1,000 signatures reached
To: The Health Minister / Pharmaceutical Industry
Improve testing and treatment of hypothyroidism
Please see my message to the Health Minister for full details. You Tube: https://youtu.be/5jtloVyE7Mg
Hypothyroid patients including myself and hundreds of people I've spoken to want to be tested and treated properly for hypothyroidism which means we need the NHS to prescribe both T3 and T4.
Currently the NHS ignores most our symptoms because it only tests for TSH (not T3/T4) and then prescribes T4-only thyroid hormone replacement via Levothyroxine. Therefore many of us are falling victim to associated life-threatening conditions including heart disease, high blood pressure and mental illnesses. Pregnant ladies I have spoken to have lost babies and some babies experience development problems due to their mothers suffering with hypothyroidism. Online research indicates that these conditions could be prevented if we were treated with T3 and T4.
T3 is available in synthetic or natural form (Natural Desiccated Thyroid). NDT is currently unlicensed although it was once licensed in the UK. Online research suggests that NDT can't be licensed due to cost and lack of testing. We believe that not prescribing T3 is costing the taxpayer dearly in the long run because the NHS is prescribing medicines to manage related conditions rather than getting to the heart of the matter. Therefore, we want to NHS to invest in testing. There are thousands of hypothyroid patients who have been self medicating with NDT. Having spoken to them, I am confident that they, including myself, would be willing to help.
This petition has been created to persuade the NHS to do what is necessary to relicense NDT. We want the NHS to work holistically, live its values and understand the long term benefits of prescribing T3 and T4 to hypothyroid patients.
We understand that what works for one person may not work for another.
Hypothyroid patients need to be tested and treated properly.
We need the NHS to narrow the thyroid blood tests reference ranges and offer patients the full spectrum of thyroid tests.
We want the NHS to live its values and listen to us.
We need transparency.
The NHS needs to work alongside (not against) ThyroidUK and other hypothyroid support groups.
We want to know exactly how many hypothyroid patients in the UK are also on meds for related illnesses - eg blood pressure and mental illness etc? And the exact cost of this.
We want the NHS to push hypothyroidism to the top of the training agenda, so GPs can be re-educated on our condition and promise to never stop learning about hypothyroidism.
Hypothyroid patients including myself and hundreds of people I've spoken to want to be tested and treated properly for hypothyroidism which means we need the NHS to prescribe both T3 and T4.
Currently the NHS ignores most our symptoms because it only tests for TSH (not T3/T4) and then prescribes T4-only thyroid hormone replacement via Levothyroxine. Therefore many of us are falling victim to associated life-threatening conditions including heart disease, high blood pressure and mental illnesses. Pregnant ladies I have spoken to have lost babies and some babies experience development problems due to their mothers suffering with hypothyroidism. Online research indicates that these conditions could be prevented if we were treated with T3 and T4.
T3 is available in synthetic or natural form (Natural Desiccated Thyroid). NDT is currently unlicensed although it was once licensed in the UK. Online research suggests that NDT can't be licensed due to cost and lack of testing. We believe that not prescribing T3 is costing the taxpayer dearly in the long run because the NHS is prescribing medicines to manage related conditions rather than getting to the heart of the matter. Therefore, we want to NHS to invest in testing. There are thousands of hypothyroid patients who have been self medicating with NDT. Having spoken to them, I am confident that they, including myself, would be willing to help.
This petition has been created to persuade the NHS to do what is necessary to relicense NDT. We want the NHS to work holistically, live its values and understand the long term benefits of prescribing T3 and T4 to hypothyroid patients.
We understand that what works for one person may not work for another.
Hypothyroid patients need to be tested and treated properly.
We need the NHS to narrow the thyroid blood tests reference ranges and offer patients the full spectrum of thyroid tests.
We want the NHS to live its values and listen to us.
We need transparency.
The NHS needs to work alongside (not against) ThyroidUK and other hypothyroid support groups.
We want to know exactly how many hypothyroid patients in the UK are also on meds for related illnesses - eg blood pressure and mental illness etc? And the exact cost of this.
We want the NHS to push hypothyroidism to the top of the training agenda, so GPs can be re-educated on our condition and promise to never stop learning about hypothyroidism.
Why is this important?
We think there are 10.2 million hypothyroid patients in the UK so this is a significant number. The NHS won't prescribe (see research links on Prezi below) anything other than Levothyroxine because Levo costs £26 a year and T3 costs £1300 per patient per year. This is a case of mindset myopia because our research indicates that the long term cost to the NHS and taxpayer is much higher through prescribing extra medication and hospitals referrals required due to associated conditions such as high blood pressure, heart problems and mental illness etc.
The lack of interests from GPs has pushed many hypothyroid patients to self-medication because they are fed up of feeling ill. This means patients are taking strong hormones with no supervision.
My Prezi contains the full list of links for the research to put my presentation together - http://prezi.com/0ljwmhl87lnv/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share
The lack of interests from GPs has pushed many hypothyroid patients to self-medication because they are fed up of feeling ill. This means patients are taking strong hormones with no supervision.
My Prezi contains the full list of links for the research to put my presentation together - http://prezi.com/0ljwmhl87lnv/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share
