RE: Brick wall with GP with under active thyroid

[Guest guest]

Gail, don't allow your GP to treat you in this way. As you have been

given a diagnosis and prescribed L-thyroxine-only therapy, but you are still

suffering symptoms and your doctor refuses either to increase your dose or give

you a trial of the active thyroid hormone T3, or refuses to give you a referral

to an endocrinologist- then consider writing a letter to her/him. Adapt the

letter according to your specific needs. You may wish to send a copy of your

letter to the Head of Practice too, but remember to keep a copy for yourself in

case this needs to be referred to at any time. Ask that your doctor place

your letter into your Medical Notes.

Dear Doctor

As I have been suffering with symptoms of hypothyroidism for a

long time now and have had various titrations of my levothyroxine, without my

symptoms being resolved, and without anybody apparently knowing why these have

not been resolved, I am now determined to do whatever is necessary to find the

cause, and hope that you will work with me.

The present symptoms I am suffering are (here, list all of

your symptoms and list your signs. You can check these against those under

‘Hypothyroidism Symptoms and Signs Checklist on our web site www.tpa-uk.org.uk

).

My basal temperatures before getting out of bed in a morning and

before having anything to drink for the last four mornings have been (here,

list these if they were 97.8 degrees F (36.6 degrees C) – or less.

(If this applies…)There are members of my

family who have a thyroid and/or autoimmune disease and I am aware this can run

down the family line (here, list those members of your family and their

relationship to you).

Please would you arrange for me to have a FULL thyroid function

test to include TSH, free T4, free T3, TPO and TgAb

I understand there are specific minerals and vitamins that

should also  checked to see whether any of them are low in the reference range

that stop thyroid hormone from being fully utilised at the cellular level.

Would you please arrange for my levels of iron, ferritin, vitamin B12, vitamin

D3, magnesium, folate, copper and zinc levels to be tested? (If your doctor

doesn’t know about these, or tries to tell you there is no connection,

please copy out the references at the end of this message to show your doctor

that there is a connection). Please would you make these results available

to me together with the reference range for each test done? (If any are

shown to be low in the range, these will need to be supplemented before the

thyroid hormone will work).

(You do not have to give any reason to a doctor why you want

these results. Also, doctors cannot withhold any information that is in your

medical notes under The Date Protection Act 1998).

I would like a referral to a specialist in thyroid disease for a

thorough clinical examination and an assessment of my clinical history, as well

as the results of serum thyroid function tests to be taken into consideration in

the hope of being given a trial of the active thyroid hormone T3, either

synthetic Liothyronine or natural thyroid extract and would like to be referred

to Dr ****** at ********Hospital.

Please will you place this letter of requests

in my Medical Records?

I look forward to hearing from you in due

course.

Kind regards

References:

Low iron/ferritin: Iron deficiency is shown to

significantly reduce T4 to T3 conversion, increase reverse T3 levels, and block

the thermogenic (metabolism boosting) properties of thyroid hormone (1-4).

Thus, iron deficiency, as indicated by iron saturation below 25 or a ferritin

below 70, will result in diminished intracellular T3 levels. Additionally, T4

should not be considered adequate thyroid replacement if iron deficiency is

present (1-4)).

1.

Dillman E, Gale C, Green W, et al.

Hypothermia in iron deficiency due to altered triiodithyroidine metabolism.

Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology 1980;239(5):377-R381.

2.

SM, PE, Lukaski HC. In

vitro hepatic thyroid hormone deiodination in iron-deficient rats: effect of

dietary fat. Life Sci 1993;53(8):603-9.

3.

Zimmermann MB, Köhrle J. The Impact of

Iron and Selenium Deficiencies on Iodine and Thyroid Metabolism: Biochemistry

and Relevance to Public Health. Thyroid 2002;12(10): 867-78.

4.

Beard J, tobin B, Green W. Evidence for

Thyroid Hormone Deficiency in Iron-Deficient Anemic Rats. J. Nutr.

1989;119:772-778.

Low

vitamin B12: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18655403

Low

vitamin D3: http://www.eje-online.org/cgi/content/abstract/113/3/329

and http://www.goodhormonehealth.com/VitaminD.pdf

Low

magnesium: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC292768/pdf/jcinvest00264-0105.pdf

Low

folate: http://www.clinchem.org/cgi/content/full/47/9/1738

and http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/thy.1999.9.1163

Low 

copper

http://www.ithyroid.com/copper.htm

http://www.drlwilson.com/articles/copper_toxicity_syndrome.htm

http://www.ithyroid.com/copper.htm

http://www.rjpbcs.com/pdf/2011_2(2)/68.pdf

http://ajplegacy.physiology.org/content/171/3/652.extract

Low

zinc: http://www.istanbul.edu.tr/ffdbiyo/current4/07%20Iham%20AM%C4%B0R.pdf

and

http://articles.webraydian.com/article1648-Role_of_Zinc_and_Copper_in_Effective_Thyroid_Function.html

 

From: thyroid treatment

[mailto:thyroid treatment ] On Behalf Of gail

Sent: 19 September 2011 14:42

thyroid treatment

Subject: Brick wall with GP with under active

thyroid

I have had Levothyroxine for 6 years,for the

past 2 years I have been yo yoing from 125 mcg to 100 mcg. I do not feel well

on either, 125mcg gives me palpitations, violent headaches and pins and needles

in my left arm....the 100 mcg well....permanent sore throat and chest, mood

swings, breathlessness, tiredness and weight well....

I am a holistic therapist, reiki practitioner, 57, fit . 2 weeks ago my doctor

refused to send me to an endocrinologist, refused to consider natural thyroxine

for me, as far as he was concerned, and not the first doctor to say this, it

was my age, Lister hospital in age will only do certain tests for Low

thyroid and my tests were fine...just needed to drop to 100 mcg again! Which I

knew would after time be a problem. I am typing this message before the brain

fog kicks in and mood changes where i don't have the energy to try and explain

this anymore. I have been requested to change doctors. I am on borrowed time

till I will feel ill on 100mcg and will go back to the surgey and they will put

it up again...see my problem...? Do you know of a doctor in stevenage who will

help me please and treat me with natural thyroxine and check my adrenal system.

I would be very grateful.

kind regards Gail