Re: HI everyone - I'm new - need help

[Guest guest]

Hello

and welcome to the forum. :-)

>All my Gp tells me to do is join a weight loss club, which I have done on and

off for years and while it starts out fine, after loosing about a stone I crave

sweets like crazy , gain the weight back in no time ( a week) and feel

depressed.

Lowering your calories can increase reverse t3, the inactive form of the thyroid

hormone. this will slow your metabolism further. Not only that, but as people

get older, some are less able to convert t4 > t3 fast enough (if they ever

could).

>I came to accept I was going to be a fatty all my life until I read about

Theirry Hertoghe and T3 and the gaps of synthetic thyroid.

it doesn't help to label ourselves...

what did you read about T Hertoghe?

> I don't think I have ever been tested for T3 - I know little of what each

reading means at the moment - still learning. but I average around 18 on the

free T4 and 1.8 on TSH.

Dr hertoghe wrote a very good book, which you can find on amazon.T3 is the

active form of thyroid. your body should convert T4 > T3 as needed. I

believe that Dr Hertoghe recommends Erfa thyroid, which is like old Armour used

to be.

> To cut a very long story short, I am miserable, feel low, frustrated and want

to get sorted. I am naturally a cheerful person, which is probably why I kept

optimistic about loosing weight one day and kept at it.

> Does anyone know of a UK doctor that can help me? I am based in London. I have

arranged to see Theirry Hertoghe in Belgium, but if I can avoid the travel, I

would prefer to see someone here.

If you can go to see him, go, he is excellent- very good, he'll also advise you

on diet, too. You can get the eurostar ? it is not too bad of a journey

really.

As for other doctors who could help, there is Dr Skinner who is in Birmingham

and is very good. I believe he can prescribe Erfa, t3 and t4. You'd need a

gp referral to see him.

There is Dr Peatfield but he is not able to prescribe now, but he can recommend

what meds you take. You don't need a referral to see Dr Peatfield.

If you wanted to try Erfa thyroid, if you act quickly, you can buy it from value

pharmaceuticals - but you need to act very quickly, they stop selling it without

a prescription on 12 jan. valuepharmaceuticals.com

some times people have deficiencies that stop them from using thyroid so well,

perhaps low ferritin, copper, vitamin A or adrenal function and so on.

Have you done Dr Hertoghe's questionnaire?

Chris

[Guest guest]

>

> Hello Chris

Thank you for your response.

>

> Lowering your calories can increase reverse t3, the inactive form of the

thyroid hormone. this will slow your metabolism further. Not only that, but as

people get older, some are less able to convert t4 > t3 fast enough (if they

ever could).

This is just the kind of thing I don't know anything about. I am reading

Hertoghe's book at the moment. I haven't done his questionaire in full yet ( the

one from the book) or did you mean the one his office sends?

>

>

>

>

> what did you read about T Hertoghe?

I heard he was the best endo in Europe and fights on a regular basis for

dessicated thyroid to be accepted. From what I gather, the medical community in

the UK is totally against it. I know when I went to see my endo in Hammersmith

Hospital, I casually asked about natural thyroid, and he went berserk, saying

how dangerous it was and how I must never consider it. I took him at face value

because I didn't really know what I was asking about and didn't investigate

further. This was some 8 years ago. Interestingly, shorlty after, I was taken

off his list and only my GP handles all my annual thyroid tests.

>

Do you think Hertoghe is worth the cost? I will have to sacrifice other things

and I don't mind doing this for better health, obviously, but I do want results.

It is only since I am in menopause that I feel so bad and tired all the time, I

know I need help. I also had very low ferritin recently - 7ug/l( 20- 300) so

that my doctor put me on iron and now it up to 88ug/l over the course of one

year. She says I don't need any more iron treatment- just eat iron rich foods -

but this doesn't sound right to me. Surely I will go down again?

>

>>

> >>

[Guest guest]

> This is just the kind of thing I don't know anything about. I am reading

Hertoghe's book at the moment. I haven't done his questionaire in full yet ( the

one from the book) or did you mean the one his office sends?

the ones in the book, or this abridged one someone did online:

thyroid treatment/files/MEDICAL%20QUES\

TIONNAIRES/ - hormone questionnaire

> I heard he was the best endo in Europe and fights on a regular basis for

dessicated thyroid to be accepted. From what I gather, the medical community in

the UK is totally against it. I know when I went to see my endo in Hammersmith

Hospital, I casually asked about natural thyroid, and he went berserk, saying

how dangerous it was and how I must never consider it. I took him at face value

because I didn't really know what I was asking about and didn't investigate

further. This was some 8 years ago. Interestingly, shorlty after, I was taken

off his list and only my GP handles all my annual thyroid tests.

I haven't seen a good endo in this country. he sounds mental! fancy going

berserk at natural thyroid. why coldn't he just explain why he didn't agree

with it's use.

> Do you think Hertoghe is worth the cost? I will have to sacrifice other things

and I don't mind doing this for better health, obviously, but I do want results.

Yeah, he's excellent. To actually see him isn't as dear as you might think;

it's 320Euros for an appointment with him and his assistant - he comes in

partway though to assist. The exchange rate is in our favour a little, so that

helps a little. The expensive thing is getting/staying there, and the tests

cost about 400 euros, but you get so much tested for that price. You need to

have 2 appointments initially but after that it decreases to one every few

months. they are very thorough and pay a lot of attention to symptoms. i do

appreciate this is a lot of money and i am not rich either, but i had been

feeling very unwell for years and they have helped. the thing is, the things

they test for aren't rocket science, just fairly basic tests, and then they

treat it.

chris

[Guest guest]

Hello

Dr Hertoghe is

excellent but to see him personally it can be very expensive but will

know more about the costs. I believe when you make an appointment for his

clinic you will be seen by one of the other doctors in the Hertoghe Clinic and

if you want Thierry himself, you have to ask for him personally. Be guided by

Chris.

I have sent you a

list of the doctors recommended by our members who will prescribe T3, either in

combination with T4, T3 alone or natural thyroid extract in case this is of

help. These are doctors in the UK.

Your ferritin was

extremely low and you must have felt very ill at that time. At 88 now, this is

good, but you need to maintain this by eating foods that are rich in iron. You

should take vitamin C daily e.g. 1/2000mgs and Selenium 200mcgs.

Ask your GP to test

your levels of iron, transferrin saturation%, vitamin B12, vitamin D3,

magnesium, folate, copper and zinc and when the results are through, post them

on the forum together with the reference range for each of the tests done and

we will help with their interpretation.

Luv - Sheila

>

Do you think Hertoghe is worth the cost? I will have to sacrifice other things

and I don't mind doing this for better health, obviously, but I do want

results.

It is only since I am in menopause that I feel so bad and tired all the time, I

know I need help. I also had very low ferritin recently - 7ug/l( 20- 300) so

that my doctor put me on iron and now it up to 88ug/l over the course of one

year. She says I don't need any more iron treatment- just eat iron rich foods -

but this doesn't sound right to me. Surely I will go down again?

>

>>

> >>

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[Guest guest]

Thanks - just one more question. I have ordered the test kit Hertoghe

wants, but where can I get my blood drawn here? BMI won't do it. they claim if

the blood gets contaminated, they are responsible. My GP certainly won't do it.

She is already quite uppity about private health care.

>

>

> > This is just the kind of thing I don't know anything about. I am reading

Hertoghe's book at the moment. I haven't done his questionaire in full yet ( the

one from the book) or did you mean the one his office sends?

>

>

> the ones in the book, or this abridged one someone did online:

>

thyroid treatment/files/MEDICAL%20QUES\

TIONNAIRES/ - hormone questionnaire

>

>

[Guest guest]

any private hospital should do it; i've had no problems at spire or bmi.

C

>

> Thanks - just one more question. I have ordered the test kit Hertoghe

wants, but where can I get my blood drawn here? BMI won't do it. they claim if

the blood gets contaminated, they are responsible. My GP certainly won't do it.

She is already quite uppity about private health care.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi

I have a private phlebotomist come to my house and take my blood - she comes to

me at my convenience which is usually 6.00 am before I take my tablets and

before work - she charges £9.00 which is well worth the money considering car

park charges and the length of time you wait at a hospital.

It may be worth googling private phlebotomists in your area, or what I did, was

ask at my chemist if they knew of one and they did. Or you could ask at your

local hospital path lab if they of know any private phlebotomists.

Just a few ideas.

I wish you well.

Love and best wishes, Kerry x

>

> Thanks - just one more question. I have ordered the test kit Hertoghe

wants, but where can I get my blood drawn here? BMI won't do it. they claim if

the blood gets contaminated, they are responsible. My GP certainly won't do it.

She is already quite uppity about private health care.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Dear Sheila

Thanks for the list. Do you know where I can get blood samples taken in the UK?

I have tried BMI ( this worked for but they are refusing me on health and

safety grounds - if the blood gets contaminated , they are responsible

apparantly) - no luck and my GP will not do it.

>

> >

> I have sent you a list of the doctors recommended by our members who will

> Your ferritin was extremely low and you must have felt very ill at that

> time. At 88 now, this is good, but you need to maintain this by eating foods

> that are rich in iron. You should take vitamin C daily e.g. 1/2000mgs and

> Selenium 200mcgs.

Should I take supplements still? I do 2 g of C and fish oil every day.

>

> Ask your GP to test your levels of iron, transferrin saturation%, vitamin

> B12, vitamin D3, magnesium, folate, copper and zinc and when the results are

> through, post them on the forum together with the reference range for each

> of the tests done and we will help with their interpretation.

My GP is very difficult, and the surgery is on a cost cutting campaign. they are

trying to get me to agree to cheaper blood pressure pills and have taken out

cholesterol and glucose testing on my annual bloods. I doubt very much she will

go for this.

> >

[Guest guest]

HI Kerry

Thanks very much for this info. Are you by any chance based in London and if so

could you give me her name privately? If not, I will certainly give this a try.

PS If you arein London, I wil need to know how to contact you directly - as i

have no idea how to do this.

> >

> > Thanks - just one more question. I have ordered the test kit Hertoghe

wants, but where can I get my blood drawn here? BMI won't do it. they claim if

the blood gets contaminated, they are responsible. My GP certainly won't do it.

She is already quite uppity about private health care.

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

You should be able to get the blood drawn at any private

hospital in your area, or if you know a nurse or a doctor elsewhere who would

be willing to do this, that would be great.

Luv - Sheila

Thanks - just one more question. I have ordered the test kit Hertoghe

wants, but where can I get my blood drawn here? BMI won't do it. they claim if

the blood gets contaminated, they are responsible. My GP certainly won't do it.

She is already quite uppity about private health care.

[Guest guest]

Hi

Sorry, I live in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, but it may be worth contacting this

company:

http://www.medichecks.com/findphleb.cfm

(I'm not sure the link works as I'm not sure how to do it - lol!)

They offer private blood tests but I noticed they have a test centre in London

where they take blood. They may be able to help? - or they may only deal with

their own tests - but i'd give them a call - you never know.

Hope you manage to find someone to help - all these hurdles!!

Love and best wishes

Kerry x

>

> HI Kerry

>

> Thanks very much for this info. Are you by any chance based in London and if

so could you give me her name privately? If not, I will certainly give this a

try.

>

>

[Guest guest]

whereabouts in london are you?

did you explain to bmi that you just wanted them to take the blood and you would

send off the samples? I still don't understand why the person you spoke to

said what they said to you - they sound dolally. not to labour the point but

i've been to 3 private hospitals, and i've never had a problem at all - i just

explained i needed the blood taking and i'd pay and send it myself.

chris

>

> HI Kerry

>

> Thanks very much for this info. Are you by any chance based in London and if

so could you give me her name privately? If not, I will certainly give this a

try.

[Guest guest]

West London. I explained everything to them thoroughly I can assure you. I was

told that they would be held responsible if the blood got contaminated in any

way. What hospitals have you been to?

> >

> > HI Kerry

> >

> > Thanks very much for this info. Are you by any chance based in London and if

so could you give me her name privately? If not, I will certainly give this a

try.

>

[Guest guest]

most peculiar. personally, i'd not stand for that and take it up with their

head office. and i would ask them why they routinely contaminate samples and do

not have safeguards in check, why their phlebotomoists are not competent etc.

and if they don't routine contaminate samples, what's the issue? they are a

business after all, and they are turning down £15-30 for about 10 minutes work.

http://www.bmihealthcare.co.uk/help-and-contact/making-a-complaint

it may sound like i'm going off on one but i think that's dreadful. i do wonder

if their head office is aware of their policy?

http://www.medichecks.com/findphleb.cfm

i have been to the spire in worcestershire and both birmingham bmi hospitals, to

do tests for genova, nutrition21, and Roman Pais in Belgium - no problems at

all...

>

> West London. I explained everything to them thoroughly I can assure you. I was

told that they would be held responsible if the blood got contaminated in any

way. What hospitals have you been to?

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

When you make contact with the clinic you can either ask to see Dr Hertoghe and

one of his associates - he never consults alone - or one of his associates

alone.

His associates are good, and i've seen 2 of them, but Dr Hertoghe is in a league

of his own.

A slightly cheaper option is to see one of his associates for the first double

assessment and get treatment under way, then see Dr Hertoghe and one of his

associates for a follow up and to tweak the treatment if necessary? This isn't

a bad strategy as the waiting list to see Dr Hertoghe is longer than to see one

of is associates - particularly so for the first apointment because you need two

appointments initially: one for the symptoms and history (and proper

examinations, like Dr Peatfield does), and one to go over the blood tests and

prescriptions. If you are coming from the UK it's easier to have a double

appointment, and that I think why the waiting list is longer. you could book

the appointment for the first double appointment with one of Dr H's colleagues,

then also book the follow up with Dr Hertoghe?

I think it depends how complicated your case is as to whether you need to see Dr

Hertoghe, i felt very bad before i went there, and had to borrow to go there (no

, i'm not rich... and appreciate so many people need a good doctor like Dr

Hertoghe or his assistants). I had pretty much exhausted my options in this

country. After bad treatment in this country, well no treatment, i felt that i

was unfixable, nothing wwas wrong by lab tests etc, but the thing is - the

doctors here hadn' tdone the right tests, and those they had done they didn't

interpret correctly, and they don't pay much attention to symptoms but now i'm

doing a lot better.

You go to the clinic and they do the right tests, look at you, and they help

you. you can get a copy of the tests before you go if you ask for them and pay

for them of course. well worth doing.

Compared to UK private doctors it isn't expensive to go to the clinic. Dr H's

associates charge 220 Euros a time, I think - bear in mind the exchange rate is

slightly in our favour. I have seen 2 endos in this country, charging 250

pounds and 160 pounds respectively, and neither were helpful. To see Dr H and

one of his assistants, it's 330 euros. the first appointment is a bit dear

because you need two appointments. so it's either 440, or 660 for the first two

appointments. they only accept cash payment, too.

The expensive thing can be the travel (though eurostar do a cheaper in advance

return, and easyjet go from liverpool), and accomodation. the price of

prescriptions depends what you need of course. The travel and acccomodation are

the really dear things.

if it were me, i'd do the very extensive tests for the clnic before hand (it is

surprising but you get about 50 tests done for 400 euros) and see what the

results show - perhaps a UK doctor could help you if they are not too bad?

before i went there, i was in a very bad way but they have helped. they are

very good.

chris

>

> Hello

>

> Dr Hertoghe is excellent but to see him personally it can be very expensive

> but will know more about the costs. I believe when you make an

> appointment for his clinic you will be seen by one of the other doctors in

> the Hertoghe Clinic and if you want Thierry himself, you have to ask for him

> personally. Be guided by Chris.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for your concern - I will get there in the end.

A

>

> most peculiar. personally, i'd not stand for that and take it up with their

head office. and i would ask them why they routinely contaminate samples and do

not have safeguards in check, why their phlebotomoists are not competent etc.

and if they don't routine contaminate samples, what's the issue? they are a

business after all, and they are turning down £15-30 for about 10 minutes work.

>

> http://www.bmihealthcare.co.uk/help-and-contact/making-a-complaint

>

> it may sound like i'm going off on one but i think that's dreadful. i do

wonder if their head office is aware of their policy?

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi All, did someone mention BUPA for taking your blood re:testing. Angel.

[Guest guest]

My local BUPA will do bloods. at a cost of £35.00.

Though I got my doctors surgery to do them in the end at a cost of £10.

Regards

2

>

> Hi All, did someone mention BUPA for taking your blood re:testing. Angel.

>