information for your doctor

 

 How to find a sympathetic Doctor

Many people ask our association: 'How can I find a doctor who knows how to treat the thyroid?' and/or 'How can I find a doctor who is willing to prescribe thyroid medication that contains the active thyroid hormone T3 e.g. Whole Thyroid Extract, Liothyronine?'. The best way to find a good doctor is to join our Facebook Group and ask our members for a recommendation. Not always, but often the doctors who understand how to effectively diagnose and treat thyroid disease are those doctors who understand that a portion of hypothyroid patients may require medications that contain the active thyroid hormone T3.  

 If you want a starting point, you can call Compound Labs NZ & ask them to give you the names of doctors in your area  who prescribe medications containing T3 - https://compoundlabs.co.nz/pages/contact-form  - 09 442 1727. They will give you some names. However, their list may not be up to date, and they may give you names of doctors who have only prescribed a medication containing T3 once or twice, and only because a patient of theirs has asked them to trial them on this medication. Some of these doctors don't know how to effectively diagnose and treat some types of thyroid disease. Others may now only be willing to diagnose and treat patients based on TSH-guided T4-only protocols which work for some hypothyroid patients but not all of them. So, if you do get doctors names from Compound Labs NZ, there are no guarantees. But if you do get some names, then join our Facebook Group and ask other members about their experience with those doctors. This process is not full proof, but it is a place to start. There are a number of NZ doctors who are extremely good at diagnosing and treating thyroid disease. Our Facebook Group members can let you know who they are. 

Also, you could ask at pharmacies in your area - they will know doctors who prescribe whatever medication you are after - be it Whole Thyroid or an alternative T4.

Remember - we pay our doctors to help us stay healthy - they work for us and if they don't come up to scratch, we can fire them & go elsewhere!
 
If you have a great doctor and would like to share him or her with others in your area, please message our Facebook group and add them to the Doctors' Database available in the members' section.

 

Information for You and Your Doctor
We have found that many doctors still believe there are NO alternatives to GSK Eltroxin. They tell you there is nothing else, so you will just have to put up with whatever side-effects you are experiencing. We know this is just not true and this page contains links to files that will help you prove this to your Medical Professional.
  • We now have 2 alternative Levothyroxine brands that are funded - Goldshield and Synthroid.
    There are also some unfunded options (Actavis/Almus, Teva and original formulation Eltroxin are examples) that may be imported for you by your pharmacist - or you can import yourself.
    You can now tell your doctor which brand you want to be prescribed. Doctors can prescribe any of these medications simply by writing "Generic Substitution Allowed". You will have to pay for any variety that is not funded.
    Check with the pharmacist BEFORE handing over your script. Let your fingers do the walking & find a pharmacy that will dispense another version.
    You can also import your own, 3 months supply is perfectly legal. When stopped at customs, a prescription must be produced to release it.
    Levothyroxine brands available from www.internationalpharmacy.com are Synthroid (Abbott), Levoxyl (Jones), Levothroid (Forest), Unithroid (Lannet). They also stock Liothyronine - Cytomel brand (King), Armour Thyroid (Forest) and Liotrix, a T4/T3 synthetic combination - Thyrolar brand (Forest).
    • Another reputable online pharmacy is Canada Drugs - www.canadadrugs.com
  • CompoundLabs is a New Zealand pharmacy that supplies Whole Thyroid Extract as a prescription medicine, either from compounding Desiccated Whole Thyroid Powder (capsule form) or distribution of tablet form. These medications are not funded by PHARMAC, but can be prescribed by your Doctor.
  • Thyrovanz is a product made in the USA using thyroid glandular tissue from New Zealand or Argentinian cows. The Argentinian product is less potent than the NZ one. This can be purchased without prescription direct from the manufacturer (www.thyrovanz.com) however we recommend that you have a prescription on hand from a doctor for this medication so it passes through customs.

  • With the current COVID-19 global situation, we recommend shipping with Fed-Ex. It is expensive, but worth it for the peace of mind!

    CLINICAL STUDIES & INTERNATIONAL ENDOCRINE GUIDELINES SUPPORTING THE ROLE OF T3 IN THE TREATMENT OF HYPOTHYROIDISM

    While NZ endocrine guidelines are playing catchup, there are now many clinical studies and several international hypothyroid guidelines that support the importance of medications containing the active thyroid hormone T3. The international guidelines say that patinets who remain symptomatic on Levothyroxince often benefit from the addition of T3 to their treatment.Two examples are:
    1. (May 2023). Rupa Ahluwalia, Stephanie E. Baldeweg et al. Use of liothyronine (T3) in hypothyroidism: Joint British Thyroid Association/Society for endocrinology consensus statement. DOI: 10.1111/cen.14935. Retrieved on 31st December 2024 from: https://www.british-thyroid-association.org/sandbox/bta2016/use_of_liothyronine_in_hypothyroidism_joint_british_thyroid_association__society_for_endocrinology_consensus_statement.pdf
    2. Jacqueline Jonklaas, Antonio C. Bianco, Anne R. Cappola, Francesco S. Celi, Eric Fliers, Heike Heuer, Elizabeth A. McAninch, Lars C. Moeller, Birte Nygaard, Anna M. Sawka, Torquil Watt, and Colin M. Dayan (2021). Evidence-Based Use of Levothyroxine/Liothyronine Combinations in Treating Hypothyroidism: A Consensus Document. THYROID Volume 31, Number 2, 2021 ª Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. ª American Thyroid Association ª European Thyroid Association (Published by S. Karger AG, Basel) DOI: 10.1089/thy.2020.0720
    Thyroid Association of NZ doesn't post all the studies and international guidelines here with links to them because many studies posted on the internet are often relocated and this breaks the link. Also, many studies come from databses that aren't accessible via Google or they sit behind a paywall. If you want more information about clinical studies or international guidelines you can contact us and ask for good stuides and guidelines to give to your doctor. In the meantime, one of the best things to give your doctor is the following interview published by Dr Antonio Bianco, ex-President of the American Thyroid Association. Dr Biancio is a highly published and respected Endocrinologist worldwide. Here he talks aboutthe importance of T3 medications in the tretament of hypothyrodism.
    FOR DR BIANCO'S INTERVIEW WITH ENDOCRINE NEWS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF T3 MEDICATIONS, COPY THIS LINK IN TO GOOGLE & PRESS SEARCH: https://endocrinenews.endocrine.org/solving-the-hypothyroidism-puzzle-qa-antonio-bianco-md-phd/