Rethinking Hypothyroidism: Why Treatment Must Change and What Patients Can Do Paperback – 24 Nov. 2022

As a layman/sufferer this is a well put together book, explaining most things well and updating a lot of the misconceptions about hypothyroidism and its treatment. He certainly knows his stuff.

Medical professionals on the side of the thyroid patient appear few and far between. Most doctors and endocrinologists dismiss the active thyroid hormone T3 leading to a difficult existence for many of us who cannot convert T4 efficiently. This book was engaging and well written - it may not go far enough for some expert thyroid patients but is on the whole balanced and full of interesting facts and research. So I am certainly now following this fella’s research and videos that give more detail with great interest and still hope that treatment will eventually improve and stop going backwards.

I quite enjoyed reading this book. It was well written and engaging. It explained some of the science of hypothyroidism in ways I as a lay person could understand without being patronising.I appreciated that a medical doctor came out and said "we may have got it wrong"; that T4 alone was perhaps not the panacea of all hypothyroid ills it's held up to be, certainly not for the 10-20% of patients with residual symptoms, whose lives remain blighted by the illness. I also appreciated the author's frankness in talking about the history of the launch of T4 onto the medical world stage, replacing in its wake NDT. Also how "normal" blood test ranges became the way for doctors to decide what a good outcome looked like, where once doctors learned from case studies. I have to confess, while I admired the book's honesty in telling it like it is, I didn't much like the reality that money, marketing and dogma has got in the way of individual patient care in a disease that affects a huge number of people world-wide.For me personally, it gave another clue as to what might be going on when it spoke about how T4 levels in the blood lead to D2 destroying itself, which in turn leads to less T3. Maybe I need less T4 and more T3? But I'm not sure my GP would even know what I was talking about, much less have the capacity to be able to work with me to adjust my medication doses till they're right, and therein lies the rub of the book. "Work with you doctors" is Bianco's best advice for those of us still struggling. If only we could. Many doctors are so engrained in the very scenario the author so eloquently described that, unless you're lucky, you end up being infantilised and gaslit by someone intent on keeping your TSH in the right place and frowning at you if you dare to mention T3 or, heaven forbid, have a view on your own treatment plan.I'd have liked to have seen more discussion about the root causes of hypothyroidism and indeed the likely concurrent medical conditions, eg menopause. I'll also be interested to how the medical community respond to the book.

Useful book explaining the history and reasoning for T4 mono-therapy and suggesting additional T3 supplementation.I was surprised to see no mention of Reverse T3 and how T4-only treatment might increases cell hypothyroidism via RT3 blocking.

The thyroid community had waited with bated breath for this book, hoping finally for a voice to vindicate what many of us already know - direct T3 is necessary in those who don’t appear to respond to T4 monotherapy. However, the book makes vague reference to this fact, failing to acknowledge the need for therapeutic levels of T3 in the face of an initial poor response. There is no understanding or reference to adrenal-thyroid relationship, and most sadly of all, the book still holds the pituitary hormone TSH aloft as the greatest treatment marker. TSH continues to hold many of us who have gone undiagnosed and undertreated hostage, and will continue to do so if books that are supposedly progressive keep spouting things like this. Sadly I wouldn’t waste your money on this one.

if you have been mistreated by endocrinologists, your GP and any other doctor/specialist regarding your thyroid, this is a must read book!The first 20 pages are my life...The last sentence on pg 165 into 166 should be coming out of the mouth of any doctor that has mistreated you.. it's validating and infuriating at the same time

Dr. Bianco's thoughtful and deep exploration (historical, scientific) of the thyroid is inspiring. His writing is so clear: he makes complex ideas accessible to but not overly simplified for the average person. He walks a line that few do in the days of polarization, staying close to the data and veering clear of dogmas and ideologies. Most impressively, he reveals the profound evolution of his own thinking, admitting with great humility, his own regrets. This book is for those who wish to take charge of their own health. It is also for those who watch dizzying and emotional debates on hypothyroidism and want a more stable and thoughtful framework with which to interpret and evaluate hyperbolic claims. He is profoundly empathetic to patients and apologetic for medical hubris. He elucidates economic incentives getting in the way of progress without resorting to conspiratorial fear mongering. His forays into the medical history of the disorder as well as some of the basic biology provides that wide angle view that turns the reader into a savvier patient able to withstand and contextualize the barrage of information out there. I wish there were more medical books like this for every condition.

The book is well written, and very comprehensive in explaining the subject matter. Just, one issue is that it doesn't go far enough in it's recommendations.

Best book I have read, written by a doctor who treats thyroid, is a “traditional” MD by training; and knows how patients suffer from and can be dismissed by doctors who don’t listen. Such an important book and I am so grateful! I feel hope after almost 30 years of ongoing challenges to treat my low thyroid.

Excellent book written by the former head of the Thyroid Association. This doctor unveils the problem with current thyroid treatment. He underscores what many thyroid patients tell their doctors...the T4 alone (Brand name Synthroid or generic Levothyroxine) simply isn't working and he explains WHY! If you are still suffering despite the meds, this man finally gives you some answers and sets the medical community on a new course instead of denying there are still problems after T4 dosing or that it's "all in our heads"! This doctor is also a thyroid researcher who seems to know what he's talking about. Finally someone willing to pull back the curtain on myth that T4 is a panacea. Not a long book and easy to read.