Thyroid Patient Advocate Marks Awareness Month With Warning: "Thyroid Disease is Overlooked and Undertreated"

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 /U.S. Newswire/ -- With more than 27 million Americans affected, and half still undiagnosed, patient advocate and author Mary Shomon is concerned: "Thyroid disease is one of the most overlooked, undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, and undertreated diseases in the country."

A drug-company sponsored campaign is being promoted by several medical groups for January 2005's thyroid awareness month. Their primary message is, per a press release," the brand of thyroid hormone medication should always stay the same."

In contrast to this message, Shomon's 2005 Thyroid Patient Advocacy Campaign proposes awareness of the "4 D's of Thyroid Disease": Disseminate, Diagnose, Doctor and Demand. Details are outlined online.

Read the rest of the press release on U.S. Newswire or Yahoo News now...

1. Disseminate TSH Standards

Most physicians consider the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) test essential for thyroid disease diagnosis and monitoring. In 2002, key groups, including the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry, the Academy of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry, and American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists indicated that doctors should follow a far narrower normal range of .3 to 3.0, versus the former margin of 0.5 to 5.0 to. Two years later, however, most U.S. labs still follow the old TSH range, many doctors don't know about the new range, and even when aware, many doctors refuse to diagnose thyroid problems because the lab doesn't flag test results as "abnormal."

Says Shomon: "Patients who test positive for hypothyroidism in this range of 3.0 to 5.0 are still being told they have normal TSH results and aren't treated. There's no justifiable reason for such slow dissemination of information critical to the health of millions."

2. Diagnose The Overlooked Millions

Thyroid symptoms can include fatigue, weight changes and depression. Because the condition is more common in the elderly and women, and symptoms are common to other conditions, doctors are misdiagnosing patients, prescribing antidepressants, telling patients the symptoms are a "fact of life," rather than testing for thyroid problems.

People with undiagnosed thyroid disease suffer greatly. Undiagnosed, untreated thyroid conditions increase the risk for heart disease, obesity, depression, stroke, hypertension, miscarriage, stillbirth, birth defects and retardation, infertility, and many other serious health problems.

Says Shomon: "If we're going to effectively reduce this 50 percent undiagnosed rate, doctors need a major refresher course on thyroid disease risks, symptoms, and methods of diagnosis. Only then will the millions of undiagnosed get the proper testing, evaluation, and treatment they desperately need."

3. Doctor the Patients, Don't Just Read Lab Test Values

Even when treated, many thyroid patients still do not feel well. Some surveys have found that up to 75 percent of patients on thyroid hormone replacement have unresolved symptoms despite "normal" TSH levels. Among patients being treated, an estimated 40 percent of patients still have TSH levels outside the "old" TSH normal range. These findings mean there is a long way to go in properly treating hypothyroidism.

When it comes to thyroid disease, says Shomon, "the experts need to get back to some old-fashioned doctoring of patients. This is not a cookie-cutter disease with a one-size-fits-all treatment. To help each patient feel his or her best, a doctor first needs to find the right dose, the right brand, or the right prescription thyroid drug."

4. Demand Truthful, Unbiased Information

Finally, Shomon urges patients to demand unbiased answers from doctors, insurers, HMOs, professional and patient groups, despite the growing economic pressures these groups face due to cost controls, and drug company funding and influence.

Says Shomon: "We are their clients, their members, and dues- payers -- we deserve truthful information that help us live and feel well. Their job is to help us get well, not to prevent us from getting needed tests, or to promote and protect market share for favored brands of thyroid drugs."

Mary Shomon, a thyroid patient herself, has put together in her best-selling thyroid books comprehensive information that addresses thyroid patient questions and concerns, and helps them become informed, involved patients. Her books include:

-- "The Thyroid Diet," a New York Times best-seller published in 2004 by HarperCollins and already in its 8th printing. http://www.goodmetabolism.com

-- "Living Well With Hypothyroidism" published 2000 by HarperCollins. After 20 printings, a newly revised edition of the best-seller is coming February 2005. http://www.thyroid-info.com/book.htm

-- Thyroid Guide to Fertility, Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Success, published in 2002. http://www.thyroid-info.com/pregngancyguide.htm

Shomon is author of other popular health books, including "Living Well With Autoimmune Disease" in 2002, "Living Well With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia" in 2004, and "Living Well With Graves' Disease and Fibromyalgia," coming in 2005. She runs several popular, award-winning thyroid disease and weight loss websites, email newsletters and print newsletters.