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The Metabolic Treatment
of Fibromyalgia
by Dr. John C. Lowe
Readers' Comments
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During most of my career as a
clinician, I looked askance at other doctors who displayed in their reception
rooms testimonial letters from satisfied patients. I
thought this method that some doctors used to promote their practices gave
an imbalanced view of
the doctors' abilities. "Well," I thought, "these
patients (the ones who've written the testimonial letters) are satisfied with
the doctors' abilities. But what about patients who aren't satisfied. Is it fair,"
I asked, "to display letters from satisfied patients
but not from dissatisfied ones?"
With the advent of the
Internet—and communications with hundreds of patients—I learned an
important lesson: Word-of-mouth reporting of experiences with doctors and
treatments is obviously of great interest to patients. In fact, many
patients value credible opinions of other patients far more than
they do those of doctors. I've even found some newsgroups where the
opinions of patients are welcome but those of doctors aren't. Because so
many patients value testimonials from other patients, we now provide this
testimonial page on drlowe.com.
I still,
however, believe that testimonials give an unbalanced view in that they're
always positive. Because of this, I caution readers to look at every type of evidence possible—not
just testimonials from satisfied patients—in deciding whether a
treatment is right for them. I advise, for example, that patients evaluate
the scientific evidence for the effectiveness and safety of a treatment praised in patients'
testimonials.
We'll publish here select letters by those who agree
to share them so that others might benefit from their personal
experiences. —Dr.
John C. Lowe (August 27, 2002)
We
often hear from people who remained ill on T4-replacement who then
fully recovered after switching to thyroid hormone products that contained
both T4 and T3. Below is a well-expressed example. It's from a writer,
Torry Meeks, who improved slightly on Synthroid but then fully recovered
after switching to Armour.
Subj: Thank You
Date:10/18/2005
From: Torrey Meeks
To: askdrlowe@drlowe.com
Dr. Lowe,
We've never met or exchanged
e-mails, so you don't know me. I also understand that you're a very
busy man and may not have time to respond to me. I just wanted to
send you a note of thanks for your comprehensive website on
metabolic health. Two years ago I found myself, at the age of 20
after serving in the military, plagued with a variety of problems,
decreasing energy, and some very troubling and seemingly
disconnected health issues. I was rapidly losing weight and my hair
started falling out. Within a year I was close to incapacitated and
could barely get out of bed, with the only verifiable thing wrong
with me according to standard medical practice being a 7.2 TSH level
that took a year to discover, and progressively worse ideopathic
anemia. I began doing extensive research, put myself on a natural
health regime, and went on Synthroid, which helped only enough to
allow me to move around the house most of the day. I was still only
at 60% of what I had been before, with a limited ability to
concentrate, poor eyesight, and a very weak heart that limited the
amount of exercise I could do, though I still did every day.
At some point in my research I
stumbled across your website, gobbled up all the information you had
readily available, and was seduced by the exceeding logic, careful
language, and excellent documentation with which you make all of
your statements and hypotheses. After changing from Synthroid to
Armour thyroid, exercising to tolerance, and modifying my diet, I
have arrived at a place I never thought possible while at my worst.
Today, a year later, I am back on my feet, in a state of good
health, happily married, and, after going through two challenging
jobs to prove to myself that I am still capable of living to the
fullest—as a long haul truck driver, and then stone mason—I am
now a full time freelance writer. Thank you very much for your sound
advice and all the work you put into helping people become whole
again.
Sincerely,
Torrey Meeks
Freelance Writer |
The letter below is from a
patient of Dr. Gina
Honeyman-Lowe's. Like most of our patients, Barbara lives in another
state and has continued metabolic rehab with her local doctor after Dr.
Gina guided her through the initial stages of rehab. Barbara wrote in
response to my critique of the
four recent studies of thyroid hormone replacement therapies. After
expressing her outrage at the close minds within the medical community,
she describes her remarkable improvement after switching from Synthroid to
T3. We want to emphasize that most hypothyroid patients recover by using
products that contain both T4 and T3, such as Armour and Thyrolar. Some
patients, however, recover only when they use plain (not
sustained-release) T3. Barbara is an excellent example of such patients. —JCL
Subj: comments on the
critique in your recent newsletter
Date: 6/8/2004 4:40:25 PM Mountain Daylight Time
From: Barbara Harms
To: MetabolicHealth@aol.com
Dear Dr. Gina,
I haven't written in a while because I have been feeling so much
better. I just read in your newsletter about the 4 studies recently
done and the conclusions that were drawn. I am outraged at the
closed minds which are so prevalent in the medical community. I
would be happy for you to use my successful history of metabolic
rehab if it would help in any way to provide further evidence that
T4-replacement keeps some patients ill.
I was diagnosed as hypothyroid many years ago, as you may recall,
with all the symptoms full blown—despite my being on
Synthroid for years. It had reached the point where I had massive
weight gains, 100+ pounds, and could not stop the continuing weight
gain no matter what I did. I also had full blown fibromyalgia.
I owe my life in many ways to you and Dr. Lowe. Today, on 137 mcg
of T3, I
am 90% symptom free. I have finally stopped gaining weight and can
actually lose weight! I am working on that at present. You have
given me my life back—I can move and go places and do
things which had become almost impossible to do. I had been forced
to the point of needing a wheelchair if I was to go where walking
was involved. Just a simple thing like going to the mall was
impossible for me.
Things are so different for me now
and it's all thanks to you, without a doubt. We are actually going
to England in 2 weeks, a thing I never dreamed would be possible
before your help! Thank you again & again.
Sincerely,
Barbara Harms
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The letter below is from a chiropractic
physician. With little long-distance guidance by Dr. Gina
Honeyman-Lowe, he has remarkably improved his wife's fibromyalgia. Helping
loved ones improve or recover through metabolic rehab is the way some
doctors learn to treat fibromyalgia patients effectively. We encourage
patients to seek out such doctors for treatment. —JCL
Subj: Wife’s improved
health
Date: 6/11/2003 4:20:19 PM Mountain Daylight Time
From: Dr. Thomas E. Schreppler
To: DrHoneymanLowe@aol.com
Dear Dr. Gina:
I am a chiropractor whom you’ve helped immensely in the past with
my wife's care for her fibromyalgia. She is doing extremely well at
112.5 mcg of T3 per day, single-dose.
Quite frankly, I’m amazed. Prior to
institution of your protocol, in addition to nighttime sleep, she
was for all purposes bedridden 5 hours per day. She was in bed from
late morning till late afternoon when she recouped enough strength
to finish the day at 7-to-8 PM. Her migraines were debilitating at a
frequency of perhaps 6-to-8 per month. The slightest or most mundane
chores or activities aggravated her areas of fibromyalgia pain. Her
medial plantar arches were painful with even minimal walking.
Introduction of your treatment
regimen produced no relief until we titrated up her dose at weekly
intervals to her current dose. She could go no higher without heart
palpitations and other signs of toxicity. She stayed at this dose
for about 4-to-6 weeks before she could identify consistent,
discernable relief. Another 3-to-4 months progressed with continued
improvement which gave us confidence that she would continue to
improve. Now, 2 years after introduction of care, I’m happy to
report that she has 80%-to-90% relief from her muscular symptoms,
and dramatic reduction in her fatigue without need for daytime
recumbent rest. Her headache frequency has decreased to perhaps
2-to-3 migraines per month and sometimes even less.
I’m grateful for both your and your
husband's research and clinical expertise. How better to say this:
God Bless You Both.
Thank you,
Dr. Thomas E. Schreppler
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The letter below is from a person who
used information
from our website to overcome her hypothyroid symptoms. Her experience
shows something important: While most patients fair best by using a
preparation containing both T4 and T3, some patients benefit from the use
of T4 alone if the dose is high enough. Patients and doctors should
bear in mind that before endocrinologists imposed the tyranny of the TSH
on hypothyroid patients, most patients took far
higher doses of thyroid hormone. In stark contrast to the teensy doses
conventional doctors use today, the higher doses were both safe and
effective. The patient's letter below shows the benefits of higher doses. —JCL
Subj: Alicia Johnson
Date: 12/31/2002 5:51:27 PM Mountain Standard Time
To: MetabolicHealth@aol.com
Dear Dr. Lowe,
You've changed my life. It all began when I was diagnosed with
hyperthyroidism. I decided to be treated with radioactive iodine.
After I had my thyroid burned out, I began being treated with 50 mcg
of T4.
It had me so ill! I remember telling my doctor during so many
visits how seriously ill I still felt even with treatment, listing
all the symptoms of hypothyroidism. She would reply that my TSH
level was normal, so it's not related. For so long, I thought I had
some type of incurable disease.
With your help and versatile and intellectual approach to
understanding thyroid problems, I’m now better. Your theory of T4
and metabolic health is literal, precise, and accurate. Too low of
dosage is what was keeping me ill with symptoms of hypothyroidism.
With a higher dosage of 200 mcg and a doctor who is understanding,
patient, and willing to try different medicines, my metabolism is
now normal and I feel better again. Now I can start school, which I
had been so reluctant about because I was so ill. I feel as If I've
wasted precious time dealing with so many uncompassionate and
uncaring doctors.
Alicia Johnson
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The letter below illustrates
something for which I'm extreme proud: that my book The
Metabolic Treatment of Fibromyalgia has enabled many
patients to finally get effective treatment for their fibromyalgia
symptoms underlain by thyroid problems. —JCL
Subj: Thank You!!
Date: 8/23/2002 10:17:08 AM Mountain Daylight Time
From: magnoliac51@hotmail.com (Cheryl Hamilton, RN)
To: DrJohnLowe@aol.com
Dr. Lowe,
After 5 years of extreme fatigue, poor mentation, muscle aches,
terrible eczema, sleep apnea, etc., I had to quit my R.N. hospital
position after 30 years of nursing. I was so sick I thought I was
dying. But thanks to you I am doing much better and expect a full
recovery.
When the symptoms first appeared I
was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. But when I showed no improvement
after 6 weeks on 100 mcg Synthroid and my TSH was in the
"normal range", I was referred to other doctors. It was
the typical experience you write about. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia
and of course advised that my continued weight gain and lack of
exercise was the problem. Typically, I was offered antidepressants
because there had to be psychological problems I was failing to
address. I just kept getting worse no matter how hard I tried to
exercise (which was a Herculean effort) and lose weight. I became
"thoughtless" (so dumb I had no thoughts) and fat (50lbs gained),
and struggled daily to do simple activities. I spoke strangely—slowly
with strange word combinations. Luckily I had great support from
family and friends who remembered I once had been energetic, fun, and
smart.
I kept looking for answers and
refused all the narcotics and antidepressants offered because I knew
something real was wrong with me and it wasn't "in my
head". There was no chaos in my life except my illness. Then I
read your book The
Metabolic Treatment of Fibromyalgia and had planned to visit you, but found a local
endocrinologist (surprise) that actually treats the patient and not the
labs. He prescribes Cytomel. The education I received from your
book and website helped me evaluate this endocrinologist. Thank you
for giving me back my life. And many thanks to you assistant Gail Arnold for
giving me two of your patients' email addresses so that I could get
advice. I am taking the supplements you recommend, walking now 1˝
miles daily, and have lost 14 lbs. This great improvement with just
adding 20 mcg of Cytomel. How simple.
Your book continues to be my best
resource. Thanks so much. May great blessings come your way.
Sincerely,
Cheryl Hamilton, RN
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