21st Century Pain and Sports Medicine

By Mary Budinger

The shortage of natural desiccated thyroid began a year ago when the sole American supplier changed the manufacturing process that turns the thyroid glands of pigs into powder. This caused both major suppliers of desiccated thyroid, Forest (Armour thyroid) and RLC Labs (Nature-Throid and Westhroid) to have shortages. Forest recalled a large portion of Armour thyroid due to stability concerns and back-ordered everything. RLC Labs was also having quality control problems. Then Armour was refor­mu­la­ted, reportedly dec­rea­sing the amount of dex­trose and inc­rea­sing cellu­lose. Nume­rous patients reported the taste of the new tablets was repugnant and that that their hypothyroid symptoms returned.

Meanwhile, Time-Cap Labs, producer of a generic version of the brand name drug Armour, was ordered by the FDA last June to stop production. The FDA decided to classify the company’s product, available for over a century, as an unapproved new drug which requires a new drug application. Time-Cap Labs stopped production; much speculation and confusion followed. Patients at the “Save Natural Thyroid Coalition” called the FDA’s consumer information line (888-463-6332) and got all kinds of different answers. No one knows if the FDA will require all natural desiccated thyroid drugs still on the market to go through the new drug application process.

RLC Labs said they are “fully committed to supplying patients with a quality product. We will see this through.”  It is unclear when or if Forest will begin producing Armour thyroid.

Desiccated thyroid from pigs is a bio-identical, complete hormone preparation, containing the entire spectrum of thyroid hormones including T4, T3, T2, and T1 that are in the human thyroid gland. Current FDA approved thyroid medications include Synthroid, Unithroid, Levoxyl, and Levothyroxine (all only contain T4), and Cytomel (only T3).  These hormones are synthetic and contain only a portion of the thyroid’s hormones.

Dr. Mark Starr of Phoenix said patients have called him, frantic that desiccated thyroid is unavailable. “It is so key to my practice, I have enough for my patients. So far, it appears that when supply catches up with demand in a few months, the shortage will be over.”

Starr is the author of Hypothyroidism-Type 2. He said synthetic thyroid acts energetically differently in the body. “All living things have a right spin, and synthetic medications have a left spin. The desiccated thyroid is better tolerated. Dr. Broda Barnes did a study that revealed a relative intolerance to a synthetic thyroid product containing T3 and T4 (Thyrolar). One-fifth of the patients who had done well on desiccated thyroid developed rapid heart beats and palpitations when switched to Thyrolar. Dr. Barnes also did a major research study on desiccated thyroid that involved thousands of patients over 30 years; it showed a 94 percent reduction in the number of expected heart attacks. This study is the subject of the 1976 book Solved: The Riddle of Heart Attacks.

Lipitor is the best selling drug in the world. But for the first half of the 20^th century, desiccated thyroid was the standard treatment for high cholesterol. Elevated cholesterol and triglycerides are one of the myriad symptoms of hypothyroidism. Dr. Barnes’ book included a chapter entitled “The Demise of the Cholesterol Theory.” Desiccated thyroid normalized cholesterol and triglycerides in 95% of the patients Dr. Barnes treated. The 5% who had persistently elevated levels had no increased incidence of heart attacks. Desiccated thyroid therapy also resolved a long list of other hypothyroid symptoms such as fatigue, cold intolerance, joint and muscle pain, dry skin, inability to lose weight, headaches, and menstrual problems.

One of the most important benefits that Dr. Barnes demonstrated in studies on both animals and his patients was that desiccated thyroid increases immunity and allows the body to fight off infections. As we come into swine flu season, this is particularly important.

Mary Budinger is an Emmy award-winning journalist who writes for Complementary and Alterative Medicine.

By Dr. Mark Starr

Oprah Winfrey’s metabolism has been up and down – and up again. Adventures with the bathroom scale and swings in energy finally got her focused on her thyroid.

In her magazine, she wrote: “My body was turning on me. First hyperthyroidism, which sped up my metabolism and left me unable to sleep for days. (Most people lose weight. I didn’t.) Then hypothyroidism, which slowed down my metabolism and made me want to sleep all the time. (Most people gain weight. I did! Twenty pounds!)”

We can’t know from afar the nitty gritty details of her physical condition but we do know that changes in metabolism and weight gain are red flags that the thyroid is not doing its job. Hyperthyroidism (over-active thyroid) followed by hypothyroidism (under-active thyroid) commonly happens when someone has Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune disease that occurs when we make antibodies that cause inflammation of the thyroid gland.  Conventional doctors are taught there is no known cause of this illness.  However, a careful review of recent literature points toward iodine deficiency as a major contributing factor.

The rising incidence of Hashimoto’s correlates with falling iodine levels in our populace (www.drbrownstein.com; www.optimox.com). Adequate amounts of iodine are necessary for our thyroid and immune systems to function properly.  Damaged thyroid gland cells dump their contents into the blood stream whenever illnesses occur.  Iodine is necessary to make external and intracellular proteins spilled into the blood non-allergic.  Without adequate iodine, the body thinks these proteins are foreign and attacks the thyroid gland.

Daily requirements of iodine required to attain optimal health are many times the RDA that doctors are taught during their formal training.  The amount of iodine in table salt usually avoids the formation of most thyroid goiters (dysfunctional and enlarged thyroid glands).  However, it is far less than what recent research indicates we need.

Another complicating factor is the medical profession lost touch with natural desiccated thyroid that has been used successfully to treat hypothyroidism for over a century. Synthetic thyroid was first mass produced and marketed to doctors thirty years ago. Desiccated thyroid usage has been abandoned by mainstream doctors.  There have been long term studies on thousands of patients showing a tremendous reduction in heart attacks with proper usage of desiccated thyroid.  One research article showed that fatigue was reduced by 2/3’s when 40 patients were switched from today’s synthetic thyroid to desiccated thyroid. Other classical symptoms of hypothyroidism such as depression, cold intolerance, and headaches also improved.

In Winfrey’s case, fatigue and weight gain are a red flag for low thyroid. Unfortunately, most doctors are unaware of the recent research on iodine.  They are also taught not to use desiccated thyroid even when patients are doing poorly on the synthetic form. Consequently, hypothyroidism and iodine deficiencies tend to go undiagnosed and treated improperly until a crisis like Hashimoto’s befalls you.

Hypothyroidism Type 2 The Book:

This is the most significant compilation of medical research ever published in the area of hypothyroidism. Over a century of irrefutable scientific evidence is presented in a concise and readable format for laypeople and doctors alike. My research shows that many chronic illnesses including heart disease, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, mental illnesses, Alzheimer’s disease, and the explosion of childhood illnesses are