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The alternative medicine community
for some time has felt there may be better ways of using thyroid hormone.
And not being constrained by double-blind, placebo-controlled, prospective
studies they go ahead and help patients using their intuition and common
sense. We endocrinologists realize that there may be better ways of using
thyroid hormone and we're still looking for those ways and we're probably
going to find some answers in what you guys have been doing all along.
I have patients in common with
an alternative medicine doctor in town. The main thing that I've seen
working with this doctor is the skillful manner in which T3 is used so
that the patients do not get hyperthyroid symptoms. When some careless
doctors think they can fix the world's problems of tiredness, sleepiness,
depression, achiness and obesity by using T3, they tend to use it carelessly.
They end up with patients with insomnia, anxiety, palpitations, and shakiness.
Yes, maybe they feel a little less tired but they're also feeling funny
in a different way. They're getting over-stimulated. The doctor I enjoy
working with doesn't do that. Even though this doctor's way of looking
at thyroid is more empiric [based more on experience than studies] than
mine, I have always liked working with this doctor because I don't see
sick, thyrotoxic patients coming into my office. And the patients say
that they have an improvement in many of the things one would expect to
improve with T3.
Some people have symptoms which
don't quite fit into a diagnostic category. When they aren't getting diagnosed
with anything that is helping them when they go to see traditional doctors
such as myself; and when an alternative medicine doctor will come in and
say, "Well let's try some thyroid;" and when it's done skillfully; I think
some patients have benefited.
I'm a board certified endocrinologist.
I'm a hard science kind of guy. When I run into an alternative medicine
doctor using alternative diagnoses and methods, but using them with the
appropriate caution and skill then I'm generally happy with their care.
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