I put this letter together for TS members who are struggling to get proper treatment. It may help, it may not. But its worth trying! Copy, paste, and print! Dear Dr. You may or may not know who I am, so allow me to introduce myself. My name is Gena Lee Nolin. I was a Barkers beauty on the the show, The Price is Right. I then worked on a show called Baywatch as the character, Neely Capshaw. I also had my own show, Sheena, among various other acting and modeling endeavors. I have launched a campaign to raise awareness about thyroid disease. I have written a book about my story and my struggle with this disease. It was published by Simon & Schuster on October 8, 2013. For many years, I was very ill. I suffered from severe fatigue, depression, weight gain, anxiety, hair loss, dry skin and a myriad of other symptoms that we all go through when we have this disease. It was debilitating. I went to many doctors before I finally found one who discovered I had Hashimotos thyroiditis/hypothyroidism. Words truly can not convey how negatively this undiagnosed illness impacted my life for so many years. I was told to exercise. I was told to eat less. I was put on anti-depressants. I was put on anti-anxiety medication. None of it helped. I had a very bad experience when I was pregnant with my third child. I went into A-fib and was almost cardioverted in my 7th month. It was due to undiagnosed thyroid disease. As you can imagine, it was terrifying for me. I ask you to think outside of the box in terms of the diagnosis and treatment of your patient. We as a patient community have found that while the TSH test can be a useful diagnostic test, it is not without its drawbacks. Too many of us fall through the cracks and remain ill when diagnosis and treatment is based solely on this test. The reference range is too broad, and it seems there is a continual controversy over what the reference range should actually be. I ask that you please test for Hashimotos and Graves antibodies. I also ask that you test Free T3 and Free T4 levels, the actual circulating hormone, to give a more comprehensive view of your patients thyroid status. In addition, Reverse T3 and a thyroid ultrasound, as my bloodwork didnt show Hashimotos antibodies. I was diagnosed via ultrasound. I ask that you please consider the use of a T3 medication in addition to T4 medication if your patient is not doing well on a T4 medication alone. So many of us have problems converting T4 to T3 adequately. I was one of them. I was on Synthroid for a year and it didnt help me. I continued to become more debilitated with each passing day. I ask that you please consider the use of desiccated thyroid. Contrary to popular belief, it is not an antiquated medication. It has been used successfully for years, is still used today, and many patients, including myself, have finally found the road back to wellness on it. I take Natural Desiccated Thyroid, I was prescribled Armour Thyroid in January of 2011, and there are other brands available. There was a study published from the Endo 2013 conference stating that desiccated thyroid is a safe alternative to Levothyroxine if youd be kind enough to look that up. I ask that you look at cortisol levels along with Vit D, Vit B12, iron and ferritin levels. My iron and cortisol were so low at one point, that I had a difficult time with hormone replacement. Once I got them in good range, I was able to tolerate the thyroid hormone and my body was better able to utilize it. Most importantly, I ask that you please listen to your patient and look at their clinical presentation when they tell you their symptoms and how ill they are feeling. They know their body better than anyone. Thank you for taking the time to read this. On behalf of your patient, it is my hope that you will take it into consideration. Their health and well being depend on it. Kindest Regards, Gena Lee Nolin
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 06:54:13 +0000
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