Yeah, well, actually my cat is fine.
My cat subscribed to a magazine at work. This allows me to see what happens: the magazine sells my cat's name and address to other magazines and brands and big data. Also, work is a medical clinic, so now they suspect that my cat is a physician. So Dr. Katz gets mail related to Women's Day and also to physicians. It's a pretty weird mix.
And sometimes I sign my cat up for the fringe medical emails. My cat signed up for the Thyroid Secret. Wow. Dr. Wentz is really big on the exclamation points....
Hey Katz,
Just a quick note to say hello and welcome!
I'm Dr. Izabella Wentz, and I'm the in-house thyroid expert and your host of The Thyroid Secret! I became a thyroid expert as a result of my own challenges with autoimmune thyroid disease, Hashimoto's and hypothyroidism.
My goal is to change the way that thyroid disease is treated- because too many people suffer needlessly like I did- and I hope to do so with this documentary! I need your help - please read the rest of this email to learn more how you can support this mission!
I've partnered with over 100 thyroid experts, 67 thyroid patients, and an amazing production team to create this documentary series to empower you with the tools you need to take back your health!
You'll get to know more about me, my work and why I care so much about getting the truth out about thyroid disease when you watch the Thyroid Secret Documentary Series, but in the meantime, you can check my ABOUT page to get to know me a bit more. You're in good hands :-)
Some housekeeping notes so that you have the best viewing experience!
Ok, so this is not ONE video. It is NINE EVENINGS IN A ROW. Jesus. Somehow my medical conferences can usually do a thyroid update in one hour. Doesn't seem to take nine.
Let's do a little search on Dr. Isabella Wentz.
http://thyroidpharmacist.com/. Hey. She is a pharmacist. Excuse me, doctor of pharmacology. Last I looked they are not physicians. Now, my uncle has a PhD and never fails to tell me that it is a higher degree than an MD, but I don't get medical treatment from him. Ooooo and look, on the website I can sign up (or Katz can) for three free thyroid books. Hey, one could spend a life time digging in, drilling down, getting to the "root causes".
Did I know that 95% of those with hypothyroidism have Hashimoto's? Well, the real question is do I care? No, I don't, because we treat it the same way: with thyroid hormones. People can get pretty weird about thyroid medicine. Ok, they want armour, which is extracted from pigs. Yes, it is "natural" though it still has to go through a laboratory and have the dose standardized. Some people don't want an animal product, so let's go with levothyroxine. It is human T4 made in a lab. They make it from something, though I haven't researched what. Some patients feel better with T3 as well, also human, made in a lab, dunno what it's made from. Don't care. Now I have some people on some naturopathic thyroid that IS NOT PIG. It's "natural" but it's a pill. So it went through a lab. And it's made from.... animals? Or do they kill people and extract it? Maybe it's from dead people. I don't know.
If someone's TSH -- thyroid stimulating hormone -- is high, that is hypothyroidism. It is common. We don't care if it's Hashimoto's or not, really, because it's treated the same way....thought there is controversy. If the person has symptoms and the TSH is high, we treat them. However, if they deny symptoms and the TSH is between normal and 10, then we offer treatment or just "watch" the person. Retest. I have a person in their 90s who is in that range. They don't want to take thyroid. Fine! Or some people try it, don't notice a difference and go back off. No problem.
After we start thyroid hormone, we retest in 6-8 weeks. It takes that long for the TSH to readjust. In pregnant people we test every three weeks and follow the T4 because hello, it can harm the fetus, plus the whole system is changing fast. If the TSH is too LOW we are giving too much thyroid. We back the dose down. Hyperthyroidism can damage the heart, not a happy thing, so it is not ok. Among other things, it can trigger atrial fibrillation which increases the risk of strokes. Once we get the dose right, we check yearly. Though some of those "anti-aging" quacks charge cash for labs and they check all sorts of hormones including thyroid every three to four months. Sacrifice the cash cow. So you think you can refuse to age? Hey, just hand over your money and I will do REALLY IMPORTANT DOCTOR THINGS INCLUDING VERY FREQUENT BLOOD DRAWS AND YOU WILL NOT AGE.
Anyhow, maybe Katz and I will watch one of these or part of one... stay tuned.
I am encouraged to share the adverti--- I mean, informational email, so like, I have, right?