Else,

Thank you for your comment but please try to be more polite to other users of the site.

In this case it was actually me that asked Denise's permission to post this blog under her name after she emailed me privately (so there is definately no advertising going on!).

Many people have experienced the same as Denise - poor treatment for hypothyroidism by their doctor, poor response to thyroxine (T4), and then when they try Armour thyroid or similar rpoducts they rapidly feel better. Feeling better in 15 days is not uncommon at all when you get the right form of hormone replacement for you.

I believe Armour thyroid is a pig thyroid extract and it is true that their may be slight variations in hormonal content but the manufacturing process limits this to a minimum. The fact is many people have been helped by this approach and I thought Denise's experience would be inspirational to others who are suffering from untreated hypothyroidism.

Hi Denise!

You could try my doctor, Dr Downing. His main clinic is in York so that's not too far from Doncaster and he also has a clinic in London if anyone else is interested. You can get his details from his web site. I can't say what he'll be able to do, but if you call, his staff will be able to help you out.

Have you thought about using the internet at your local library? They would be able to help you set up an email account that you can use on line so then you would then have all that you probably need.

And I have a lot of sympathy with the "if it's working, keep going" school of thought, though it would be better if you could get some good advice.

Hi Denise!

My problems are mostly chemical sensitivity, most likely due to cadmium and nickel poisoning many years ago.

I agree that the NHS is a political hot zone. Most of the doctors seem to spend more time looking over their shoulders checking on what their colleagues think than on treating patients. And what really frustrates me is that they really don't care if a health problem stops you from working. You still go to the bottom of the pile and I just don't understand that point of view.

I'm really glad to hear that things are going so well for you.

Hi Denise is my partner and I can tell you that the info she is giving this site is true. I have watched her from the start of her condition and to see her now you would not have thought it possible. Denise has struggled to obtain support from her doctor, which is still not there. Denise feels let down by the medical services of the UK. If your experiences are like this then please give us your support.

Many Thanks

Steve

Hello Denise

I am going through exactly what you are right now, i had to go to a private doctor just to be diagnosed as Hypothyroid!! and now that i am finally diagnosed i still don't feel better on the Levothyroxine, just wondered how did you get hold of the Armour off the internet did you not need a prescription for that? plz contact me on strawberry225@hotmail.co.uk Luv Ash

My sympathies are with you. Know how you feel,have spent the last 4 years feeling dreadful and seen numorous consultants -all have told me I`m fine. Eventually found a doctor who would help even though my TSH levels aren`t too bad,and they think I have Fibromyalgia as well now. Have done loads of research on internet and hear about armour lots and lots,and how it helps people. Doctors that will prescribe armour are listed in a booklet from thyroid UK. Look up www.thyroiduk.org.uk they campaign for providing info and support to those with Thyroid or related disease.Generally I have found The doctors in the Uk are pretty useless when it comes to thyroid problems. In America they discovered that the levels were actually set too high for TSH T4 and T3 and they have dropped them ,and they have realised alot of people with ME and such like might actually have Thyroid problems !!
I wish you well and continued good health and remember you know your own body and you know when you feel good or bad so dont let the doctors tell you how you should feel if its not working!!!
Best wishes Michelle.

Hi Denise,
Check out About.com, Mary Shomon's thyroid site for many, many useful pages of information, lots of letters from readers which validate your experiences, and - wait for it - a list of "Top Docs" recommended by readers who have found the listed doctors willing to listen to their patients and work with Armour and/or other alternatives to Synthroid (levothyroxine).

Else,
The internet is your friend, Else. You can search for "Armour Thyroid" and read all about it. It's safe; it's more consistent in thyroid hormone levels than levothyroxine; it's inexpensive; and its balance of T4 and T3 is better for many people than supplementing with T4 alone.

My Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)/accupuncturist is the person who first recognized my hypothyroid condition. Accupressure and accupuncture and even Chinese medicinal herbs were insufficient to correct my condition. Here in the USA, TCM practitioners are forbidden to diagnose, so instead she suggested a list of tests to request through my physician. These included TSH, free T3, free T4, and some others I don't recall now (that was three years ago). My physician then officially diagnosed me as hypothyroid and wanted to put me on Synthroid.

Having educated myself in between the blood draw and the test results, I refused and insisted on Armour. She has prescribed it ever since without further complaints or pressure to switch, and I feel fine.

Hello Denise,

Although my health problems are perhaps not related to hypothyroidism (I experience chronic pain and fatigue) I've certainly noticed an increasingly hostile attitude from many in the NHS, and I know I'm not alone in this.

My experience suggests that it's to do with issues of power, control and compliance (although I do think money does come into it - after all, GPs receive salary increases for not referring patients to hospital).

I vividly remember a recent incident when a psychiatrist (a young man) had a very angry reaction when I told him of a certain prescribable drug I had tried that enabled me to stay conscious during the day. I had been feeling very positive about this because in 5 yrs the NHS had not been able to help, despite them trying me with all sorts of chemicals, but he would have none of it - he fumed with rage, and went straight on the attack, spouting forth wild and inaccurate scare stories about the drug along the way.

After I got him to look the drug up (it seems he'd never heard of it) and thus proved it was nowhere near his descriptions, I asked him why he was so dead against it. After a lot of goal-post-moving evasions he finally admitted that it was because 'patients should ALWAYS OBEY a doctor, and never ever self-medicate'. So I asked if this would apply even if the patient found something that did genuinely work, and I got a curt "Yes!" in response.

The next time I saw my GP (family doctor) he turned his pc monitor around so I could see an official letter he had received after I'd had the above meeting: the psychiatrist had suggested I should be on strong tranquillisers (this, for someone who struggles to stay awake) - fortunately for me, my GP strongly disagreed, and in fact I think he was taken aback. I certainly characterise the episode as vicious, and I don't think it is me who needs tranquillisers.

My view is that this is clearly 'political' (in the wide sense of the word), and I do not think this hardening of attitudes (Us against Them) is occurring in a socio-political vacuum.