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Stop the Thyroid Madness: A Patient Revolution Against Decades of Inferior Treatment

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Stop the Thyroid Madness: a Patient Revolution Against Decades of Inferior Thyroid Treatment by Janie Bowthorpe review by Jeffrey Dach MD

Written by a non-professional, this is the most important thyroid book to come out in the last few years. The book is timely because of two factors:

Number one) For decades, mainstream medicine has been guilty of mismanaging the low thyroid condition.

Number two) Patients are now empowered by the internet to collectively share notes and devise their own strategies for thyroid testing and treatment.

Empowered E-Patients

One of these empowered e-patients is Janie Bowthorpe, owner of the Stop-the-thyroid-Madness-blog. In her book, Janie describes her ordeal with years of crippling fatigue, all the while her doctors told her "the labs were normal", and insisting she was adequately treated with Synthroid, the mainstream T4 thyroid medication. Apparently she was not adequately treated.

Switched from Synthroid to Armour

Eventually after many years of needless suffering, Janie visited an internet thyroid message board and discovered information about natural thyroid medication called Armour. Empowered with this new information, Janie switched over from the Synthroid to the Armour, and experienced a dramatic recovery, and has been well ever since.

Janie's Amazing Journey

The first section of her book chronicles this amazing journey, and later sections are the condensed wisdom from her blog and message boards. Important chapters in the book deal with the superior clinical results of Armour natural thyroid compared to Synthroid, the unreliability of the TSH test, and the issue of adrenal fatigue in relation to the low thyroid condition. Also discussed are the role of Ferritin and Iodine.

A Very Important Book

Stop the Thyroid Madness is unquestionably a very important book which will influence mainstream medical treatment for the low thyroid condition. Jamie's activism has galvanized a revolution in medical care, with thousands of patients demanding superior thyroid care described in her book. I applaud Janie Bowthorpe's book, and wish her strength and good fortune in her continuing efforts to reform the mainstream medical system.

Other Books Recommended:

Hypothyroidism the Unsuspected Illness, by Broda Barnes MD

Iodine, Why You Need It and Why You Cant Live Without It by David Brownstein MD

Hypothyroidism, Type Two by Mark Starr MD

Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome by Wilson

This book is the most comprehensive book, that I've read, out there that gives patients who've just been diagnosed with thyorid problems or who have been under treated with Synthroid by their doctors for years, because according to their "labs" everything looks fine. There is a revolution underway. Thyroid patients are getting fed up being under treated with Synthroid and re-discovering Armour.

If you are trying to make the switch from Synthroid to Armour, tried once before and assumed you reacted badly (when the symptoms might have been due to adrenal fatigue) and are ready to try again, or are already on Armour and being under treated, this book will guide you through it.

The author's website [...] is a good place to start. This book will become your Thyroid "bible" to help you determine which tests you need to ask for, and finding a doctor who will work with you and treat you according to symptoms and not by "perfect labs". This book will help you explain to your doctor why treating according to the labs is going to leave you under treated.

July 17, 2011:

Janie has a revised edition of "Stop The Thyroid Madness" available on her website. And Amazon has it! As great as the 1st edition is, the 2nd edition is even more fabulous and packed with even more information.

I don't normally write a lot of book reviews, even though I read tons of books, but this book, this author, this human being has helped me so tremendously (and I have never even met her) that I felt compelled to write a review in hopes that it can help so many more people who are struggling without a support system.

Are you not feeling like yourself, maybe it came on suddenly...or maybe it has been coming on for many years? Is it harder and harder to recover from illness? Is your doctor telling you that you are too fat because you eat too much and don't exercise enough, but you know that is not the case? Do you feel tired and stressed a lot, or unable to deal with the stresses in your life feeling overwhelmed? Are you less enthusiastic about life, even depressed? Do you have a tendency to overheat or get very cold especially in the hands and feet? Is your digestion sluggish with constipation or diarrhea? Is your skin getting drier, hair thinning? Are you gaining weight for no reason, have stubborn fat in certain areas that you can't lose no matter how hard you diet and exercise, or are you losing despite how many calories you eat? Are you looking much older for your age than you normally would age? Do you look in the mirror and say, "When did I get so ugly?" Do you have dark circles under your eyes, puffy bags, a puffy or overly gaunt face? It is harder and harder to get the same amount of work done in a day? Do you feel like you are getting stupid, unable to concentrate, misplacing items? Do you bruise more easily; are your bones more fragile? Have you been diagnosed with thyroid disease, but still feel horrible despite your medications and blood work coming back "fine"?

These are just a few of the signs and symptoms of adrenal fatigue and thyroid issues, which are largely undiagnosed or improperly treated when diagnosed. From all the patients I have met over the past decade, it is my conclusion that thyroid and adrenal issues are EPIDEMIC, and largely going untreated or poorly treated. Most people spend years suffering without knowing what is wrong with them and not getting the help they need from the doctors. While it is getting more and more mainstream attention, most of the books and information out there just covers a small fraction of what a person needs to know to get healthy. This book is in a league by itself.

Many years ago when I first suspected thyroid disease after a co-worker commented based on my symptoms I should get my thyroid checked, I discovered Mary Shomon's books and website. It was helpful to me at the time, but the role of the adrenals on thyroid function was left out of the discussion and it didn't seem like patients on the forums were really getting their lives back. After getting a blood test showing I had very low cortisol (which my endocrinologist ignored), I researched online and became more and more sure I had adrenal issues. I then got the book by Dr. Wilson Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome. I went on his supplements for a couple of years but kept getting worse. They didn't work for someone who had more serious adrenal issues. It wasn't until I had two near death experiences and over 30 Addisonian crises (which I later learned), that by the grace of God I stumbled upon Janie's website and began to put the pieces together of what was wrong with me. She had a link on there to an adrenal group run by another patient, Valerie Taylor, and between the two of them it was like God sent the angels in!

Janie Bowthorne's book, Stop the Thyroid Madness: A Patient Revolution Against Decades of Inferior Treatment, is named after her website and is your first step to getting control back of your health and your life! Janie is a thyroid patient and adrenal fatigue sufferer herself, advocating for better diagnosis and care. She began a website several years ago for the sole purpose of helping other people and sharing her own, often painful story of improper diagnosis, treatment, and care at the hands of an often incompetent medical establishment. Janie also moderates a yahoo group where patients or suspected suffers share their success and trials and tribulations. I respect any one out there who is willing to take their time and help people for free, and Janie has done this to the tune of thousands of hours and many years. How many doctors are willing to do that and not make one penny?

Some of the more crucial things Janie covers in her book are how many of the most common tests will not show the true functioning of the thyroid and adrenal glands, what tests you need to insist on and where you can test without a doctor, where to find good doctors, which medications work best, and a lot about supplements that help. She covers why patients can still feel sick even when their doctors tell them their medications are fine, the role of the adrenal glands in thyroid function, and so many other great concepts. This is a very holistic approach, common sense, easy to read and follow. After you get the book, if you still have questions, you can join Janie's yahoo group.

With all the attention on Oprah's recent 40 lb weight gain and admitted thyroid disease (which she claims to have "cured", thyroid disease is getting more attention. Oprah gives no specifics on what type of thyroid disease she had, how it was diagnosed (which tests), or what treatment she used to "cure" it, etc. I find that completely disingenuous. Not to mention her latest broadcast this week on her weight made it about her having a food addiction. At the same time, every symptom she described was one of still untreated thyroid disease. With all her money and access, it seems even billionaire Oprah is woefully ignorant on how to help herself and surrounds herself with people who impede her progress rather than enlightening her.

Bob Greene did not help matters by saying she used her thyroid disease as an "excuse". That is easy for someone who doesn't suffer from the disease to say this, but completely typical. Many of us eat better diets than Bob Greene and still get fat as hell because our metabolisms are so screwed up; in big part to all the toxins we are absorbing from water, air, food, environment, etc. I used to eat 4000 calories a day and not gain weight (due to serious adrenal issues). I used to be very athletic. Had Bob Greene known me he would have told me how great and healthy I was. But I was not, far from it. As my illness progressed, I went on the opposite end and was gaining eating only 800 calories a day and at least 30 pounds overweight! Women are especially susceptible to adrenal and thyroid diseases because of our complex hormonal systems, but more and more men are joining online support groups because they too are suffering from adrenal and thyroid issues.

Well, you don't have to be!

Oprah was sent Janie's book by many patients who want to help her and help other women she reaches, to no avail. On Oprah's program this week, she admitted four doctors did not detect her thyroid disease and it was her readers who kept writing in and saying to get her thyroid checked. Yet, apparently she doesn't read her letters and email and it was a long time before staff gave her the messages. It turned out the readers were right.

As for H. Doran's "2" rating based on the fact that Janie is not a medical professional but instead a patient, my response: that is EXACTLY why she is qualified to write such a book. She's been there, done that, and used the real life experiences of thousands of patients in her book. You know, dozens of doctors I fired over the years who did NOTHING to help me knew less combined than Janie Bowthorne. Had those doctors paid attention, my disease would not have progressed to full blow Addison's, nor would I have had the bone loss, depression, career set backs, etc. Thanks to Janie and thousands of other patients she and Ms. Taylor help on the their yahoo sites, people like me have a second change at life. When you are inches from death and no one can tell you what is wrong with you, then God sparks something in your brain and tells you to go search on this website, you realize angels come in all forms.

I am not just angry but FURIOUS at the corporate medical system hat betrayed me and led to what was a very treatable disease had it been caught early enough, to now a lifelong chronic disease with debilitating implications for me and my life.

H. Doran is right that Armour doesn't work for everyone, but most patients do better on it than Synthroid or other synthetics. Usually when it doesn't work, there are other underlying issues like cellular resistance, low iron, etc. In very difficult cases like mine where a person has a lot of toxicity issues, RT3 issues, conversion issues, cellular resistance, etc. even just taking Armour isn't the answer and more heavy detoxing has to be done for any meds to work properly. However, Janie isn't saying Armour or any one med is the be all, cure all. She is realistic, her website says why she prefers Armour. More and more doctors who are actually SUCCESSFULLY treating thyroid patients agree with her. So, she might not be a medical professional, but she gets it right. Better yet, the patients tell the true story and to those of us who were in the dark wilderness, people like her have been a Godsend.

If making a small amount of $$ from these book sales helps Janie maintain her website and continue her advocacy, which she has been doing for free and footing the bills for the site all these years, then it is the best $$ I have spent.

For readers who are undecided about the investment, take a look at her website and click through the links: [...]. If you learn one new thing on there, then I say go buy the book because it has even more and you will need to refer to it over and over again (especially if you have thyroid disease induced brain fog).

Regaining one's health is a slow, steady process with setbacks and successes. Many thanks to books like Stop the Thyroid Madness: A Patient Revolution Against Decades of Inferior Treatment which help people take control of their health, and their lives.

I truly appreciate this book and the doctor recommendations on the website. I was going to an endocrinologist recommended in my area, but I found a local GP who is wonderful.

The test border numbers for blood pressures, diabetes, and cholesterol have been consistently moved downward to catch these diseases earlier, but this has never been done with the numbers for thyroid conditions - and untreated hypothyroid can cause extensive organ damage, including to the heart as well as midline obesity and all the myriad problem THAT brings with it, including early death.

I have been fed up over the years with doctors who have had the "healer" squeezed right out of them in their pharmaceutically-financed educations. My doctor, who actually listens and thinks, rather than just looking up numbers in a list or book, prescribed Armour for me based on SYMPTOMS (what a novel idea! - if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck - it might just be a duck!). He even commented that many doctors treat by test numbers instead of symptoms, and that people are not all the same and that symptoms and quality of life matter (how did I get so lucky?).

I avoid medications as much as possible, and take VERY few for my age (68). I believe whole-heartedly in wholistic approaches and taking synthetic T4 only, or separately adding synthetic T3 only, rather than taking a natural dessicated thyroid containing naturally balanced components that you don't get with the synthetics. There is a synergy in everything we consume - calcium doesn't absorb properly without magnesium, for example. All the thyroid components interact together to function properly, which is no doubt why ALL symptoms are not addressed with synthetics, but are addressed with dessicated thyroid. I started on Armour about 4 weeks ago, but I started very slow, 1/4 grain for 2 weeks, than 1/2, now 3/4, which is still very low, but already I'm feeling better. Some symptoms have improved: I can concentrate better, I don't feel as extremely fatigued or so apathetic - I have actually started going to an exercise program "Silver Sneakers" for retirees.

It breaks my heart to think I could have been here 15 years ago (and been spared the years of suffering and physical damage) if I had had a decent doctor, or the information provided in this book. This author has done much more research on these issues than most doctors are willing to do and also speaks from years of experience. I've read comments (from defensive medical people) that say the author's advice is "dangerous" (treating oneself when the medical community fails one), but I couldn't disagree more (and my doctor also), because going to lazy doctors and leaving hypothyroid UN-treated for 15 years is FAR more dangerous to your health and life than taking matters into your own hands after researching and informing yourself. Of course, finding a supportive doctor is the best alternative, but leaving hypothyroid UN-treated is the worst alternative for your health and life.

I would recommend beginning VERY slowly, as this avoids any heart palpitations as your body adjusts. I know they go away, but I prefer to allow my body to adjust very slowly, so they don't happen at all. I am so grateful for this book. The medical community often treats the rest of us as though we were imbeciles and should regard them as final authorities. I just cannot do that, I have to understand what is going on before I can acquiesce to a treatment. I skipped the last 3 years of high school, and began at USC when I was 14 years old, and graduated with honors in computer science. I actually retired early because I was so fatigued and my concentration was flagging. If I had had a REAL healer doctor, I would have worked years longer and might yet be working. My previous doctors (except one in Atlanta, 20 years ago) have been less intelligent than I am and too arrogant to listen to a patient's research or opinions. My current doctor answers all my questions, listens to me, and freely shares his knowledge, as well as respects mine. If he doesn't know something, he isn't afraid to say so and then finds the information. I trust and respect him and I am grateful to have been given the courage to search until I found him. I have a flyer from AARP that says to be "an old cuss" patient and insist on the care you deserve. But I haven't had to do that. In fact, I feel so much better going into his office with his great staff, that my blood pressure has dropped from 180/90 to 124/71. I think my BP measured high because I was so frustrated and angry every time I went into my prior doctors' offices, with their "officious" staff and arrogant attitudes.


I am grateful for this book - it has helped me make my life worth living again. Thank you.

I am a medical professional and a thyroid cancer survivor/complete thyroidectomy(medically hypothyroid)/adrenal fatigue patient. The information in this book and on the website is crucial to informing the mostly uninformed patients suffering from hypothyroidism. No one can truly understand how frustrating it is to live with these conditions, but the patients themselves and many doctors do not know enough regarding Armour, as it is not even mentioned in medical school these days. The author has taken on a labor of love to put this book together to truly help others get the help they need. This definately is the "thyroid bible". If you want to help yourself, read the information from this book or the website, www.stopthethyroidmadness.com. Best Regards.

If you have thyroid issues, you HAVE to read this book. It truly is the Thyroid bible and if you care at all about actually getting better this is the way to do. Doctors will leave you sick based on your blood work. This book lets you know in no uncertain terms that if you still feel sick, you still ARE sick. Listen to your body and not a rediculous and meaningless number on a sheet of paper.

This is an absolute must read for anyone who suffers from hypothyroidism and takes synthroid- this book will help you get off that crap because it doesn't work. EVERY SINGLE doctor should read this book because they have NO idea just how uneducated they are!

This book is going to become the "Bible" for Hypothyroid people. It's information A-Z about symptoms, treatments available, sources of info, where to order saliva testing, and much, much, more in the palm of your hand! Like the website of the same name, invaluable information. Includes info about adrenal fatigue, often overlooked by Dr.s today in treatment of hypothyroid disease. How to interpret your Saliva tests. Up to date info on treatment of Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and if you've recently had RAI, thyroidectomy, or thyroid cancer, you will want to read this book to make sure you are being properly treated, for your hypothyroidism. The addendum is very complete, resources, glossary, and most important..."How to find a good Doctor"
I have read many Thyroid books, but this one I will keep...the other one I keep is, by Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected IllnessAs another reviewer posted "Read this and get well" I most certainly agree!

Great book, very informative and interesting about thyroid issues and what doctors know and do not know. Thanks for the book, it was very good.

Thanks Janie!

Edited to add: I MEANT to click 5 stars, but for some reason only 4 stars appear in my review!

For some reason our society has set up the medical profession as the "gods" of today. I can read and learn as well as a person who went to medical school... what's more I LIVE IN MY BODY and I know what feels right and what does not. I suffered horribly for 20 years on synthcrap thyroid medications and gained and gained while eating a barely subsistence diet (that probably made me malnourished). I suffered depression and weird thinking, and ended up with a complete inability to exercise. I truly believe that if I had been allowed to take Armour natural thyroid, I would not now have permanent health problems and a severely depressed immune system. This book is, finally, a very loud cry from millions of sufferers of iatrogenic damage.