http://pt.wkhealth.com/pt/re/clen/abstract.00003033-200012000-00012.htm;jsessionid=KBLSHYLsQBp2mqrqJ8Ttm4tsQXLVfpLc6kcfNyXXPVyXXGlL1YQT!-444506849!181195629!8091!-1
Given reliance on flawed American Thyroid level testing rather than on how the patient feels, prompt and appropriate treatment may not be delivered.
Peatfield was a general practitioner in the British National Health service who came to America and trained at the Broda Barnes Institute. He returned to England and started a thyroid private practice. His book summarizes over 25 years of clinical diagnosing and treating thyroid illness. One section of the book is devoted to the question, "Why thyroid blood tests can be unreliable".
Here is what Dr. Peatfield says:
"Anxiety in the medical establishment about rules and dogma has led to a slavish reliance on blood tests, which are often unreliable and can actually produce a false picture of the true situation"
"I have sadly come across very few doctors who can accept the fact that a normal, or low TSH, may still occur with a low thyroid."
"as a result of this test (TSH), thousands are denied treatment"
Peatfield lists several reasons why thyroid blood tests are flawed:
1) They measure hormone levels in the blood. What we really want to know is tissue levels, not blood levels.
2) The blood tests do not measure cellular receptor hormone resistance.
3) The blood tests do not measure conversion block. Some patients cannot convert their inactive T4 to active T3.
4) The thyroid tests do not account for adrenal insufficiency.
5) Paradoxical low TSH may occur with a low thyroid function.
These sentiments are shared by the teachings of Broda Barnes MD, and the Broda Barnes Foundation. However, Peatfield's book elaborates beyond the classic teachings of Broda Barnes by including chapters on the adrenal as well as a chapter on iodine supplementation. I found this book excellent, and it belongs in every medical library dealing with thyroid disease.
http://www.amazon.com/review/RSKEFGC2G8IZO
