Austin Mitchell MP has tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM 1739) in Parliament regarding the diagnosis and management of thyroid conditions.
Please would you write to your MP and ask him/her to sign this EDM 1739.It is vitally important that we obtain 300 MPS signatures in order that it will be discussed in the House.
I have written a draft letter to for those of you who would wish to use it as a template. Please feel free to personalise and send with any other relevant information to your MP. It should be noted that if your MP were a Minister, s/he would not be allowed to sign the EDM.
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The following is a suggested letter for those who would find this useful:
Dear [Insert name here],
On behalf of all sufferers of hypothyroidism, I would be most grateful if you would sign this Early Day Motion 1739 (Hypothyroidism) and urge your fellow MPs to do likewise.
I am a member of the Internet Support Group Thyroid Patient Advocacy UK ( web site URL: http://www.tpa-uk.org.uk) and I am being made increasingly aware on a daily basis of a substantial, and growing number of hypothyroid sufferers who, through the lack of adequate training of medical students as well as qualified doctors, that patients are being denied a proper diagnosis and appropriate treatment. As a result, many remain very ill, some are being confined to their bed, or become wheelchair bound, unable to work, and living on State Benefits. The outcome, in many cases such as these, where information has been provided by TPA-UK and other Internet Forums, about alternative treatment, is a return to normal health, back into paid employment, a relinquishing of State Benefit payments and an ongoing contribution to the nation's wealth once more.
There is a great need to increase awareness of these concerns within the medical profession and for them to introduce improvements in this field as a matter of urgency.
The emotional and physical suffering experienced by undiagnosed, untreated or incorrectly treated hypothyroid patients caused by the adherence to the 'accepted' NHS protocol of the sole reliance on blood tests for the diagnosing and management of hypothyroidism, by the majority of medical practitioners is casting a sinister shadow over the fate of these patients.
Some common and often undiagnosed symptoms and dangerous consequences of low thyroid include: serious mental problems, seizures, heart disease, diabetes including misdiagnosis and complications, constipation resulting in colon cancer, all female problems (due to high amounts of dangerous forms of oestrogen), including: tumours, fibroids, ovarian cysts, PMS, endometriosis, breast cancer, miscarriage, heavy menstrual periods and cramps, bladder problems leading to infections, and many others.
There appears to be a determined reluctance to encourage debate and further research on hypothyroidism within the medical profession. There is a need for an independent investigation into patients who are hypothyroid, including examination of clinical results of those treated privately, and comparative examination of clinical results of those treated by NHS practitioners.
The current situation, whereby hypothyroid patients are being left to self-diagnose, self-treat, and self-monitor due to a lack of understanding of the disorder by NHS doctors, is unacceptable.
Many thanks for your consideration.
Kind regards,
Sign with your full name and home address