Doc says T3 peak may cause heart attack--HAHAHAHAHA

[Guest guest]

Question: Six months ago, I was losing a lot of hair. I started

studying hair loss and found out it might be caused by a thyroid

problem. I went to see my doctor, and as it turned out, I was right.

My TSH level was 20.8. My doctor said I'm hypothyroid and prescribed

75 mcg of Synthroid. Since I've been using the Synthroid, I've felt

worse and worse, and my hair is still falling out. My doctor says

that since my TSH is now 1.8, the Synthroid is working fine. After

studying more, I found out that many hypothyroid people don't do

well with Synthroid but get better with Armour. My doctor has talked

it down, saying that in lab test studies, Synthroid worked better.

He said that if I take Armour, the T3 in my blood will peak, and

that may cause me to have a heart attack. I don't want to risk that.

At 27 years old, I'm not ready to die. What are my other options? Is

there some other treatment I can get, or am I doomed to stay on

Synthroid, feel horrible, and lose all my hair?

Answer: Your best options are to reeducate your doctor or find one

who's more knowledgeable about thyroid hormone therapy. I suspect

that your doctor has been mislead by two groundless beliefs

promulgated by the endocrinology specialty—beliefs with disastrous

consequences for hypothyroid patients such as you. The beliefs are

about potential harm from using thyroid hormone products, such as

Armour, that contain T3 as well as T4.

The endocrinology specialty first promotes the belief that only a

steady blood level of T3 is normal and healthy; it follows through

with a second, corollary belief: that is, if the T3 blood level

peaks briefly, as after taking Armour, the patient is in peril.

He'll probably have troubling heart palpitations, but worse, he may

drop dead from a heart attack. The way around these potential

problems, says the specialty, is to use T4 alone, as in Synthroid.

It is true that for some some patients, a brief peak T3 level is

indeed dangerous. But these patients aren't likely to walk into

doctors' offices and ask for Armour or T3. The reason is, they're

lying on their death beds in nursing homes, and a sip of coffee or

tea might make their fragile hearts shutter and threaten to stop

beating.

True, the hearts of these decrepit patients may not tolerate peak T3

levels well. This doesn't mean, however, that the same is true of

the hearts of all patients. But concluding that it is true of all is

an absurdly invalid deduction the endocrinology specialty has made.

For most patients, the brief peak T3 level from T4/T3 or T3 products

is entirely inconsequential. I have observed— scrutinized is more

accurate—many hundreds of patients who were using Armour or plain

T3. Not a single one complained of troublesome palpitations during

the peak T3 level. And not one reported a symptom during that peak

T3 time that intimated an impending heart attack. In fact, no

patient reported a symptom that suggested even a mild heart

dysfunction.

The belief that the peak T3 level is troubling or dangerous for most

hypothyroid patients has no scientific grounds. But as a scare

tactic, it is an excellent marketing strategy. The belief has

undoubtedly frightened hundreds of thousands of doctors, such as

yours, into prescribing Synthroid in lieu of Armour. And as a

result, it's led to the sustained suffering of millions of patients,

such as you.

The solution to this problem—as with so many other health problems

today—is to reeducate your doctor. Or, if his mind is closed, the

solution is to find another one who already knows how to treat you

safely and effectively. Best of luck at it.

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