Customer Reviews

Your Thyroid and How to Keep It Healthy

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I recommend to you the book by Barry Durrant Peatfield, "Your Thyroid and How to Keep It Healthy". Peatfield was a general practitioner in the British National Health service who came to America and trained at the Broda Barnes Institute. He returned to England and started a thyroid private practice. His book summarizes over 25 years of clinical diagnosing and treating thyroid illness. One section of the book is devoted to the question, "Why thyroid blood tests can be unreliable".

Here is what Dr. Peatfield says:

"Anxiety in the medical establishment about rules and dogma has led to a slavish reliance on blood tests, which are often unreliable and can actually produce a false picture of the true situation"

"I have sadly come across very few doctors who can accept the fact that a normal, or low TSH, may still occur with a low thyroid."

"as a result of this test (TSH), thousands are denied treatment"

Peatfield lists several reasons why thyroid blood tests are flawed:

1) They measure hormone levels in the blood. What we really want to know is tissue levels, not blood levels.

2) The blood tests do not measure cellular receptor hormone resistance.

3) The blood tests do not measure conversion block. Some patients cannot convert their inactive T4 to active T3.

4) The thyroid tests do not account for adrenal insufficiency.

5) Paradoxical low TSH may occur with a low thyroid function.

These sentiments are shared by the teachings of Broda Barnes MD, and the Broda Barnes Foundation. However, Peatfield's book elaborates beyond the classic teachings of Broda Barnes by including chapters on the adrenal as well as a chapter on iodine supplementation. I found this book excellent, and it belongs in every medical library dealing with thyroid disease.

Jeffrey Dach MD

I am Herman's wife, a woman sixty-three years old, diagnosed with hypothyroidism six months ago. My symptoms began in my teens and grew worse as time progressed: coldness, infertility, bouts of severe depression, etc. My father had this disease for over fifty years before his diagnosis at about age ninety. My infertility doctor couldn't find the problem, and my mother, a medical doctor, didn't catch on that her husband and daughter showed the sypmtoms.

The author explains the causes, symptoms, and treatment in terms both technical and easy to understand. The reader can merely learn why the thyroid runs amok or can delve into what the various hormones do. Since the thyroid is the body's thermostat, if it doesn't work properly, neither does anything in the body. All diabetics should be checked for hypothyroisism.

For self diagnosis, if one's early-morning temperature measures below 97.6 degrees F, one probably has hypothyroidism. The blood test for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone is less accurate, especially if one's adrenal glands are stressed out.

This is a very helpful book and the most valuable part for me was the very small section (only one page) about having to build up the adrenals first - easy to overlook, as I almost did.

Be warned: if you have had low thyroid for several years (in my case over a decade before I finally self-diagnosed - partly thanks to this book and also thanks to the excellent "Hypothyroidism Type 2: The Epidemic" by Mark Starr, M.D. - and thus was able to take the first steps towards recovery) then you will almost certainly have adrenal exhaustion.

Although I initially ignored the warning about adrenal exhaustion, I found that even taking three times the normal dose of thyroid for over four months did not help. I had to stop, take adrenal support tablets for several weeks, and then restart thyroid at a smaller dose. I continued taking adrenal support tablets for several months too.

I am finally seeing noticeable improvements. Even a spring in my step, which I never expected to enjoy again, after over a decade of thinking I had ME/CFS or something even worse.

I am giving the book only four stars because it does not contain clear enough indications of dosages. For instance, in the tiny section on adrenal supplementation, it refers to adrenal tablets but ignores the fact that there are several dosages, one containing about three times the dose of the other. When it says you might need to take two or three, which one does it mean? Why not mention actual dosages, instead of vaguely referring to "two or three tablets" of undisclosed strengths?

P.S. The MUST-READ book on low thyroid now is "Stop the Thyroid Madness", passionate and comprehensive. I also recommend the book "Iodine: Why You Need It, Why You Can't Live Without It".

[Later note: I recommend a well-researched book called "Outsmart Your Cancer" - anything that can HEAL cancer is also a general healer and should be able to help much else in the body as well as "Trick and Treat" by Groves which turns modern eating advice on its head, backed up by plenty of evidence, and "Never Fear Cancer Again" by Raymond Francis, a brilliant distillation of what is truly needed for health. All 3 should be on the "top 10" of any list of books on health. Also, the supplement Papaya 35, a super concentrate with fermented pawpaw.]

Thyroid problems are increasing yet the average person rarely recognizes the common symptoms of malfunction. Your Thyroid and How To keep It Healthy provides all the information needed to understand these common symptoms, which include weight gain, high cholesterol, poor circulation, and unexplained hair loss. Chapters survey symptoms, advocate consumer involvement in treatment options, and provide the latest details and research in an updated second edition filled with nutritional and medical advice.

Diane C. Donovan

California Bookwatch

I am a Thyroid patient who could not tolerate Thyroid Hormone. It caused scary things to happen with my heart. Thanks to this book I realized that there was an issue with my adrenal glands. I am quite confidant that there would have been serious complications if I had continued down the path I was on at the urging of 3 different doctors. This book is well organized, easy to understand and chock full of valuable information. It's a fiver!

Going to the doctor with symptoms of thyroid may be a futile and frustrating experience if you don't pass the blood test values required by many doctors in treating thyroid disorders. And it's hard to self-advocate when you're exhausted and being told it's all in your head, or a result of your age, or your blood test results don't warrant an increase in your thyroid dosage. In Dr. Durrant-Peatfield you have a friend indeed.

This book is all about empowering you to take care of yourself and have confidence in listening to your body's messages and self-administer treatment. This is a perfect book for those just starting out in learning about the thyroid because of the simplicity with which the information is presented.

The book discusses:

* The job of the thyroid and the endocrine system

* Possible way these organs malfunction and the causes

* Symptoms and signs of hyper- and hypothyroid

* Other diseases that can be caused by or exacerbated by a poorly functioning thyroid

* The role adrenal health plays in low thyroid and its treatment

* Testing and treatment options including supplemental hormones and nutrients

* Associated hormonal imbalances and how to correct those

* Weight loss

* Dietary concerns

However, the book's main focus is on treatment of thyroid disease, not necessarily "autoimmune" thyroid disease involving thyroid antibodies. Durrant-Peatfield writes: "In any laboratory workup for thyroid illness, antibodies are, or should be, checked for. Their presence, however, will little affect the ultimate treatment." I would say that their presence most definitely should affect the ultimate treatment. Autoimmune thyroid disease is really a problem with the immune system affecting the thyroid and not a malfunction of the thyroid itself. In this respect, too little information is given regarding food allergies and sensitivities, including the well-known role gluten plays and how important eliminating this food from your diet is in healing the body and, ultimately, the thyroid.

Although I was diagnosed with thyroid disease almost 20 years ago, it was only a year ago that I began learning about the effects of thyroid on so many other systems in the body, and what other things affect the disease as well as treatment.

Dr. Peatfield has been vilified by the medical community in his own country but thankfully has the courage to speak out. I thought the book was extremely well written, and broken down into concise chapters (I've abbreviated the titles):

1. Intro

2. How it Works

3. Over-active thyroid gland and treatment

4. Under-active thyroid gland

5. Hypothyroidism -Symptoms

6. Hypothyroidism - Signs

7. Iodine, Other Hormones and the Thyroid

8. The Adrenal Connection

9. Hypothyroidism - the Treatment

10. The Full Treatment Protocol

11. Reverse T3 and Wilson's Syndrome

12. The Parathyroid Glands

13. Chronic Fatigue and the Thyroid Factor

14. Thyroid and Diabetes

15. Thyroid and Cholesterol

16. Thyroid and Depression

17. Growth Hormone Saga

18. For Doctors

19. Helping Yourself

20. Losing Weight

Then there 5 appendices:

A. Dental Amalgam

B. Lists of Symptoms and Signs

C. Assessment Charts

D. Resources and Further Reading

E. References

As to the comment that there was not much information regarding dosing (I think the reviewer meant about for adrenal fatigue) since this is primarily a book about thyroid, I feel Dr. Peatfield gives a good background to BEGIN researching adrenal fatigue treatment. I didn't agree with every single thing in the book but I learned a great deal and use it for reference time and again. I learned about the interrelationship with other hormones. It also better prepared me to discuss my treatment with my doctor.

I think the following are other essential books for learning about thyroid disease:

- "Stop the Thyroid Madness" by Janie Bowthorpe

- "Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms" by Datis Kharrazian

- "Hypothyroidism Type 2: The Epidemic" by Mark Starr

and although I don't have it I'll probably next purchase Broda Barnes book, "Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness" as it probably is considered the groundbreaking authority on the subject.

I highly recommend Dr. Durrant-Peatfield's book.

For anyone who considers they may have a thyroid problem, particularly Hypothyroid, you must purchase or at least read this book. It will be a reference book you will keep dipping into.

Dr Barry Durrant-Peatfield a GP for many years specialising in endocrinology and particularly thyroid problems, has a different approach to patients and to treating thyroid disorders. As a consequence he found himself hounded by his peers and colleques. They were wrong to do so, he did not harm anyone. Thankfully he continues in private practice as a nutritionalist running clinics the length and breadth of this island. You can google him and make contact with his office for an appointment near your home for the cost of a pair of shoes he will change your life for the better.

I wish I had read this book 20years ago.

I have for 20 years been ill and I knew from day one I had hypothyroidism but various doctors told me it was not so. They preferrred to label me with ME/CFS. I have no problem with that except I dont believe it is correct and therefore I have missed out on 20years of treatment when I would have been able to live a heathier and less painful life. Furthermore having such a label some doctors consider this suggests you are mentally ill, hysterical, suffering psychosomatic illnes and that you are not worthy of being taken seriously.

I have been receiving treatment for hypothyroidism for a time now and I am begining to feel human again. This book will give those of you suffering from the myriad of symptoms associated with thyroid disorders, firstly good information and advice and the detailed information with which to fight your corner. It enables you almost to self prescribe and help yourself.

You could do worse than to read this excellent book.

A must to read if you think you have a thyroid problem regardless of whether you are currently receiving medical treatment or not....due to his approach to thyroid disorders you will still benefit.

This is one of the better books written in June 2006. We have so many books on thyroid/adrenal problems which are incorrect, but Barry Peatfield manages to get it right. This book is helpful on so many levels: from correct supplements and vitamins to take, to cortisol issues, to correct natural desiccated thyroid medication to sleeping tips and all around helpful information. He works independently from the NHS (National Health System) in the UK and has been serving and supporting the masses who have been mis-diagnosed over there for decades and decades.....and it's a good thing. He's educating and saving lives. We must spread the correct word regardless of the consequences. There is nothing black and white or clear cut about thyroid issues; what works for one, may not work for another. Having the answers makes life much easier.

But the greatest news is that his updated and revised book should be out fairly soon with new discoveries and important revisions on the thyroid/adrenal scene. Looking forward to that one as well.

Had read other books about thyroid, adrenals & hormones and this book pulls it all together in making sense and easy to understand. This book is very thorough and helping you understand what to do to get better. Highly recommend this book if you have health issues with your thyroid.