The Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) is used almost exclusively by most conventional physicians as the means of diagnosing thyroid disease, irrespective of symptoms. Dr. Derry believes the TSH test needs to be abandoned.
Some key points Dr. Derry makes include:
- The symptoms and signs of chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia were described in the literature in the 1930's as one way that low thyroid could be expressed. Treated early it was easily fixed with thyroid in adequate doses. But even then the clinicians had noticed that if a patient has low thyroid (chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia) for too long then it became more difficult to reverse all signs and symptoms regardless of what they were.
- The symptoms of low thyroid, which are numerous and variably expressed, can be related to any organ or system in the body and partly depends on the person's genes.
- TSH can lag a long way behind the appearance of low thyroid symptoms.
- People can be low thyroid with a normal TSH. The truth is that there is no relationship between the TSH and how people feel. Dr. Anthony Toft has stated this in the bible of thyroidology Werner and Ingbar's "The Thyroid" in 1991.
- The clinicians of the past (before the TSH) were astute and very observant and were able to diagnose and treat hypothyroidism correctly without the TSH for 80 years-- why do we need it now? They would be aghast at the total missing of the diagnosis of chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia.
David M. Derry M.D., Ph.D.
305 Goldstream Avenue
Victoria B.C. V9B 2W4
250 478-8388
More detailed information on Dr. Derry's perspectives is featured online.
