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If you'd like to start off the new year with a plan to live and feel well for 2008 and beyond, I invite you to sign up for a hands-on workshop at New York City's Open Center, taking place Friday January 11, 2008. I'm leading a three-hour workshop, titled "Living with Thyroid Disease: Creating Your Wellness Plan," which will focus on hands-on tools that help you live successfully with thyroid disease. During the session, we'll map out a plan for your optimal wellness in the new year. The workshop will focus on identifying the key things you personally can do to feel and live better in 2008, focusing on thyroid-related challenges including:
Here are the specifics:
Workshop: Living with Thyroid Disease: Creating Your Wellness Plan
Date: Friday, January 11, 2008, 7-10pm
Location: New York Open Center, 83 Spring Street, New York NY 10012
Cost: Open Center Members: $30 / Nonmembers: $40
To Register: Call for more info or to register: 212.219.2527, Online info and registration
I look forward to seeing you there!
THE DOCTOR WHO HATES PATIENTS WHO ARE "GOOGLERS"
I also wrote a letter to the editor of Time Magazine critiquing Haig's article. They didn't dare publish it, of course, but that didn't stop me from publishing it! Read it here.
FINDING A GREAT DOCTOR
HOW TO ORDER YOUR OWN THYROID AND HORMONE BLOOD TESTS
RADIOACTIVE IODINE (RAI) TREATMENT FOR THYROID DISEASE: IS SECONDHAND EXPOSURE SAFE?
Sometimes, I take off my thyroid advocate hat, and just put on my general patient advocate hat. Last month, I was inspired by a Time Magazine article, by a doctor named Scott Haig. Haig wrote a really offensive article called "When the Patient is a Googler." He referred to patients as "brainsuckers"...he was condescending...derisive...patronizing. And I decided it couldn't go without a strong response from the patient community. Here's my take on Haig.
What qualities are YOU looking for in a thyroid doctor? Is it more important that your doctor be sympathetic, or open-minded? Participate in a new poll online to share your thoughts now.
And if you haven't visited the Thyroid Top Doctors Directory lately, stop by and visit. I just finished updating the Thyroid Top Doctors Directory a few days ago. It's growing by leaps and bounds, with hundreds of new doctors added. (And, a few removed, as usual.) It's a great place to find a new doctor, and if you have a great doctor, be sure to recommend him or her. Spreading the word about the terrific practiioners is an important way to keep the great doctors going, and send a clear economic message to the doctors who just don't get it! The Thyroid Top Doctors Directory is located online at www.thyroid-info.com/topdrs.
When it comes to getting blood tests, most of us think about making an appointment to see a doctor, going in to the doctor, having the doctor order blood tests, and then the doctor or doctor's staff draw the blood, or the doctor sends you off to a lab with a slip to have the blood drawn. Then, the results are reported back to the doctor's office, who either calls you with the results, or, in some cases, requires you to come in to hear the results.
But did you know that in most areas of the US, you can actually order your own thyroid and hormonal blood tests, without a doctor, and even get the results yourself? The latest issue of the print edition of "Sticking Out Our Necks" has a complete guide to how and where you can order your own tests, from thyroid panels, to thyroid antibodies, to 24-hour adrenal evaluation, to estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Subscribe by December 31st, and we'll send you a free copy of this issue before we begin your one-year subscription.
USA Today took a look at the safety of radioactive iodine (RAI) treatment for thyroid cancer. It's estimated that many patients -- some suggest half -- are sent home after radioactive iodine treatment, and may be exposing family to dangerous levels of RAI. Are you or your family at risk?
If you didn't hear that Oprah had a thyroid problem, then I don't know where you've been hiding! I spent a great deal of time in October covering the issue at the About.com website, and in interviews with the media. My main concern? On her show, Oprah talked about her thyroid condition, and had as her "expert" menopause maven Dr. Christiane Northrup. During the entire one-hour show, they never discussed thyroid testing or treatment. Instead, they focused entirely on the mind-body view of thyroid disease, suggesting that it's due to an inability to speak out or assert yourself, and that treatment is to pamper yourself and practice stress reduction. I've had a variety of reactions to all this, which you can read about online.
An Open Letter to Oprah's Viewers About Thyroid Disease: Your Thyroid Condition is NOT Your Own Fault
In this open letter, I wanted to reassure women who saw the Oprah show that their thyroid condition is not due to a lack of assertiveness, and help set them straight.
Why Thyroid Patients Should be Grateful to Oprah Winfrey
After an initially negative reaction, I also realized that we should be grateful to Oprah for raising awareness. I explain why here.
New York Times Talks Thyroid -- Oprah's Thyroid Club
The New York Times covered the Oprah story and said that thyroid disease had received "the ultimate celebrity endorsement." An interesting take.
Dr. Marie Savard: "Women Must Take Charge of Their Own Thyroid Health"
One of my favorite doctors, Marie Savard, describes why the mind-body approach may not be enough, and women need to take charge of thyroid health.
Is Thyroid Disease the New Hysteria?
Salon.com's Carol Lloyd views Dr. Northrup's "empower-yourself prescription as the politically correct analogue to Victorian treatments for hysteria." Definitely don't miss this one!
Can You Blow Out Your Thyroid and Bounce Back, as Oprah Claims?
I talked with the Chicago Sun Times' Kara Spak, and she also highlighted thyroid patients' own reactions to the Oprah story.
Gallery of Famous Thyroid Patients
Oprah's not the only famous celebrity with a thyroid condition. Check out my new photo gallery of famous thyroid patients.
MIND-BODY THYROID ADVICE FROM DR. JAN NICHOLSON
MY HOLIDAY GIFT SUGGESTION -- TOTALLY OFF-TOPIC
Seriously, after receiving the camera, I was using it in five minutes. The instruction manual is 2 pages. My 4th grade daughter figured it out in five minutes too, and she and her pal were making a movie within minutes.
I remember how amazed and excited I was when I first got an Ipod, and seriously, I'm having the same feeling about the Flip Camera. They have them at good prices at various stores like WalMart and Target, and you can also get them at a great price at Amazon, which is where I got mine. (Here's a link to the model I got on Amazon. CAN YOU GET MEDICAL DISABILITY FOR THYROIDITIS/HASHIMOTO'S DISEASE?
NOTES FROM MARY: THYROID BOOKS FOR THE NEW YEAR
Live well,
I love it when I have a chance to highlight practitioners I know well. Most recently, I've been able to put together a series of Q&As with Dr. Jan Nicholson. Dr. Jan is an integrative clinical psychologist in Virginia, and she takes a very mind-body approach to her work as a therapist. If you're in the DC/MD/VA metro area, I highly recommend her. She's terrific! She also generously agreed to share her time with us to help explain some of her thinking on mind-body approaches to health.
I know this is totally unrelated to thyroid disease, but there are times when you love something so much you just can't stop telling everyone about it! As an early holiday gift for myself, I bought myself a little camcorder called a Flip Camera, and I cannot stop telling all my friends and family to get one! My husband and I have a heavy, large and confusing film/digital video camera that we hardly every use because it's a hassle to bring anywhere. Plus, even though I usually can figure electronic things out, I've been totally stymied by all the controls. I've read the 200-page manual for hours, and I still end up taking film of my feet!! (Seriously, ask my daughter about my footage from the last school pageant...) And forget about trying to move digital footage to the computer -- this camera makes it totally confusing.
Can you get disability coverage for Hashimoto's disease or thyroiditis? And if you can, how much time is your benefits coordinator likely to approve? You may not know, but the guidelines that guide disability decisions for thyroid patients are actually online. (But they may not be for long!) So check it out and find out more about what to expect in terms of disability coverage for thyroid disease.
Dear Readers,
It's encouraging that every year, new authors publish books on thyroid disease and health. But time and again, I know we all end up turning to our old favorites, the books that have been around a while, for information. This is why it's so especially exciting when these favorites are updated with new information and recommendations. Here are two classic books that I've been recommending for years. Excitingly, they both have been updated with a great deal of new information. So even if you have older editions, it's time to get an up-to-date copy! 
Also...a special note: As a holiday extra, I'll be putting out a December end of year issue of this newsletter for you in a few weeks! So keep an eye on your email inbox! Stay healthy, safe and warm this holiday season!
Mary
"Sticking Out Our Necks" email edition is published regularly by Mary Shomon, patient advocate and New York Times best-selling author books on health, as well web sites, newsletters and other health advocacy communications.
Mary Shomon is the author of: The Thyroid Hormone Breakthrough: Overcoming Sexual and Hormonal Problems at Every Age * Living Well With Hypothyroidism * The Thyroid Diet: Manage Your Metabolism for Lasting Weight Loss * Living Well With Graves' Disease & Hyperthyroidism * Living Well With Autoimmune Disease * Living Well with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia
Bookstore online: http://www.thyroid-info.com/bookstore.htm
Please invite your friends to subscribe! Send them a copy with your recommendation. "Sticking Out Our Necks" is copyright 1997-2007 by Mary Shomon. All rights reserved.
Email: news@thyroid-info.com
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Mary Shomon
P.O. Box 565
Kensington, MD 20895-0565
Fax: 425-977-1175