Hypothyroidism Type 2: The Epidemic - Revised 2013 Edition

First of all I have to thank Dr. Starr for his hard work to put this book together. Just for that he deserves a 5. I don't believe we should give stars to anybody who makes an encyclopedia like this from old studies combined but Amazon doesn't let me have a no comment option. There are few things to watch out specially by younger Dr generations.1-No matter what, even right, if you diagnose any hypothyroidism just based on body skin stiffness , low body temp, low BMR, fatigue..if labs are not included or correspond then you have done malpractice. If anybody gets harmed the next license, when you get out of slammer, would be Taxi license in airport at best if you are lucky. So do no harm.2-Playing with thyroid hormone is very tricky and potentially dangerous(I had my share of mishaps when I was an intern), specially synthroid. Elderly with coronary artery disease can really get harmed if unnecessarily med is given to them.3-Dessicated natural hormones have T4:T3 ratio which is excessive. Based on European Thyroid Association (ETA) the ratio should be above 15:1 even 20:1(T4:T3). Also desiccated hormones do get deactivated at times by antibodies to thyroid gland. But not synthetics. Also synthroid synthetics half life is very long and stays longer in body, if Diodinase does its job to convert. Synthroid is much better and consistent than Levothyroxine generic per experience of some of the patients.4-If patient is a poor converter of T4 to T3 a combination of Synthroid and Liothyronine is at times the best option. or just Liothyronine bid.Please read the ETA review to understand the Ft4/Ft3 ratio for poor converters diagnosis.Not much recent data was in this book but on few cases of Autism, thyroid hormones were used in recent articles with not much result but side effect of med was noted.However, personally I have had success story in poor converters, by changing Levothyroxine to Synthroid lower dose, in combination with Liothyronine(T3) to bring the dose equivalent to original dose. For example a 100 mcg Levothyroxine was changed to 75 mcg and then 5 mcg Liothyronine (its dose equivalent to synthroid is 5=25). So patients are very thankful and feel a difference.Diagnosing poor converters is an Art not just science and you have to document everything and correlate it with labs closely, even if labs are "normal" slight closeness to lower normal of Ft3 or high rT3 will reveal it. Usual a ratio of FT4x10/FT3 must be 3.2 to 4, less or more you have to correlate with clinical picture and interpret. There is higher chance of success by this ratio if learned and interpreted correctly.Unfortunately none of these were mentioned in this book.Book must show ways of treatment. I am sorry for lay persons starting Blogs and trying to treat themselves , it is all wrong and dangerous, see a Dr with open mind.

After decades of not getting help from Western Medicine Dr's (a.k.a. band aide medicine specialists), I set out to try to find out what my health issues were related to and if there was any treatment / cure. It all started with the late night talk show Larry King Live. I watched Suzanne Summers discuss hormone imbalances in women, which was part of what I knew I had. From there it led to learning about adrenal deficiency and then hypothyroidism (references from her book). I was reading my medical history in black in white print in this book, although I never met the author. I had pretty much had every single symptom / medical history listed and have the Germanic background (first generation US). I wanted to rub it into the face of every doctor who pretty much made me feel like a hypochondriac. It probably wouldn't have done anything though, since most Western Medicine Drs don't acknowledge Hypothyroidism Type II. I finally got assistance from endocrinologists after many painful years of trying to find doctors who prescribed bio-identical hormones (I had severe problems with almost every single pharmaceutical version as described in this book).The original Armour Thyroid medication along with adrenal deficiency treatment gave me temporary hope that I could live a "normal life". I was actually able to come off adrenal medication. Unfortunately, with the reformulation of Armour Thyroid I was back at ground zero. The new formulation sent my body into hell. Multiple dessicated hormones later, I finally found one that helped, although I am unable to come off of adrenal deficiency medication. It isn't as effective as the original formulation of Armour Thyroid. All the others I tried made me feel worse with varying negative symptoms.One comment I would like to make... when a doctor tells you to stay on a drug or hormone that makes you feel worse... trust your body and instincts if it tells you to stop taking it. Maybe do some research on your own if you are able to understand medical and technical information (try blogs & dedicated websites). I am a realist and have a research background / personality. This has helped me get to the healthier place where I am today. I am not sure why Dr's tell you to stay on drugs if you are having adverse events. In my case staying on medications that cause adverse events has never led to improved symptoms, so I now listen to my body instead. On the flip side, I started to feel a positive change from the original Armour Thyroid formulation on the very first day. With the medication I now take, I didn't initially feel worse, rather just the same. Since I didn't feel worse I decided to give it a try. In time it gradually did help. In this day and age, you really need to take your health into your own hands if you ever want to beat an illness. Listen to your body... it tells you everything!

Hypothyroidism Type 2 is based on a lot of research, even though it's not mainstream. Some people just have a lot of symptoms of hypothyroidism, which doesn't show up on blood tests, but that happily goes away when treated with thyroid medication ...The idea of "type 1" and "type 2" is from diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, the body doesn't produce enough insulin. In type 2, it does, but the body can't absorb it properly. Starr argues that it's the same with the thyroid. If the thyroid doesn't produce enough hormones, it shows up on blood tests, and you can get treated. This is the widely recognised form of hypothyroidism. If the thyroid produces enough hormones, but the body can't absorb it, it won't show up as a hormone deficiency in a blood test, and 99% of doctors won't recognise it as a problem, even if you as a patient have clear symptoms of hypothyroidism.I've had symptoms of hypothyroidism since I was maybe nine years old. When I read an article in a magazine and recognised the symptoms, I got a blood test - "normal". A few years later, a holistic healthcare practitioner diagnosed me as hypothyroid. I've been tested since, and blood tests always come back as normal, yet my symptoms remain. I later came across a newspaper article mentioning a "type 2" - a hypothyroidism that you can't find through blood tests. Wanting to learn more, I came across this book, and gobbled it up.As a book, while the medical talk gets a bit heavy at times, it's still perfectly readable and understandable to non-medical people. There's a lot of research behind this, dating back about a century, and it's very fascinating to read about. Very enlightening.What do you say to a doctor who won't listen when you say you have an underactive thyroid? (Mine sure didn't.) That's why everyone who suspects they have an underactive thyroid because their symptoms say so, even if their blood tests don't, should not only read this book but read up about the subject as much as possible and try to turn the tide. Find out all you can, and from that, try to do what you can to help yourself.

This review is from: Hypothyroidism Type 2: Epidemic (Paperback)You need to start with current blood tests from your own GP and if that confirms all clear but you can 'pinch an inch' of skin on your upper arm or thigh (finger tips should be gently almost touching) you have self confirmation of Myxadema (thick skin). The question then is how 'undiagnosed-by-blood-test' hypothyroid are you? My basal temperature using a quality digital ear thermometer was 35.6 deg C (should be 36.6 deg C, also 35 deg C is 'dead-or-thereabouts'.I was experiencing periods of unnatural lethargy, amongst many other symptoms. I paid for a private specialist who pre-reviewed my GP's earlier blood tests from five or so years ago and he said in a brief consultation, that there was nothing worth following up! I have had lots of illness to cope with during my working life and all the medication was for treating symptoms, with not a drop to deal with the root causes, how depressing is that?It is not the GP's fault, they are universally trained to treat the thyroid blood tests as the gold standard. Most medical professionals believe that the blood tests will show any and all thyroid issues, and are unaware of the most important original tests, and don't realise that many thyroid problem sufferers don't have the magnitude of their thyroid problems show up on their blood tests (Dr Broda Barnes).This book covers everything except hydrogenated fats a cellular nutrient uptake inhibitor and adrenal exhaustion as a by product of hypothyroidism.

I have to admit, I sat and read this book the whole way through the same day it arrived. I cried a lot too. so much that was written sounded like he was talking about me in just so many ways. IF only my own doctor would listen and maybe read a few books and learn - I perhaps would not be shoved out of the surgery with yet another useless prescription for levothyroxine! GrrrrrrrrrrrJust when are this fascist medical profession going to learn they do not have all the answers, nor do they have the right to believe their patients are all stupid idiots who live on patient's forums and do not have the intelligence to conduct proper article research in peer reviewed papers. It is galling just how arrogant these medical creatures ARE. Do not let them get away with their criticisms of YOU - get reading and armour yourself with knowledge so you can look after yourselves, because, at the end of the day YOU know MORE than they about your condition, get on the right food and meds i.e. not T4 or levothyroxine only. Read and help yourselves people.

I went through this book in detail and wrote down everything that may help me. It is very comprehensive and it is possible to start trying to sort yourself out with some of the supplements recommended, although a sympathetic and competent doctor is always a bonus. A good way to educate yourself about your own and possibly your family's thyroid problems. As a result of reading the book I am fairly certain that both my children are suffering with this, and possibly my husband and my father. It is such a slow process to get help from doctors, at least starting out with a good understanding is one thing you can do to help yourself.

There is lots of good info in this book, though it focuses more on the doom and gloom of thyroid disease and the failings of the medical profession rather than offering a lot of practical advice on how to improve your plight if you actually have thyroid disease.I think the focus of it would be highly useful for doctors but perhaps a little less so for patients.Finally, I know this may seem stupid, but the printing ink or paper smell so terrible that I got a headache from reading it the first few times and I had to leave it lying out to "air" before I could cope with it.