living without a thyroid
Every day I see posts in Facebook groups from people who are seeking help with their thyroid medication dosing. Usually they have residual symptoms and don’t believe their treatment to be adequate. Often they are told by another group member to get a new doctor. Is it even possible to get a new doctor in their area? Do they have the finances to seek private care? Is getting a new doctor the only solution?
I know I’ve thought about it, and I’m pretty sure all of us with no thyroid gland have – what would it be like if we could start over with a “hard reset” and get a new gland by having a thyroid transplant? Research is working on just such a thing and while it may not be available in my lifetime, there is reason to believe it may be a possibility in the future.
Do you follow one or two “expert” thyroid professionals online? Do you spend time listening to podcasts, Google searching “thyroid hormones”, or “optimal thyroid levels”? I have spent far too many hours on that last search term and it’s led me to many places; not all of them good.
Just the title of this mysterious board certified endocrinologist’s website was enough to make me dive in and read every blog post and listen to every podcast he has done. “HD” as he calls himself has some strong opinions about today’s thyroid treatment and the overall mythical nature of common ideas that circulate on the internet.
I have just discovered Dr. Toft and will continue to update this post as I learn more about him.
I first read about him on the Health Unlocked Thyroid UK group. Everyone in that group was up in arms because he has conflicting ideas in regards to TSH suppression. He feels that it is acceptable to have a below range (very suppressed) TSH on T4 mono therapy, but when on T4/T3 combo therapy it is important to stay within the accepted laboratory range. As you can imagine, his statements are causing a lot of opposing opinions.