Of the 334 people who indicated that they have had success losing weight after being hypothyroid:
53% recommended an exercise program, self-directed
40% suggested a general low calorie diet (general)
27% recommended a general low fat diet
27% recommended Weight Watchers
24% suggested a low glycemic/low sugar diet
Related Conditions
Many people with thyroid conditions also have other conditions. Of the 58% of people who reported having other conditions:
81% had allergies
63% had depression
40% had chronic sinusitis
34% had anemia
30% had carpal tunnel syndrome
27% had asthma
23% had endometriosis
22% had Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome (MVPS)
20% had fibromyalgia
19% had hormonal deficiencies
16% had mononucleosis
15% had chronic yeast / candidiasis
15% had Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
Smoking Information
11% of all respondents were diagnosed after stopping smoking
Almost 9% are currently smokers.
Almost 8% were heavy smokers in the past.
4% recently quit smoking
Among those who smoked, more than half were diagnosed within a year of quitting smoking.
Neck Trauma
20% of all respondents have had a serious trauma to the neck, such as whiplash from a car accident
Favorite Books
About a third of respondents offered information on their favorite books about thyroid disease:
30% of all respondents recommended: Living Well With Hypothyroidism, by Mary Shomon
13% recommended The Thyroid Solution, by Ridha Arem
7% recommended Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness, by Broda Barnes
Almost 7% recommended The Thyroid Sourcebook, by Sara Rosenthal
6% recommended Thyroid Power, by Richard and Karilee Shames
And 5% recommended Solved: The Riddle of Illness, By Stephen Langer and James Scheer
Thyroid Groups and Organizations
Only 78, or 8.6% of respondents, belong to any thyroid patient organizations.
Among them:
32% indicated membership in the Thyroid Foundation of America
Almost 18% are members of the Thyroid Cancer Survivors Association
10% belong to local support groups
5% belong to Thyroid UK
5% belong to the National Graves Disease Foundation
Among those who responded to the question of whether these thyroid patient groups fairly represent patients, 60% said yes, and 40% said no.
The best services and features of the groups are, according to respondents:
Information, 94%
Support Groups, 60%
News/Newsletters, 26%
Web Site, 23%
Lists of doctors, 23%
Members feel that there are some downsides or limitations of the above groups? These include:
40% believe they don't provide enough information on alternative treatments
32 % believe they give false information about treatment options/drugs
18% believe that there is a drug company funding bias
7% say that the group provides no one-on-one interactions
Research Agenda
Two-thirds of all surveyed responded regarding what sorts of research topics pharmaceutical companies and patient organizations should be funding/studying. These include:
98% believe that research should study weight loss problems with thyroid disease
96% want to see more studies on the need for T3 and role of T3 in alleviating symptoms
93% want to see study of cures for autoimmune thyroid conditions
89% want research into causes of thyroid disease
87% want research into long term safety of T3
85% want research into prevention of thyroid disease
77% want research into optimal TSH levels by gender, age and hormonal status
Drug Company Influence
When asked if the thyroid pharmaceutical companies are
influencing the endocrinology community, 83% of those responding said yes, and
16 percent said no.
Among those who feel that there is influence, 95% believe
that the influence is unfair to patients and unduly favorable to the drug
companies. 3% believe that it is favorable to patients.
Note: the survey was conducted among those who volunteered to submit information, and therefore is informational, and not for statistical purposes.
All survey contents and survey results Copyright Mary Shomon, 2002-2003.
