do not know what adrenal insufficiency looks like. The serum cortisol is the final word. Even though the reference range is derrived from sick people. IOW you must be sicker than the people who have set the bottom of the reference range. The same can be said for hypogonadism. The flawed reference range has become the final word in the numbers game too many of us must play in order to get what we need.
If this is the practice of medicine, physicians have become irrelevant. You do not need to use any critical thinking and clinical experience, because the lab values overrule everything. I have been before many doctors with obvious problems and my daily, chronic lifelong symptoms have meant nothing simply because I test within the reference range.
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All male doctors need to be on a one year cycle of Proscar and Androcur. Maybe then, a hypogonadal man would be treated with the same care given to other patients.
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