Re: so my last update really...

[Guest guest]

If you ever come to France take the opportunity to get some labs done. They are

cheaper in France, even if you have to pay from your pocket. You do not need a

prescription. You can take an appointment with a lab and they will tell you how

much it cost. The prices are regulated and they are the same everywhere.

MacG.

> No luck with the doc so never mind about the Total T3 - I never heard back

anyway....

>

> Said can't prescribe Levothyroxine to someone in the normal range, that would

be irresponsible (with a nod to the GMC)

>

> Seemed sympathetic to what i was saying, about loss of quaility of life, but

not enough. Nothing I said could convince her to even a month's trial (didn't

think it was the right thing for me) dispite perfect blood work elsewhere

showing the consitution of an ox and that it was unlikely to damage me

permanently!

>

[Guest guest]

thanks - am in France several times a year, lived there for 4 months in 2010 and

planning a long stay in 2012. Hopefully. I may have enough for Genova before

then though....it's paying for £180 a time with Private doctors. i'd have to

save for 3 or 4 months to afford one visit, never mind the cost of drugs.

how can the NHS fail people so badly?

grrr

If you ever come to France take the opportunity to get some labs done. They are

cheaper in France, even if you have to pay from your pocket. You do not need a

prescription. You can take an appointment with a lab and they will tell you how

much it cost. The prices are regulated and they are the same everywhere.

> MacG.

[Guest guest]

I was thinking that if the NHS just gave you the bog standard lab tests, without checking if you had auto-immune anti-bodies or RT3 (sorry, I missed the beginning of your other thread and I have emptied my mail box) you could get these tests done in France. Then afterwards you could go back to your GP with the results or even treat yourself. After all there is no guarantee that if you go private, the doctor will be better. I don't see a specialist or talk much to my GP about my treatment. After 5 years of T4 only I decided to change. I saw two specialists who were highly recommended but rubbish and decided it would cost me a year's drugs (T3) to go to Paris to see someone "good" (ie on the list of the French thyroid forum) and another year's money or

even two to pay for the consultation. Also to see someone good it was at least 6 months to get an appointment, so I reckoned I could sort myself out by then! I was right.

Very sorry to hear yet another story about stupid doctors. I hope things get sorted for you.

MacGilchrist

From: Chalet Consultant <twistedfairymagazine@...>thyroid treatment Sent: Wed, 11 May, 2011 19:14:29Subject: Re: so my last update really...

how can the NHS fail people so badly?grrrIf you ever come to France take the opportunity to get some labs done. They are cheaper in France, even if you have to pay from your pocket. You do not need a prescription. You can take an appointment with a lab and they will tell you how much it cost. The prices are regulated and they are the same everywhere.> MacG.

[Guest guest]

Have you investigated the iodine protocol? That might help you feel better.

www.optimox.com/iodine and www.naturalthyroidchoices.com. This protocol has a forum the Iodine Health Forum.

MacGilchrist

From: Chalet Consultant <twistedfairymagazine@...>thyroid treatment Sent: Wed, 11 May, 2011 19:14:29Subject: Re: so my last update really...

thanks - am in France several times a year, lived there for 4 months in 2010 and planning a long stay in 2012. Hopefully. I may have enough for Genova before then though....it's paying for £180 a time with Private doctors. i'd have to save for 3 or 4 months to afford one visit, never mind the cost of drugs.how can the NHS fail people so badly?grrrIf you ever come to France take the opportunity to get some labs done. They are cheaper in France, even if you have to pay from your pocket. You do not need a prescription. You can take an appointment with a lab and they will tell you how much it cost. The prices are regulated and they are the same everywhere.> MacG.

[Guest guest]

Said can't prescribe Levothyroxine to someone

in the normal range, that would be irresponsible (with a nod to the GMC)

What's the 'normal' free T4 reference range and where in the

range were your results. If you haven't got these results, ask her for them as

no doctor can withhold any results or any of the information that is in your

medical records.

Seemed sympathetic to what i was saying, about

loss of quaility of life, but not enough. Nothing I said could convince her to

even a month's trial (didn't think it was the right thing for me) dispite

perfect blood work elsewhere showing the consitution of an ox and that it was

unlikely to damage me permanently!

If she won't give you a trial, she should give you a referral to

a specialist in metabolic diseases - because she does not have any endocrinology

qualifications whatsoever. This is why we have specialists.

so called her bluff, asked her what WAS the

right thing for me - she couldn't give me an answer and said she was going to

" ask an endo " . I volunteered that if the GMC had indicated to HER

that no one in normal range should be allowed levo - surely they are goverened

by the same body and will say the same thing?

Tell her that you want to " ask the endo " as this is

your health and your body. There are many people who are hypothyroid when their

results have been returned within the 'normal' range and who have been given a

trial of levothyroxine. We need to know whether your free T4 results were

returned at the top (in which case, it could mean you are not converting

thyroxine into triiodothyronine (T3), in the middle, or at the bottom of the

range.

I asked what the problem about giving out to

normal range people was? was it a cost issue and tightening the purse strings?

She said no, gave an example that docs historically were quite happy to hand

out things like valium and steriods to later find that they were damaging to

the body.

Easy peasy answer.

So that's that. i can't afford private care so

kinda at the end of the road now. Perhaps when i'm older and my symptoms are

worse i will be entitled to be looked after by the same NHS that spends

billions on peeople willingly poisoning themsleves with nictotine.

That's not that! There is lots you can do. I will send you my

doctors list of recommended doctors by our members, choose one and ask to be

referred to that one. There are plenty of such NHS endocrinologists.

Do this in a letter to the GP. Write a list of all your symptoms

and signs (check these against those in our web site www.tpa-uk.org.uk under 'hypothyroidism'.

Take your temperature before getting out of bed in a morning and list these if

less than 97.8 degrees F (36.6 degrees C). List any members of your family who

have a thyroid or autoimmune disease. List the FULL thyroid function tests you

need to be done - these are TSH, free T4, free T3 and tests to see whether or

not you have antibodies to your thyroid. These are TPO and TgAb. List also the

following vitamin and minerals that you would like to be tested to see whether

any of these are low in the reference range - ferritin, vitamin B12, vitamin

D3, magnesium, folate, copper and zinc. Should any be found to be low, this means

that your own thyroid hormone is unable to be fully utilised at the cellular

level - you might show normal thyroid function tests, but these need to be

treated for your thyroid hormone to work efficiently. I have attached some

references to show the association with low levels of these vitamin and

minerals and those with symptoms of hypothyroidism - stay one jump ahead of

her. Ask that all these blood results be sent to you, together with the

reference range for each of the tests done.

Next, ask for a referral to an NHS endocrinologist of your

choice - you can be seen by any specialist outside of your area. Give her the

name of the one you choose and the hospital where they work from the list I

will send you.

Next, ask for your letter of requests to be placed into your

medical notes and send a copy to the Head of Practice and keep a copy for

yourself in case you need it at a later date.

Good luck!

Luv - Sheila

1 of 1 File(s)

LOW MINERALS AND VITAMINS AND THE THYROID CONNECTION.doc

[Guest guest]

could you sign up to simply health cash plan? you pay so much per month and can

claim so much back per year. eg, pay 9.75 per month and you can claim up to 75%

of 150 on consultation fees, if you pay more per month you can claim more back.

you need to the cash plan would reimburse you for the dr you're seeing.

expensive on a tight budget, but one solution. i'm not sure of the cancellation

policy, either. (hint)

https://www.simplyhealth.co.uk/sh/pages/newbusiness/hcp/quote.jsp?_requestid=199\

464

dpeneds who you see really tho if they'd be helpful or not.

smokers also pay billions in to the nhs....!

>

>>

>

> So that's that. i can't afford private care so kinda at the end of the road

now. Perhaps when i'm older and my symptoms are worse i will be entitled to be

looked after by the same NHS that spends billions on peeople willingly poisoning

themsleves with nictotine.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi there!

Thanks for your ideas and input - they did indeed do the anti-bodies (i have

family history) but it came back well with range 16 (0-50 range)

But auto-immune is only one cause of hypo symptoms, as indeed is iodine

deficiency. Believe me if I thought kelp would do the trick i'd be all over it.

I am taking selenium supplements though. So not sure how the iodine protocol

works but surely only benefits those with real iodine deficiency?

After emailing one of the docs on Sheila's list, there's a chance it's coming

from the pituitary rather than a malfunctioning thyroid gland (so yet another

cause of hypo) Surely the docs know that it's not as clear cut as High TSH low

T4 = hypo symptoms?

However that was when my TSH was low at 1.5. It's now jumped up to 2.1 within a

few weeks.

.....

I was thinking that if the NHS just gave you the bog standard lab tests, without

checking if you had auto-immune anti-bodies or RT3 (sorry, I missed the

beginning of your other thread and I have emptied my mail box) you

[Guest guest]

How people are judged to be iodine deficient or what level of iodine we need is a big issue! If you feel you are teetering on the brink of a health crisis, the Iodine Protocol may sort you out and stop it developing further. If I have known about this when I was diagnosed (which took my doctor a year!) instead of taking T4 for four years I might not have got as bad as I did.

By the way if you are interested, it's the whole protocol that should be looked at, not just taking kelp or iodine on it's own. The two treatments are not the same. I would not take iodine on it's own. It makes me ill.

MacGilchrist

From: Chalet Consultant <twistedfairymagazine@...>thyroid treatment Sent: Thu, 12 May, 2011 10:32:39Subject: Re: so my last update really...

So not sure how the iodine protocol works but surely only benefits those with real iodine deficiency?

Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use

..

[Guest guest]

Apologies if I did, I thought I had only removed all the my

previous message I had written.

We keep asking members to delete previous messages and leave

just a small portion of what they are responding to because we get many complaints

from other members who opted to receive Daily Digests or who read direct from

the forum web site where they find they have to scroll through loads of

messages they have already read before getting on to the next message. We ask

this in our Welcome Letter when new members register and we ask it in the Home

Page message of the forum too.

Is it possible to rescue the message you sent and repost, do you

still have a copy of it in your 'Sent' box.

We moderate messages partly to keep a check that people are

following the rules, and most times, if they have forgotten, we can delete what

it not necessary before approving it. Some messages we can't delete so reject

them and send them back to the writer asking them to do what's necessary and

then re-send. With over 2200 members, this puts a strain on the moderators who

do try at all times to do their best.

Again, my apologies if I inadvertently deleted half of your

message, and I hope you can find it again in your SENT box and resend.

Luv - Sheila

sheila - you've deleted half of my response :-(

I did edit out most of the previous mention but only left a couple of your

comments for reference...

I can't remember what I wrote now either...

>

>

> Hi there Sheila - sorry I had posted all this on a previous thread so

> I'm sorry you have had to repeat yourself. The normal Ft4 reference

> range varies greatly across all the NHS trusts. Some in England start

> at 12 and go up to 26. Some start at 9 and go up to 22. I am 12 (was

> 11 a few weeks ago and back in 2008 (last test) was 10) So always been

> around that figure. But that's not the point. The point is I haven't

> even convinced the Doc that my symtoms are hypo related and she wants to

> attriubute them to other things.

[Guest guest]

Hi there – here's the full message again – I had typed it in directly to the

website so it wouldn't have been in my sent items. This is what I can remember

typing..

Hi there Sheila - sorry I had posted all this on a previous thread so I'm sorry

you have had to repeat yourself. The normal Ft4 reference range varies greatly

across all the NHS trusts. Some in England start at 12 and go up to 26. Some

start at 9 and go up to 22. I am 12 (was 11 a few weeks ago and back in 2008

(last test) was 10) So always been around that figure.

But that's not the point. The point is I haven't even convinced the Doc that my

symptoms are hypo related and she wants to attribute them to other things. She

seems to be stuck in that rigid mentality that if you are one point above the

range you are normal and your symptoms aren't thyroid related and if you are one

point below - you are hypo. It's just stupid, narrow minded and beaurocratic and

frankly - they are wasting my valuable time trotting back and forwards.

Sheila said " Tell her that you want to " ask the endo " as this is your health and

your body. There are many people who are hypothyroid when their results have

been returned within the normal' range and who have been given a trial of

levothyroxine " .

" I " know that, however trying to convince someone who has either made up their

mind or feels their hands are tied - I think I was saying here that she was

getting increasingly frustrated by the point she agreed to speak to the endo –

asking for a solution and not to go away empty handed AGAIN. I have already

spoken with an endo – Firstly the only one in Scotland on your list, and he said

I should be getting a referral from my GP – but not to him as there were lots of

colleagues in Edinburgh who were more than equipped to help.

I've also spoken with a member of the Edinburgh endo team and she was extremely

dismissive – told me that my results didn't demonstrate hypo and to go back to

my doctor and start working out the real cause for my symptoms. And also to

stop shopping around for doctors. So I HAVE spoken to endo's – two of them –

including your recommended man in Falkirk on your Doc's list as recommended is

actually a head honcho in Diabeties!!

I will wait and see what she comes back with before executing my next move – I

got the very distinct impression that when I challenged her about feeling cold

all the time that she did actually believe me on the hypo front but felt her

hands were tied in terms of treatment. But all I got was – I'm going to speak

to the Endo – EXACTLY what the last GP said.

She also indicated that on these matters – GP's took guidance from the local

Endo team and wouldn't make decisions such as giving a trial of Levo on their

own. Which would make sense that none of them have a backbone when it comes to

helping out a patient.

Okay cool – hope this all gets through!!

[Guest guest]

But that's not the point. The point is I haven't even convinced the Doc that mysymptoms are hypo related and she wants to attribute them to other things. Sheseems to be stuck in that rigid mentality that if you are one point above therange you are normal and your symptoms aren't thyroid related and if you are onepoint below - you are hypo. It's just stupid, narrow minded and beaurocratic andfrankly - they are wasting my valuable time trotting back and forwards.

You've got it in one.... L

I am all for honesty and working with our doctors... up to a point. You've done your bit. It takes two to form a working partnership with our doctors, but if he/she does not want to listen to reason and won't help you for the sake of following their bl**dy "guidelines" - then what choice have you got? It is YOUR health, so go and sort yourself out .... who needs the NHS ?

I can't tell you what you should do, but I can tell you what *I* would do if I were in your shoes....

Treating ourselves is not rocket science. What is there to lose? If you treat yourself for 6 weeks without becoming hyper, you'll have your answer. If you did become hyper, then you'd obviously stop the treatment.

Thyroid hormone is readily available on the internet – natural desiccated thyroid, Levothyroxine, T3 – you name it, it is available and affordable. Private Lab tests are available too – a little pricey, but not a king's ransom.

If it were me, and if you can afford about £100, I would get a 24 hour urinary thyroid test with Genova. It's money well spent. This is the most accurate thyroid test there is, because it measures the amount of thyroid hormone your body has used over the past 24 hours and not what is circulating in your bloodstream. If the urinary TFT comes back low, you can be confident that you are indeed hypothyroid. This would only be confirmation for your own peace of mind though – no NHS doctor will recognise its validity – stupid, but true.

If the test indicates that you are indeed hypothyroid, personally I would go with NDT - Armour, Erfa, Naturethroid, Thiroyd or Thyroid S – the choice is yours. But if you'd rather try Levothyroxine – that's available too and even cheaper. Read about the pro's and con's and decide which route you want to go.

But before starting on thyroid medication you first need to

a) Read Dr. Peatfield's book "your thyroid and how to keep it healthy" – everything you need to know is in there.

Check your adrenal function (questionnaire is in files) – if you score high, then either do a salivary adrenal profile with Genova, or (if money were tight) start yourself on adrenal support (like NAX) ... most people need it anyway. In addition we all need high doses of Vit C (1000 – 4000 mg per day), Selenium (180 mcg), Co-Q10 (at least 100 mg)... that the minimum requirement, but you may need more supplements if you were deficient in any minerals or vitamins. You should start on adrenal support straight away (as soon as you are clear that you need it) – the adrenals need supporting first for at least a week, before you start on thyroid meds.

c) Check yourself for possible Candida albicans (questionnaire is in files) and if you suspect that you have that, do a salivary check with Genova. – if this comes back positive, you need to treat yourself (is all in files) – all of the above no NHS doctor will even contemplate to exist – so you are on your own with that – we all are.

d) When your thyroid meds arrive, either start taking 25 mcg of Levothyroxine, or ½ grain of the natural thyroid and stick with that dosage for about 4 weeks – then up the dosage to 50 mcg Levothyroxine or 1 grain (2x ½ grain am and pm would be better). Always take any thyroid medication on an empty stomach, about 1 hour before food.

e) Meanwhile persuade your GP to give you a blood test – you need:

Ferritin, Folate, Zinc, Copper, Magnesium, Vit B12 and Vit D3 .... – do you think s/he would be persuaded? Even if not all of those were done, try to get what you can. If you have no luck persuading your GP, just assume that you are deficient in B12 and D3 (most of us are) and supplement anyway – better too high than too low. The only way to kill someone with B12 is to drown him in it, says Dr. Myhill.... and to overdose on D3 would take A LOT...so no real risk there either if you took say 1000 mcg per day. All of those parameters should be at the top of their respective ref ranges to help the thyroid hormones into the cells. To know your ferritin levels, however is important, and you can't guess that... you need a proper check for that. For Zinc deficiency you could check yourself with Zinc tablets, and Magnesium is good for everyone. Most of us hypos need it.

Then sit back and wait....you should begin to feel a little better after 2-4 weeks on thyroid medication. If you were not hypothyroid, the thyroid meds would build up in your body and after 4-6 weeks you would get hyperthyroid symptoms. But if you don't, gently up the medication and see how it goes. Your body will tell you loud and clear if or when you are overdosing and all you have to do then is stop the meds for a couple of days or so and then reduce the dosage back to the previous level. Feeling hypo is not nice, but feeling hyper is unbearable. Nobody in his or her right mind would deliberately overdose on thyroid hormones.

As for your doctors.... the way I see it you have done your best to get them to help you and you have been sent away with stupid platitudes. Your doctors have failed you - so who are they to blame you if they are the ones who have driven you to self-treatment? – that would be my take, anyway. It is entirely up to you what you want to do. We are all here to help you along the road, but you are the one who has to decide if you want to walk it. It may sound scary, but it really is not. Many members have done it.

With best wishes,

[Guest guest]

Quite often, when a sufferer of the symptoms of hypothyroidism

hits a brick wall, and they can find nobody who is willing or able to help them

within the NHS and they are unable to afford to see a private consultant (often

because they have become too ill and have had to leave paid employment), then

often, the one option left open to them is to self diagnose, self treat

and self monitor. This is NOT ideal, by a long chalk, but it can be done and it

has been done very successfully - and yes, I know that it should not be done

when the NHS is out there supposedly to help those of us who are ill, to

regain our optimal health. Dr Peatfield's book 'Your Thyroid and How to Keep it

Healthy' is one excellent place to start, because he tells readers exactly how

to go about this. Is there any chance you could see Dr Peatfield when he does

his metabolic clinic either in Morpeth, or Aberdeen?

You may well have no choice, but I would not stay with a doctor who

was so dismissive of my symptoms simply because thyroid function tests were

returned within the so called 'normal' reference range. How on earth does

such a doctor think patients were diagnosed before thyroid function tests were

invented? As you say, this is wasting your valuable time, and your GP's - and

nobody is getting any benefit from continuing such a relationship.

Have you written a letter to your GP as we recommend, asking for

it to be placed into your medical notes with the requests for vitamins/minerals

testing to see whether any are low in the reference range? If you did, did you

send a copy to the Head of Practice? If your GP has made up her mind and will

not be moved, then you are quite unlikely to change it - so the situation

remains - as is.

The Endo in Scotland is correct, your GP must send a letter of

referral as he is a NHS endocrinologists. You should have insisted to the

first endocrinologist that you did not want to be referred to any of his

colleagues in Edinburgh or anywhere else - we have no endocrinologists from

Edinburgh on our list - and there is good reason for that - nobody in Edinburgh

has been recommended. You should have told him that you chose to see him

specifically, and wanted ONLY to see him.

Patient's do have a choice and they have a voice and they must

use it if they want to get their wishes fulfilled. ly, I wouldn't touch

such an endocrinologist as the one in Edinburgh with a barge pole with such an

attitude as you describe. As far as I am aware, there is nobody, to my knowledge

(or on my list) who works from any hospital in Edinburgh who will prescribe

with any other hormone outside of levothyroxine.

The doctor I recommend from Falkirk has been highly recommended (he

wouldn't be on my list unless he had) and he does prescribe NDT plus T4/T3

combination, T3 alone, as well as T4-only. This is what my list of doctors is

about. This list is of those doctors who know more about the treatment of those

with hypothyroidism than the majority of doctors in the UK - and what does it

matter whether he is a " head honcho in Diabetes " or not. There are very

few endocrinologist in the UK who are specialists in thyroid, in fact, I think

you would probably find it very difficult to find any. My own endocrinologist's

speciality is diabetes, but he has a special interest in thyroid, especially

those with symptoms of hypothyroidism. He prescribe many of his patient,

including me, with NDT and or T4/T3 combination therapy. These are the

guys/gals who are actually making their patients well again.

It does appear that GP's have lost their autonomy and are now

quite unable to diagnose without being told whether they should or not - and

their total reliance on thyroid function tests ONLY is quite appalling.

TPA is all about helping those sufferers who the NHS has let

down, and because of that, we have done a lot of research to get the correct

information and scientific research to enable us to help them where we can, and

I am pleased to say that we have had some huge successes. So please feel

reassured if possible - there IS light at the end of the tunnel, and if you

need help and support, we are very happy to provide it wherever we can.

Sheila

I've also spoken with a member of the Edinburgh endo team

and she was extremely dismissive – told me that my results didn't

demonstrate hypo and to go back to my doctor and start working out the real

cause for my symptoms. And also to stop shopping around for doctors. So I HAVE

spoken to endo's – two of them – including your recommended man in

Falkirk on your Doc's list as recommended is actually a head honcho in

Diabeties!!

I will wait and see what she comes back with before executing my next move

– I got the very distinct impression that when I challenged her about

feeling cold all the time that she did actually believe me on the hypo front

but felt her hands were tied in terms of treatment. But all I got was –

I'm going to speak to the Endo – EXACTLY what the last GP said.

She also indicated that on these matters – GP's took guidance from the

local Endo team and wouldn't make decisions such as giving a trial of Levo on

their own. Which would make sense that none of them have a backbone when it

comes to helping out a patient.

Okay cool – hope this all gets through!!

[Guest guest]

Wow ladies – what an outstanding response! Thanks Sheila and !

Since I've not been able to determine my Free or Rt3 as yet – I wouldn't go down the route of NDT unless I knew I wasn't converting well. I also want to rule out the pituitary influence on the thyroid.

I certainly think there adrenal issues – my BBT is up and down on the chart, never consistent temp. I already take a lot of supp – just started with the selenium and co-q10 and been on Vitamin D since Oct 2010 (as I follow a "paleo" type diet and it was always driven home about Vit D!) but I can't really afford all of those and food!

I'm only on an admin salary and although I am able to hold down a job at the moment – I need to pay rent, bills, food – I don't have any spousal or family support money wise – it's just me. I mean with all those supps like magnesium, zinc, B12 , D3, Co-q10 – you are talking £50 per month – that's just not feasible. This is where the NHS should be helping people like me on a low income.

This leads on to Sheila's point about Peatfield in Aberdeen. Maybe later in the year – October time. I would need to save up as even the consultation fee is well outwith my monthly means so would need to save towards it.

Back to my GP – Talking of listening to your body – that's exactly what I said to her about a trial – I said – "I'm not asking you to commit me to a lifetime of drugs – all I'm asking for is a few months trial to see if we can try and improve the freet4 level and improve some of the symptoms" I mean I'm an intelligent woman – if my body doesn't like it – I'm not going to keep taking it with blind faith – I will consult you with what's happening regularly!" But still no. Didn't think it was the "right thing" which then lead on to the discussion on what WOULD be the right thing – to which she had no answer and floundered a little on the cold issue. I mean what normal, fit, healthy young woman has to warm herself with a hairdryer when she gets too cold.

I may have some of those results from 2008 but I just can't find the printout and of course they charge you to do so…

Ultimately – I'm no shrinking violet and if self medicated helps me slim down, warm up and enjoy the best of the day (and my life) then I'm more than capable of handling that. It's firstly and fore mostly a money issue. Sheila - you should set up a registered charity to help people failed by the NHS but can't go private – like you said, people who can't hold down a job or medicate/supplement themselves on their disposable income J I'm sure we could all help with fund-raising across the country and also raise awareness!

Onto next – I will be insisting that my GP refers me as her own experience is too limited – especially if I highlight the pituitary aspect which is pretty rare (regardless, the way secondary hypo is treated is the same was as primary – with HRT). There is one thyroid doc in Edinburgh who does actually specialise in pituitary so may be best to have a referral to him initially, as the tests are different but they WILL do all the endodrine tests such as adrenal and a scan for any edemas or tiny lesions on the pituitary. Perhaps that's why Falkirk doc said to go to Edinburgh initially. Once I've got all of those on my records, I can then look at talking to them about NDT as if I'm converting fine and it's just the pituitary not putting out enough TSH then I may only need a boost of T4.

I am fully aware than GP's are just not willing to do what is necessary and will NOT go against the GMC guidelines (apart from a select few) They probably saw what happened to Skinner and Myhill. It was a while since I emailed the Falkirk doc so he probably won't remember me specifically and he won't ask where I live if I turn up on appointment.

So will advise as I hear from the GP about her "chat" which I suspect will actually be a lengthy snail mail process. Unbelievable.

Thanks all and have a lovely weekend!!

[Guest guest]

Ultimately – I'm

no shrinking violet and if self medicated helps me slim down, warm up and enjoy

the best of the day (and my life) then I'm more than capable of handling

that. It's firstly and fore mostly a money issue. Sheila - you

should set up a registered charity to help people failed by the NHS but can't

go private – like you said, people who can't hold down a job or

medicate/supplement themselves on their disposable income J I'm sure we could all help with

fund-raising across the country and also raise awareness!

TPA

is already a fully registered Charity (Reg No. 1138608) - and we have been

trying to help sufferers of the symptoms of hypothyroidism for the past 6/7

years who have been failed by the NHS by giving them as much information as

possible and will continue to do so - but we need a lot of money to be raised

as you will appreciate. We would now, however, be allowed to help fund

prescription drugs for our members, but could help with supplements. We do this

now by recommending Internet laboratories and Internet Pharmacies where our

members can get hugely discounted tests and supplements.

Luv -

Sheila

[Guest guest]

I guess the " now " is a typo for " not " ? (2nd sentence, 3rd word) ?

Miriam

> TPA is already a fully registered Charity (Reg No. 1138608) - and we have been

trying to help sufferers of the symptoms of hypothyroidism for the past 6/7

years who have been failed by the NHS by giving them as much information as

possible and will continue to do so - but we need a lot of money to be raised as

you will appreciate. We would now, however, be allowed to help fund prescription

drugs for our members, but could help with supplements. We do this now by

recommending Internet laboratories and Internet Pharmacies where our members can

get hugely discounted tests and supplements.

>

> Luv - Sheila

>