Resources
There are a number of organizations and websites available to help you locate the right doctor, learn more about thyroid disease, research thyroid medications, and live a healthier life. This appendix describes some of the very best of these information sources.
Also be sure to visit this book’s own website at CIGThyroid.com, which provides clickable links to all the resources in this appendix—and more—sparing you from having to type in lots of web addresses.
Finding the Right Doctor
Finding a doctor who’s highly skilled and yet willing to collaborate with you on your diagnosis and treatment isn’t always easy. The following organizations and websites will help. Except for MyFax.com, these sites are all free.
In addition, take care to read Chapters 3 and 4, which explain what to seek and what to avoid in a thyroid doctor.
American Medical Association’s DoctorFinder
Web: AMA-assn.org/aps/amahg.htm
This comprehensive site lists virtually every licensed doctor in the United States—over 814,000 physicians. You can search by location, name, and/or specialty (choose the Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism option).
American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists
Web: AACE.com/resources/memsearch.php
This professional organization for endocrinologists will let you search for its U.S. and international members based on location and specialty (choose the Thyroid Dysfunction option).
American Association of Naturopathic Physicians
Web: Naturopathic.org
This professional organization consists of alternative health practitioners who “teach their patients to use diet, exercise, lifestyle changes, and cutting-edge natural therapies to enhance their bodies’ ability to ward off and combat disease,” and who “blend the best of modern medical science and traditional natural medical approaches to not only treat disease but also restore health.” If you want to be assured that your request for desiccated thyroid won’t lead to a confrontation with your physician, click this site’s Find a Doctor link to search by name, location, or specialty (choose either the Adrenal Fatigue/Endocrinology or Chronic Fatigue/Autoimmune Disorders option).
Thyroid Top Doctors
Web: Thyroid-info.com/topdrs
Author and patient advocate Mary Shomon runs this site listing U.S. thyroid doctors nominated by her readers. According to Shomon, a top physician is “a doctor who listens, cares, has an open mind, wants us to understand and participate in our treatment decisions, and isn’t beholden to a particular drug company.” Included are endocrinologists, thyroid specialists, thyroid surgeons, integrative physicians, and more. First click on your state, and then scroll through the list to find doctors in your city.
American Board of Medical Specialties
Web: ABMS.org
If you want to check on whether a U.S. doctor you’re considering is board certified in his or her specialty, click the Is Your Doctor Certified? link, follow the instructions for free registration, and then provide your doctor’s name.
Integrative Health Care
Web: IntegrativeHealthCare.com
If you live in or near Scottsdale, Arizona, you may want to consider seeing Dr. Alan Christianson, who’s the co-author of this book. Integrative Health Care is Alan’s clinic. You can learn about Alan’s background and read patient testimonials at CIGThyroid.com/alan.htm.
MyFax
Web: MyFax.com
One of the ways to get involved with your thyroid care is to have your doctor’s office fax you the results of your thyroid blood tests. If you don’t have a fax machine, you can get faxes e-mailed to you as PDF attachments. An especially good and inexpensive service for the latter is MyFax.com, which is free for a 30-day trial period, and then $10 a month (covering up to 200 pages received and 100 sent per month). For additional details, visit MyFax.com/pricing.aspx.
Learning More About Thyroid Disease
We’ve tried to cover everything you’re likely to need to know about thyroid disease in this book, but there may be times when you require additional information. You can use the following websites—including the official site for this book—to fill in further details and/or breaking news. Except for UpToDate.com, these sites are all free.
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Thyroid Disease Website
Web: CIGThyroid.com
CIGThyroid.com is the official website for this book. It lists all the resources in this appendix (and more) as clickable links, sparing you from having to type a lot of web addresses. It also features updates, discounts, and other extras. Please feel encouraged to visit it monthly.
Thyroid Disease Manager
Web: ThyroidManager.org
This excellent site is written by doctors and for doctors. It’s quite technical, so if jargon makes you uncomfortable, steer clear. Otherwise, you can find a wealth of information here focused directly on thyroid disease.
UpToDate
Web: UpToDate.com
This high-quality collection of medical articles is written and peer reviewed by doctors, and is also targeted primarily at doctors. However, the writing is better and easier to understand than that of most medical journals; plus, as its name implies, it’s frequently updated. If you can deal with the scientific details, the site is a great resource for in-depth information on virtually any medical topic—which is why it has an audience of nearly 400,000. Patient-level information (at UpToDate.com/patients) is free. If you need more detailed technical information, you can buy full access to the site for a week—long enough to research any pressing medical question—for under $20.
Thyroid-Info.com and About.com: Thyroid Disease
Web: Thyroid-Info.com and Thyroid.about.com
Author and thyroid health advocate Mary Shomon runs both of these sites, offering helpful information written from a patient’s perspective.
PubMed
Web: PubMed.gov
The U.S. Government’s National Institutes of Health run this invaluable site, which is a clearinghouse for virtually all published medical research—including studies of thyroid disease. The material is as technical as it gets, but if you need to perform cutting-edge research, this is the place to start. To learn more, click the home page’s Help link.
Medline Plus
Web: MedlinePlus.gov
The U.S. Government’s National Institutes of Health also run this site, which—in contrast to PubMed—is designed to be patient friendly. It provides a great deal of solid information about all major illnesses, including thyroid disease.
American Cancer Society and OncoLink
Web: Cancer.org and OncoLink.org
As a supplement to Chapter 13, you may want to visit the websites of two superb cancer organizations. The American Cancer Society has a booklet about thyroid cancer at www.cancer.org/Cancer/ThyroidCancer/index, and OncoLink has an excellent detailed article on the subject at OncoLink.org/types/section.cfm?c=7&s=26.
Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association
Web: ThyCa.org
Information about both thyroid cancer and support groups for those struck by the disease can be found at this site run by thyroid cancer survivors since 1995.
Thyroid Medication Manufacturers
If you’re trying to decide which thyroid medications to choose (as discussed in Chapters 3 and 8), you may find it useful to explore the websites of their manufacturers. They are as follows:
Synthroid (Abbott)
Web: Abbott.com
Cytomel and Levoxyl (King Pharmaceuticals)
Web: KingPharm.com
Unithroid (Jerome Stevens Pharmaceuticals)
Web: Unithroid.com
Nature-Throid and WesThroid (RLC Labs)
Web: RLCLabs.com
Armour Thyroid, Thyrolar, and Levothroid (Forest Laboratories)
Web: ArmourThyroid.com and FRX.com
Desiccated Thyroid Powder (American Laboratories)
(This is the raw material for Nature-Throid, WesThroid, Armour Thyroid, etc.)
Web: AmericanLaboratories.com
Lifestyle & Diet Help
As explained in Chapters 18-21, both your thyroid’s health and your overall health will be improved if you avoid toxins and eat right. The following are some of the finest resources to help you go green and organic … and to lose weight while you’re at it.
Environmental Working Group
Web: EWG.org
Founded in 1993, EWG is a nonprofit group devoted to protecting consumers from environmental toxins—the cause of most thyroid disease. Its site provides numerous tips on how to avoid food pesticides, poisons in cosmetics, and other chemical dangers.
Green Guide for Everyday Living
Web: TheGreenGuide.com
This site from the National Geographic Society is filled with simple tips that “make going green a gradual and affordable process rather than an all-or-nothing plunge.” Click the Go Local option to find organic and “green” companies in your area.
Local Harvest and USDA Agricultural Marketing Service
Web: LocalHarvest.org and Apps.ams.usda.gov/FarmersMarkets
Use these wonderful sites to find local family farms and farmers’ markets, which are often the best sources for inexpensive organic food.
Eatwild
Web: Eatwild.com
Use this site to locate pasture-based farms near you that sell grass-fed meat and dairy products.
MyFoodDiary
Web: MyFoodDiary.com
The chances are you’ll eat less and lose weight if you keep track of what you consume. This website makes it easy to do so, employing a database of over 70,000 foods. It also provides an exercise log that calculates the calories burned for over 700 activities, creates reports that gently encourage you to keep losing (and discourage you from gaining), and hosts hundreds of forums for online group support. It costs $9 a month.
CalorieKing
Web: CalorieKing.com
Like MyFoodDiary, this site helps you track your eating via an extensive food database and provides support via online communities. It also offers tutorials and tips that help guide you to lose weight. It costs $12 a month.
Weight Watchers
Web: WeightWatchers.com
The renowned Weight Watchers program was designed for live meetings, and that’s still how it works best. This site lets you discover when and where meetings are taking place near you.
J. J. Virgin
Web: JJVirgin.com
Fitness and nutrition guru J. J. Virgin has helped such celebrities as Ben Stiller, Janeane Garofalo, Gene Simmons, Brandon Routh, and mega-selling author Jack Canfield, and for two years was the nutrition expert on the Dr. Phil show. Chapter 20 of this book is devoted to Virgin’s advice on shedding fat. In addition to personal coaching, Virgin offers various products through her website—including her book Six Weeks to Sleeveless and Sexy.