In our line or work we hear all too many tales of ongoing medical problems for which neither conventional medics nor alternative therapists have been able find a solution, so it is particularly satisfying when a positive story comes our way. Which is partly why I am blogging the email below.
However, the main purpose is to broadcast the thyroid message a little further afield. An underactive thyroid is thought by some to be a significant element in ME and CFS but there is little agreement on what level of activity is actually ‘under’-active.
Some years ago, and to mark the publication Your Thyroid and how to keep it healthy, a revised edition of his controversial book, The Great Thyroid Scandal, we ran a short article about Dr Barry Durrant Peatfield, who believes that hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid, is seriously under-diagnosed and incorrectly treated. We also reported on a couple of readers’ experiences.
It was this article that our e-mailer had discovered on the foodsmatter.com site and had found so helpful:
I just want to thank Foods Matter for the article on thyroid problems which lead to me being able to contact Dr. Peatfield. I was feeling so very ill, I really didn’t think I would live till Christmas. But I saw Dr Peatfield last week and have started a course of treatment, this week, which I am sure, will give me my life back, I am beginning to feel stronger each day, already.
I had to wait over a month to get to see him, so he is very busy. What I liked about him, he is very relaxed and its not all about money, as you can phone him on a Wednesday and have a chat if you need to.
I was getting no help from my Dr, I wasn’t even able to get to see her!! So I decided to go privately. I paid £195 for a 15 minute session and wasn’t asked what my symptoms were, etc., I was just given beta blockers!!!!! to slow my heart down, while I tried to increase my dose of thyroxine. It slowed my heart down OK….. I ended up in A&E with a very slow pulse and, of course, it set me back even more.
I admire Dr Peatfield because he has the courage of his convictions and has stuck to what he thought was the right way to treat thyroid problems. Yet this consultant I saw who put me on beta blockers, is still allowed to practice.
For anyone who would like to contact Dr Peatfield, he does not use email but is to be found at The Peatfield Clinic of Nutrition, 16 Southview, Warlingham, Surrey CR6 9JE Tel/Fax: 01883 623125
8th December – a month later.
Another email has just arrived from the lady quoted above– as follows:
You asked in one of our emails, if I would let you know how my treatment with Dr Peatfield was going. I am only about 8 weeks into the treatment and already I feel so very much better, Dr Peatfield has given me back my life.
I couldn’t agree more with this. I think underactive thyroid is pretty epidemic; I come across it all the time – despite what the blood test says! Another good book I use all the time is Martin Budd’s ‘Why Am I So Tired?’
I have underactive thyroid but am also at that criminal age of the menopause where doctors love to put anything wrong with you down to age and “that time of life”. I was being given thyroxine but because the blood tests were “normal” I was not classed as ill any more, even though I was unable to work or sometimes leave the house in days. Even the specialist gave me the withering look I had got to know so well and said “what do you want me to do – your blood tests are normal”. I then got to hear of Dr. Peatfield and saw him end last year and am on the road to recovery. I had forgotten what going for a long pleasant country walk was like, or spending an hour or two in the garden. Even reading a book was impossible as concentration no longer existed. I finished my first book in 6 years yesterday. What saddens me so much is that doctors just do not seem to care any more. If the test shows normal, then it doesn’t matter if you can hardly walk through the door – there is nothing wrong with you. I thought doctors became doctors because they wanted to help people and make a difference in their lives and get them better. Seems they have forgotten that aspect of their job and as long as the test results come back “normal” then they have done their best!! …. just so very very sad.
All I can add is THANK YOU GOD for sending us Dr. Peatfield!!!! Truly an Angel from Heaven.
Dr Peatfield is a remarkable and caring doctor. He is worth his weight in gold. He is the only doctor interested helping my husband and I. It is no surprise that other doctors, who do not understand hypothyroidism, have nothing good to say about him. His work, his ability, his outstanding care and advice makes them all look bad.
Debora Your comment is awaiting moderation.
Hi – I met Dr Peatfield over 10 years ago and I think he saved my life, diagnosing hydrothyroidism which my Dr did not pick up. Unfortunately Dr Peatfield is in hospital and I could really do with a recommendation of another Practitioner who offers the same approach. My close friend has been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, but I think some of her symptoms are hydrothyroidism. Can you please help (we’re based in the UK)?
I wish I could Debora – but we do not know of anyone else following Dr Peatfield’s protocols. I wish we did! However, maybe we can ask via our social media channels whether anyone else has found such practitioner.
Hi has anyone actually looked at using the consultants offered via thyroid uk their website is v comprehensive and I’m about to begin calling some of the doctors recommended who do treat the thyroid with T3 T4 ndt etc and do all the tests for the thyroid and adrenal function
Hi there! That phone number is not working. Any idea how to reach Dr Peatfield? Has he retired? (Sept 2019) . Really need to see him!
I am not sure that he is seeing patients any longer as he is now in his 80s. You cold try his book. However, he was a speaker a Thyroid UK conference this year so you might be abet contact him through them – see this link.
Good luck!!