Rethinking Hypothyroidism: Why Treatment Must Change and What Patients Can Do

In this primer for patients, their families, and their doctors, a leading physician and scientist explains why the standard treatment for hypothyroidism fails manyand offers an empowering call for change. Hypothyroidism, also commonly referred to as Hashimotos disease, affects millions in the United States alone. It occurs when the thyroidthe butterfly-shaped gland that sits in your neck right above the front of your shirt collarmalfunctions or after thyroid surgery, causing thyroid hormone levels in circulation to drop below normal. Thus, treatment is aimed at bringing these hormone levels back to normal. This is done with daily tablets of thyroxine or T4. Because hypothyroidism is so common, we likely know someone who is on this type of medication. While most patients respond well to this standard treatment, about ten to twenty percent (some two to three million individuals in the United States) are far from living a typical life. They exhibit foggy brainlow energy, confusion, and poor memory. Many doctors have shrugged off their complaints, believing these symptoms to be unrelated to the thyroid disease. In Rethinking Hypothyroidism, Dr. Antonio C. Bianco, a physician and a scientist who has studied hypothyroidism and thyroid hormones for decades, offers an accessible overview of the diseases treatment and the role of big pharma in shaping it, making the case that the current approach is failing many patients. But more than this, Bianco calls for alternatives to improve lives, and he equips patients and their families with the tools to advocate for other treatments.