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Experience at the For five days last week, my wife, Tammy, and I attended the 14th International Symposium on Functional Medicine in Tucson, Arizona. Sponsored by the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM), this year’s Symposium was titled, "21st Century Endocrinology: Thyroid and Adrenal as Sentinel Organs." On Friday, I gave a presentation on fibromyalgia and its relationship to thyroid disease. In my presentation, I described finding the solution to the problem of fibromyalgia. I also touched on the treatment I developed for patients called "metabolic rehabilitation." I created, refined, and advanced this protocol over the past 20 years. So I was delighted to learn that among the six hundred physicians and other practitioners at the Symposium, many use metabolic rehab in their practices. They told Tammy and me that for the most part, they learned the protocol and the science it’s based on from my book The Metabolic Treatment of Fibromyalgia. But what was most heartening, scores of these practitioners sought out Tammy and me to express their thanks for my work, which many said they’ve followed for many years. So many of them shook our hands and said thanks that I felt something akin to what I feel at hearing John Denver’s "rocky mountain high." The generous reception we received was immensely gratifying. I only wish that my editor and collaborator, Jackie Yellin, and her husband, Michael, could have been there to share the experience with Tammy and me. Jackie has worked step-by-step with me through those twenty ears, and Michael has always been our staunchest supporter. It was the first time for Tammy to be among a large group of practitioners expressing what my research and publications have meant to them. Of course, each day at The Lowe Clinic and Research Center, she and Maureen, my clinical assistant, hear individual patients and doctors convey their thanks. But en masse, the comments of attending practitioners to Tammy and me were uplifting to us in a way that’s hard to describe. I want to mention here, as I did in concluding my presentation, a splendid person Tammy and I had the privilege of meeting and spending time with at Symposium. Our time with her was truly enriching. She is Misia Landau, Senior Science Writer at Harvard Medical School. Not only is Misia delightful to be with, she’s also an exceptional conversationalist and extraordinary thinker. She expressed her concern to Tammy and me that many patients—in my mind, perhaps most—are unable to get medical diagnoses that lead to relief from their suffering. But, she also told us she was encouraged and reassured by what she had witnessed at the IFM Symposium. Misia attends many medical and scientific conferences and apparently finds them enriching. But at the IFM Symposium, she saw an exceptionally inspiring collective attitude of hope and enthusiasm among the attending practitioners. She was impressed by their eagerness to learn new, science-based methods to provide better medical care for their patients. Along with Misia, Tammy and I were energized by the contagiously positive state of mind at the Symposium. We sensed this from everyone, from the IFM staff, to the medical faculty, to the attending clinical practitioners. We came away from the Symposium feeling so much kinship with this group that I’ll be taking my place among IFM’s membership. We encourage everyone who reads drlowe.com to search the listing of IFM members when looking for local physicians, nurse practitioners, or other healthcare providers: http://www.functionalmedicine.org/findfmphysician/index.asp. We learned at the Symposium that IFM members are caring practitioners who stay abreast of cutting-edge medical science. And—of of immense importance to patients looking for answers to their health problems—they’re willing to go "outside the box" on their patients’ behalf in using that science. I conclude this note by addressing the Symposium’s staff, faculty, and attending physicians and other practitioners: Thank you so very much for taking the time to convey your thanks to Tammy and me. Your compliments came at a time when we were in need of a reviving experience, and you certainly gave us that—copiously. Your comments left me feeling that I’ve favorably touch the lives of many patients I’ll never have the chance to meet personally. That gives me great solace, especially in view of the maddening obstructions of the last year. From deep in my heart, I thank you for your generous counterbalancing influence.
Peripheral Thyroid Hormone
Resistance— In my book, The Metabolic Treatment of Fibromyalgia, the chapter on thyroid hormone resistance is the most extensive document ever written on the subject. When I surveyed the research literature to write the chapter, I included as many mechanisms of resistance that I could find. At the time, I proposed that peripheral resistance to thyroid hormone was not rare, as so many endocrinologists maintained. Since the publication of The Metabolic Treatment of Fibromyalgia, researchers have found other possible mechanisms of resistance. Five Norwegian authors searched the latest literature and reviewed many of these other possible mechanisms in a new paper in the journal, Medical Hypotheses. [1] (I received an advance copy of the paper, thanks to my dear friend and colleague Lyn Mynott, Chair of Thyroid UK.) These mechanisms include inhibitors of thyroid hormone transport across the outer cell membrane, furosamide (Lasix)-reduced binding of T3 to receptors in the cell fluid, carnitine interference with transport across the membrane of the nucleus, and a variety of toxins, other medications, and antibodies interfering at multiple cell sites.I believe that readers will get the most benefit from this new paper after first reading my in-depth coverage of peripheral thyroid hormone resistance in The Metabolic Treatment of Fibromyalgia. Nonetheless, I recommend the paper to anyone interested in peripheral resistance to thyroid hormone. The reader should take special note of two of the authors’ important points: First, peripheral resistance to thyroid hormone is not rare, as some researchers have claimed. And second, the TSH and thyroid hormone levels are useless for diagnosing this common disorder of impaired thyroid hormone action. In their conclusion, the researchers state that what is needed is a method for measuring thyroid hormone action in the peripheral tissues. A method they mention is the resting or basal metabolic rate. They site a study, for example, in which researchers found that infants had low basal metabolic rates despite having normal TSH and thyroid hormone levels. [2] I couldn’t concur more, as measuring the metabolic rate is one of the main diagnostic methods we use at The Lowe Clinic and Research Center.Reference  2. Aldmzadeh, R. Friedman, S., Fort, P., et al.: Is there compensated hypothyroidism in infants? Pediatrics, 90(2):207-211, 2001. Our Menu of Services: Long-Distance Consulting, Metabolic Evaluations, & Treatment by Tammy Lowe We have put together a menu of my husband's clinical services and fees. We put the menu together so that you can avail yourself of some or all of the services, whichever best fits your budget. If you want to talk about Dr. Lowe's services, you can reach me by phone at 603-391-6061. If you prefer, you can email me at Tammy@drlowe.com. However, we also have a webpage where we describe the menu of services: Your Options for Metabolic Evaluations and Treatment. The Lowe Clinic and Research Center © 2007 John C. Lowe. All rights reserved. This email newsletter may be copied and distributed subject to three conditions: (1) All text within the full document or any section copied must be copied without modification with all pages included. (2) All copies must contain the following copyright notice: "© 2007 John C. Lowe." (3) Neither this full document nor any section of it may be published or distributed for profit. |
