Alternative treatments

[mrshobbes]

Has anyone tried curing their thyroid tumor with treatment by Dr. Hulda Clark?  My husband wants me to try this treatment first, before doing something drastic like surgery.  It seems intensive, but I guess it would be better than living a life on hormones.  Thoughts please. Thanks.

[JeanGray]

believe your allopathic medicine that kills 758,000 americans a year due to "iatrogenic" causes. How do you explain that?
And if allopathic medicine is so good, tell me one single drug without any killer side effect...
for example: the oh so harmless tylenol can case liver cirrhosis.
aspirin can cause hemorrhage.

how's that?

[Jenipeni]

Hi

I searched Dr. Hulda Clark and was quite skeptical about what I read.  Seriously;- if anyone had really found the cure to cancer, HIV etc they would be awarded a nobel peace prize - it would be widely publicised, everyone would be singing their praises.  Alarm bells go off when people make such dramatic claims as this... it's just not realistic, BUT many people desperate for a cure are vulnerable to such people.  Your hubby is obviously a good man who only has your best interest at heart.  

Have a look at the following site who has many criticism of Dr Clark - you both should consider all the information available before using her services - personally I wouldn't go there, but the choice is yours in the end;

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Cancer/clark.html

If you are still not convinced PLEASE talk to your doctor about Dr Clarks methods before proceeding.  

I would like to second Nyxie's request for more information about your condition.  Surgery is a big step - it is not much condolence but many people have this surgery and go on to live their lives and get on with things.  There is a lot of knowledge about this condition and the options... you are in a good place here... share your story and we'll see if there are any other options worth considering.  

I just want to describe thyroid replacement after surgery - you only replace what the body would usually make.  Replacement is totally different to therapeutic treatment.  Diabetics also have to have hormone replacement by taking insulin.  Menopausal women also take hormone replacement, as do a multitude of other complex conditions.  Thyroid is relatively one of the easy ones in comparison.  

Getting thyroid levels right using replacement after a total thyroidectomy is less complicated than when trying post RAI treatment or when dealing with Hashimoto's as the remaining gland can surge and wane in activity levels and affect dosage requirements and everday general well being.  It still can be a slow process to find the right dosage regardless because thyroid hormone is slow acting BUT that has benefits too.  If you forget to take your thyroid tablet for one day (once you are stabilised) it doesn't matter - and it shouldn't affect you unless you skipped 3, 4 or more days in a row.  A diabetic could end up in a life threatening situation if they forget their insulin.    

After awhile it's nothing to take just one or two tablets a day.  This is relatively simple compared to what other people have to do to manage their health conditions; injections, dialysis, and modified diet and lifestyle etc.  

Personally I avoided surgery for a couple of years - I had a slow growing multinodular goitre which was causing compression symptoms.  I always knew a thyroidectomy was almost inevitable so I had 10 years to come to terms with the fact that it would one day happen.  I tell you, it is hard to describe the wonderful feeling when I awoke from surgery and realised how bad the compression had got.  That choking feeling totally disappeared!!!  That was six months ago - No regrets.  If I kept putting off the surgery much longer it would have been more difficult and at higher risk of complications.  My thyroid was 4 times bigger than it should have been.  

Best wishes - remember you are not alone.

[Jenipeni]

I just read your post from 18th May which said that surgery is due to a follicular neoplasm on your left lobe.  

There are very good AND well documented rates of cure and survival for thyroid cancer when treated by thyroidectomy and RAI.  I don't know of any other reliable method of treatment - sorry.  
~J

[Jenipeni]

When I said it is easier to get levels right after TT than after RAI - I meant when the gland is still left intact.  It should also be uncomplicated after TT and RAI.

You probably worked that out - sorry -

I'm sorry - I am quite perturbed by your statement that anything would be better than living a life on hormones...  I just find that a strange statement because you do know that you are already full of hormones that your body makes itself?  And some you unknowingly ingest in your food too!

Oh and by the way the synthetic version of thyroid hormone (T4) such as Synthroid, levothroid, levoxyl etc are chemically EXACTLY the same as your body would make.  It really is a true 'replacement' hormone.

They are made using recombinent DNA technology - scientists took a specific strand of human DNA containing the instructions/recipe for making thyroxine and inserted it into a special bacteria cell.  Now these special bacteria cells are little thyroxine factories and make exactly the same chemical which is the hormone thyroxine (T4) or T3 (Cytomel) respectively.

Pretty neat huh?  

I wish you all the best with your journey ahead.
~J

[Jenipeni]

I promise this will be my last rant on this topic today!

I just had another after thought - Taking replacement hormones for the rest of your life would have to be better than living with cancer, don't you agree?
I'll leave it there.
~J

[pjgovitz]

Wow, I would be tucking my tail and running away from Hulda, but that's me...been on synthroid for 20 years, recently had RAI and will be going back on it for the rest of my life,  my aunt just died at 80, had been on synthroid for years, and probably wouldn't have lived that long w/o it and she had her thyroid yet... my pastors wife thyroid stormed, 7 days in ICU, had RAI and been on synthroid for over 20 years successfully.... Some people can't take synthroid, there are other brands, and even armour, which is an option.... I think the claims on that site are frightening!! But yet how many millions of lives have been saved due to thyroid surgery RAI, and thyroid hormne replacement medicine!!! This is just me, fortunately I don't have cancer, but Graves can also be deadly self treated or untreated....I am thankful for the treatments available to us, the risks are explained in black and white, I know when I walk into my hospital (ranked in the top 100 in the united states) my doctors are not miracle claimers, but by the intelligence given to them by God, have and education , experience etc...have saved many many lives, my Endo doesn't even have a web site, yet people fly in from Texas to see him, me before I got insurance, my office calls were 76.00 and he provided me with sample packs of meds. The poor man is trying to retire, but his dedication to his patients prevail...He isn't on the quackwatch site....Doesn't that scare the living daylights out of you? I am so sorry if I seem overly opinionated, but this thyroid stuff can be hard to diagnose, take time to get it adjusted, you need skilled surgeons and good endos.... and alot of faith, determination, and knowledge...my friend had her thyroid out due to Hashis on April 30th, she is doing so much better now, her dose of Synthroid was reduced, and she's returning to work Saturday.. taking one tiny pill daily, her life goes on...Did you see books and products listed on Dr Clarks site?That's what she sells, you aren'tgoing tpo get free sample packs of synthroid from her. I do agree that healthy foods and less stress etc is beneficial to everyone's health, but I needed medical treatment to save my life and my mind,  and I will try and maintain being healthy with diet, exercise etc...Graves tends to be inherited in alot of people, and I believe it was, another member of my family had a severe heart attack and heart surgery at 60 , I do believe was from untreated graves.....Eat healthy YES, reuce stress YES, Excersize if healthy enough YES,,,,,take supplements if they help. (some hinder thyroid) ..... But remember there is only one you, and you need to get the best treatment for your illness that is available.....really the whole being on hormones for the rest of your life comment is sily, maybe it's fear, but synthroid and others aren't meds like others they are what naturally occurs in our bodies anyway...and before thyroid replacement hormones were discovered, people died, ended up in assylums, and suffered terrible health...Before surgery and RAI half the people with graves died, and i'm sure the cancer rate would be higher... Treatment and hormone replacement saves lives, and gives back health, and hope to people who otherwise would have none!

I'm off my soapbox now and wishing you quick healing, and a beautiful and healthy life no matter what treatment you chose....make your own decisions based on fact, and what YOU feel is best for your body and YOUR future.
God Bless,
Pam

[Jenipeni]

This is part of one of my posts to someone else but I wanted to express the same sentiment to you...

Everything should be pretty much the same as it was when your thyroid was intact ***IF*** replacement is adequate. Subtle changes could be expected because we no longer have the benefit of a refined feedback system working to increase or decrease thyroid hormones as required (the TSH made by the pituitary gland can't stimulate anything now but still acts to serve a guide about how adequate your replacement levels are).

********
I really believe that when you expect something to happen ie. everyone else feels bad after TT and gains weight (this is NOT true by the way) that it will happen. Psychologists have proven this phenomena exists.
********

You reap what you sow. IF you keep stuffing your face with food and not doing any exercise what do you think will happen? I'm not saying that people don't suffer from weight issues after thyroid problems - sometimes they do. BUT we can still do so much to help ourselves and that should not be forgotten. Even if you can't lose the weight it will benefit your health to keep relatively fit AND help keep away many other nasty diseases and health complications.

PLEASE DONT BE SELF PROPHETIC AND THINK IT WILL BE AWFUL FOR YOU IF YOU CHOOSE TT AND RAI - not everyone has the same experience.  What happened to others will not necessarily happen to you.  

Remember too that many people just browse these boards and never post - many people who have had no major troubles may never post. It it human nature - we all tell everyone about a bad experience but don't go shouting about something that wasn't bad or didn't cause angst.  

What I'm trying to say is; the experiences you read online are not a TRUE representation of the amount of complications experienced by the entire population of people in the same boat.

A positive attitude and actions can really make a big difference to your health journey and all the experiences along the way.  Chin up.  

Shoot for the moon and even if you don't quite make it you'll fall among the stars!!!
~J

[mrshobbes]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and information.  I know, the whole thing does really sound bizarre.  I also realize that a life living on hormones is nothing compared to what others go through, but to be honest, after reading so many comments on these boards from people experiencing constant exhaustion, depression and weight gain, it had me really concerned.  Thanks for setting me straight.  You all seem like a very caring bunch.

[pjgovitz]

Mrs hobbes,
That pain  and exhaustion doesn't last forever, they ones that have healed & feel great now no longer post , they're off living their lives. After my first severe hypo spell it took quite some to to regain feeling normal,but it does come, and now that I've had RAI I should be easier to regulate, (I go from hypo to hyper),,,you'll be okay if you have someone watching your levels closely, I know how frightening all this can be.
God Bless,
Pam

[pjgovitz]

Also try checking out this site, it pretains alot to graves, but ,ost the girls have had TT or RAI either way no thyroid...on replacement meds, and are very encouraging , and lead full lives..i believe there'salso information on thyroid cancer  off to the left.
http://groups.msn.com/GRAVESDISEASEANDRAI/_whatsnew.msnw

[pjgovitz]

This was the info provided on quackwatch, don't know if it's true or not....but it would scare me away, please print it for your hubby or go to the link above to search it yourself.......






Hulda Regehr Clark claims to cure cancer, AIDS, and many other serious diseases. She describes herself as an "independent research scientist" with bachelor and master's degrees from the University of Saskatchewan and a Ph.D. degree in physiology from the University of Minnesota (1958). The Register of Ph.D. Degrees conferred by the University of Minnesota of Minnesota July 1956-June 1966, states that (a) Clark received her degree with a major in zoology and a minor in botany, (b) her thesis was titled, "A study of the ion balance of crayfish muscle; evidence for two compartments of cellular potassium," and her University of Saskatchewan degrees were bachelor of arts in 1949 and master of arts in 1950 [1].

Clark also lists a naturopathic (N.D.) degree from the Clayton College of Natural Health [2]. Clayton is a nonaccredited correspondence school founded in 1980 and located in Birmingham Alabama. In 1985, when this school was called Dr. Clayton's School of Natural Healing, its "Doctor of Naturopathy" course was described in a magazine article as a "100-hour course" for which the tuition was $695 [3].

For several years, Clark's treatment has been administered at Century Nutrition, a clinic in Tijuana, Mexico, where the basic fee for two weeks of "treatment" was $4,500 (plus 10% tax). This figure did not include the cost of a motel room (approximately $210/week); meals ($250/week); blood tests ($70 each); standard diagnostic imaging tests ($40 to $400); dental x-rays (at least $206); "individually tailored" supplements ($400 to $1,500 for a month supply); equipment (about $350); tooth extractions ($80 each); and partial or full dentures ($450).

Bizarre Claims
Clark claims that all cancers and many other diseases are caused by "parasites, toxins, and pollutants" and can be cured by killing the parasites and ridding the body of environmental chemicals. In a videotaped presentation, she said that all diseases are caused by a combination of a parasite and a pollutant [4]. Her book The Cure for All Cancers states:

All cancers are alike. They are all caused by a parasite. A single parasite! It is the human intestinal fluke. And if you kill this parasite, the cancer stops immediately. The tissue becomes normal again. In order to get cancer, you must have this parasite. . . .

This parasite typically lives in the intestine where it might do little harm, causing only colitis, Crohn's disease or irritable bowel syndrome, or perhaps nothing at all. But if it invades a different organ, like the uterus, kidneys or liver, it does a great deal of harm. If it establishes itself in the liver, it causes cancer! It only establishes itself in the liver of some people. These people have propyl alcohol in their body. All cancer patients (100%) have both propyl alcohol and the intestinal fluke in their livers. The solvent propyl alcohol is responsible for letting the fluke establish itself in the liver. In order to get cancer, you must have both the parasite and propyl alcohol in your body [5:1-2].

Clark further alleges:

The adult liver fluke

[Nyxie63]

I briefly looked at Dr Clark's protocols.  To be honest, I've never heard of her before.  That doesn't mean she isn't good.  I have mixed feelings about only treating some things with alternative medicine.  Personally, I believe a balance between conventional and alternative medicines is probably the best approach, but that's just me and your mileage may vary.  

Just so you know, I'm also in the process of surgery avoidance.  My nodules, however are benign as determined by 2 FNAs.  I'm currently on Armour to try to shrink my my nodules and may be starting iodine supplement therapy sometime in the near future.  The dr I'm currently seeing practices both conventional and alternative medicine, so it's the best of both worlds.

Would you mind telling us a little more about your condition?  Do you have copies of your test results?  Do you have benign nodules or have you been diagnosed with cancer?  

Please let us know and keep us posted.