Hypothyroidism Type 2: The Epidemic
by Mark Starr M.D.
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Book Reviews of Hypothyroidism Type 2: The Epidemic
Book Review: A significant piece of the thyroid jigsaw
Summary: 5 Stars
I have not read a book by any doctor that covers ALL the therapies for hypothyroidism; in fact, it would be a huge tome if it did, but Mark Starr's book provides a vital piece of the jigsaw of thyroid disease - the numbers of which are growing exponentially in western countries.
There is a great deal of debate over what is the "correct" medical treatment of hypothyroid conditions without any consensus being reached, but this may be because of biochemical individuality, and the fact that each individual thryoid case is different.
What IS vitally important is Mark Starr's emphasis on the increasing effect of environmental toxins on the entire immune system - and subsequently on the pituitary/thyroid/adrenal axis. Even Dr John Lowe, internationally recognised thyroid expert, does not address this problem. However, we should not expect any one doctor to cover all aspects of this disease with its myriad causes and effects - whether the problem begins in the brain (hypothalamus, pituitary) the bloodstream (with its binding proteins) or in the cell (and genetic malfunction of the mitochondria or cellular "engines")or the thyroid gland itself. And so hypothyroidism cannot be "fixed" like a broken leg.
This is because thyroid disease is not one single condition; it is a highly complex metabolic and/or immune disorder, having multiple causes and effects. It does not mean that Dr Starr is "unaware of trends in treatment" as one reviewer claims, some of which, it should be pointed out, is highly controversial - rT3 (Wilson's) therapy, the example cited in that review, should be tried with extreme caution. (If it works, great, but if it doesn't, the effects can be disastrous, as in my own case.) There is also new research coming out all the time, which can "date" a book, (e.g., Dr Kreech's very recent discovery of the active components in colostrum and their use in immune modulation, which could help autoimmune thyroid sufferers.)
What does apply to every single one of us is the need to address the environmental problems we all encounter, without exception, and which are the leading villains. Dr Starr is not the only one to highlight the difficulty of treating thryoid patients whose bodies are toxic.
You may find answers to questions you have had for some time, like I did, particularly about thyroid resistance (something that no lab-focused doctor ever considers.) Certainly, those of us with intractable thyroid conditions need to be well informed and cannot restrict our reading to one book. However, "Hypothyroidism Type 2: The Epidemic" by Mark Starr MD is a great place to start.
Further pieces of the thyroid jigswas can be found in "Why do I still have thyroid symptoms? (When my lab tests are normal.") by Datis Kharrazian DHSc, DC, MS; 2010 (see my review of this book)and "The Probiotic Revolution" by Dr Gary Huffnagle, a scientist involved in leading-edge research at Michigan State University.
Book Review: A Sequel to Broda Barnes and a Tribute to Thyroid Medical Pioneers
Summary: 5 Stars
Hypothyroidism, Type Two by Mark Starr MD is a tribute to many of the great pioneers of thyroid medicine, Broda Barnes MD, Eugene Hertoge, and Lawrence Sonkin MD. The book is a sequel to the Broda Barnes classic on low thyroid and a compilation of evidence that modern lab testing is unreliable for the diagnosis of low thyroid, and the current treatment equally lacking.
Partly to seek treatment for his own musculoskeletal pain, Starr went to New York to study pain medicine with Hans Krauss at Cornell Medical Center. Starr later opened his own pain clinic and quickly realized that the majority of his patients responded to thyroid medication with pain relief.
If you have read the Broda Barnes book, Hypothyroidism, the Unsuspected Illness, you will find many of the same ideas explained and elaborated by Mark Starr's tribute to the earlier work. For example, the definition of Type Two Hypothyroidism is defined as cellular resistance to the action of thyroid hormone.
While thyroid hormone's main action is to increase the size and number of mitochondria, the mitochondrial DNA is highly susceptible to genetic mutations because of maternal transmission.
An unforeseen outcome of the medical victory over infectious diseases with modern antibiotics is the creation of new generations of low thyroid children who in earlier times would have succumbed to childhood infectious diseases. They now survive to adulthood thanks to antibiotics, and according to both Starr and Barnes, later develop heart disease as undiagnosed low thyroid adults.
The book contains fascinating reprints of old medical book photos of patients with low thyroid before and after treatment, and adds a valuable chapter on clinical signs and symptoms of low thyroid. Another chapter covers Starr's area of expertise which is musculoskelatal pain syndromes and their relation to the low thyroid condition. Another useful chapter explains in detail why dessicated thyroid is more effective than the synthetic T4 commonly used by the medical system.
Unlike the Broda Barnes book which was written at the end of a long medical career, Starr's book appears at the relative beginning of his, and one can only wonder what future additional insights he will share after 30 years of medical practice.
Jeffrey Dach MD
Book Review: Thyroid epidemic revealed.... PLEASE give this book to all your doctors!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have a family history of thyroid disease including both Hashimoto and Graves Disease. I took radioactive iodine for Graves disease 19 years ago, and have been on synthetic thyroid for many years. (Now supplemented with T3 dessicated thyroid hormone).
When my kids started experiencing severe medical problems we went to psychiatrists, endocrinologists and even a homeopath in search of answers. Their illnesses were described as non-specific depression, immune disorder, adrenal fatigue, etc.
I finally found a terrific internist who understood natural hormone balancing and who also shared Dr. Starr's belief that thyroid disorder has reached epidemic proportions, particularly among women. She immedietely started treating my daughter with thyroid hormone, but ignored thyroid disorder as a possible cause of my son's problems. It was this doctor who actually suggested that I read this book, and she gave a copy of this book to my son's psychiatrist as well. The psychiatrist had diagnosed my son with adrenal fatigue and was treating him with hydrocordisone and lexapro. He seemed to be improving, but he still was not ready to return to college this fall due to severe insomnia, inability to wake up, inability to deal with stress (adrenal fatigue) and fuzzy thinking.
Our last appointment was two days ago and the doctor had not only read the book, but had contacted Dr. Hertoghe in order to make sure that he knew exactly how to test patients. In a very short time was able to integrate all of Dr. Starr's ideas into his understanding of how our bodies work, and more importantly for us, saw my son's problems in a totally new way which I believe will be a breakthough in his long illness. Armed with this new knowledge, he was able to explain to us that my son's low basal temperature (it was 95.6 underarm mid afternoon and 3 degrees higher orally) was way too low for him to wake up in the morning. It had also been overlooked on earlier labs that his T3 was below range because his T4 was within range.
Clearly, we were very lucky to find an extraordinary doctor who isn't afraid to embrace new ideas. If everyone who reads this book gives this book to just one doctor, maybe we can make mainstream medicine take notice!
Book Review: Bad Science
Summary: 1 Stars
Yes, it is true that supplementing with thyroid hormones makes a lot of people feel better, and yes, this does indicate that they have a metabolically-related disorder of some sort. However, then jumping to the confusion that they have the invented condition of "Type 2 Hypothyroidism" or need thyroid hormone supplementation is wrong-headed and un-scientific.
A little additional testing will easily disclose the nature of the REAL underlying disorder(s). The most common underlying causes include:
1. Bromide loading, which impairs iodine utilization. Now that brominated flour has become the norm, ~100% of the population has this.
2. Iodine deficiency. The RDA of 150mcg has since been proven to be about 1% of what people really need, and few people even get the RDA. Further, experiments have shown that the iodine in salt is not bio-available. Hakala sells mail-order bromide and iodine tests, so you don't even need a doctor to test for these conditions.
3. Low daytime body temperature, aka Wilson's Syndrome, aka Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), aka Central Hypothermia. If you aren't getting all the way up to 98.6F=37C sometime every day, then you have this problem.
Supplementing with thyroid hormones increases your metabolism, which increases your rate of metabolic damage, which ages you faster. If you like early gray hair and wrinkles, then you will just LOVE unnecessarily supplementing with thyroid hormones. These will definitely make you feel better - until they burn you out.
Steve
Book Review: An Interesting Almost Alternative View Towards Medicine
Summary: 4 Stars
Dr. Mark Starr's Hypothyroidism Type 2 The Epidemic is a thesis about the existence of Hypothyroidism Type 2.
It seems that Dr. Starr's thesis stems from general medicine's neglect to measure the basal body temperature. Had the basal body temperature continue to be used in general medicine this book probably wouldn't have been made. Dr. Starr believes that the basal temperature is the most accurate measure to determine hypothyroidism. Since most doctors do not measure basal temperature, hypothyroidism is usually overlooked.
Dr. Starr uses the term Type 2 because this version of hypothyroidism cannot be blood tested. Type 1 can be blood tested. Someone suffering from Type 2 may have normal blood results. Again, it seems that the only way to test for Type 2 is to measure basal temperature.
Dr. Starr seems to believe that many diseases afflicting the general population is the result of hypothyroidism Type 2 including heart disease and fibromyalgia.
This is book is not without problems. The middle of the book seems a little long. There was one chapter that lost me. Despite these, the book is still pretty good.
I would recommend this book people interested in alternative medicine. It is funny to say this because it really wasn't alternative to begin with but over time it became practically alternative because general medicine forgot all about it. Dr. Starr's thesis is pretty compelling and may answer some of the diseases that general medicine cannot fix.