Let’s start with two thyroid facts:  The diagnosis of hypothyroidism (low levels of thyroid hormone) is missed by most physicians.Patients arrive with obvious symptoms of hypothyroidism every doctor learned in medical school, among them sensitivity to cold, weight gain, dry skin, fatigue, and constipation. The doctor listens, sometimes attentively, and then orders a TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) blood test. TSH does not come from the thyroid itself, Read More

Some time ago I read an essay by a woman who described her experiences being employed as a medical actor. She’d been hired, along with some retirees, local theater majors, and a few people who were just curious, to play the role of patient in a training program for a local medical school. To start, she was assigned an identity that actually contained a lot of Read More

Since no one argues about the existence of Lyme disease, right up front you should know that the controversy here centers on the word “chronic.” In my view, the arguments among physicians about whether or not such an entity exists are becoming a bit ridiculous. First, let’s briefly cover acute Lyme disease. Although certain states have more cases than others, acute Lyme disease has been Read More