Letter from Dr Thierry Hertoghe, M.D.

There are several articles on this website about the terrible ordeal mother Mary Kidson had to go through in the UK, including going to jail, in order to get her daughter treated, and made well, with hormones.

This letter from Dr Thierry Hertoghe, M.D., December 24th 2015, thanks all those who supported him and Mary throughout this case and who were prepared to testify regarding the benefits of their own hormone treatement.

Strength in numbers?
_____________________________________________________

Hormone Rights International

Dear Friends, Helpers, Patients ,Physicians from all over the world,

You must remember the indignified feelings that flowed by thousands from all over the world to England 1 to 2 years ago when the English health and police systems hardhandly interrupted the hormone treatments prescribed by me to the 14-year-old Victoria. These hormone treatments were getting her, finally after six long years, out of an extreme chronic fatigue state that had left her unable to attend school. Her mother Mary Kidson was put preventively into prison, because of the bringing of her child to my Brussels’ consultation and because her daughter out of desperation had phoned her too often from the psychiatric institute. These terrible traumas ended in:

•a collapse of the court trial against Mary Kidson and her acquittal in November 2014. The court trial was prematurely finished because the prosecution hadn’t been able to show any proof of wrongdoing. I did, however, have as Victoria’s physician the opportunity to testify during the time reserved for the prosecution, but the acquittal made it unnecessary that other parts of the defence with its many witnesses were presented.

•However, it took 8 more months because Victoria could come back home in June 2015 to her mother, the person who cared the most for her. It took several more months before the social services who neglected the conclusions of the trial, stopped imposing supervision.

Now everything is back to normal and OK again. This is all thanks to you all. You have been nearly a hundred to provide precious testimonies of your own medical treatments, which we have been able to present to the court, and thousands to sign the online petitions.

Here are the words of Mary: “Please do let everyone know and also give them our very grateful thanks for their support and kindness – we would not have won without them nor would Victoria be home.”

This is true. This is your victory too. Your interventions have made the world a little better. Justice has prevailed. Not only have you helped by putting pressure on the medical and legal authorities, but your support has helped Mary and Victoria of knowing they were not alone, that some people out there in the big world cared for them.

Thanks warmheartedly and a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, you fully deserve it.

Thierry Hertoghe, MD

President of the International Hormone Society

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New Study Reveals Why 1 in 6 Hypothyroid Patients Still Feels Bad on Levothyroxine

Joe Graedon The People’s Pharmacy, January 15, 2015

The comments which follow this article echo much of our own experience and need for Natural Desiccated Thyroid. Why is it that we cannot all be heard?

Doctors often treat an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) with levothyroxine (T4). New research is revealing that many people also need T3 to feel good.

One of the most controversial and contentious issues in endocrinology has to do with the best treatment for hypothyroidism. Most doctors insist that standard treatment with levothyroxine (L-T4, Levothroid, Levoxyl, Synthroid, Tirosint, Unithroid) is the answer to a sluggish or inactive thyroid gland. They reject natural thyroid or supplementation with T3 (Cytomel or compounded slow-release products) as unnecessary or unreliable.

Why Levothyroxine Alone Might Not Be Adequate

Many people with hypothyroidism (estimates range from 12 to 15% of patients or higher) complain of symptoms when they are treated with standard levothyroxine. Even when blood tests (TSH & TH) suggest that thyroid function is normalized, these individuals feel like crap. They complain of fatigue, impaired cognition or “foggy brain,” weight gain, and general malaise.

Until now, many endocrinologists were inclined to chalk up such complaints as psychosomatic, ie, all in the head. They did not wish to contemplate a problem with the standard treatment regimen.

Here is just one example from a visitor to our website:

“I have been on Synthroid for 40 years. I definitely have problems that have grown over the years. I go for my TSH blood test and it comes back within the normal range. So the doctor prescribes my usual .125 mg Synthroid and sends me on my way.

“When I show him my swollen feet and legs and the stasis dermatitis now forming on my lower legs, he says, “You have venous insufficiency. Wear compression stockings and elevate your legs as much as possible.”

“When I had two separate incidents of depression and anxiety, I was prescribed the antidepressant Paxil. I took myself off that after one year when my legs swelled up even more than usual.

“I suffer from constipation, lack of energy and lower back pain and have not been able to lose weight for years. My muscles ache all the time and my feet hurt constantly when I walk very far.

“I ‘ll be 66 years old in a few weeks and I feel like I am 80. I read all the articles and am very aware of the foods I should and should not eat. All my doctor cares about is the TSH test, and as long as the result comes back within the normal range he is happy and assumes all is well with my thyroid.” K.H.

How Do We Get from T4 to T3?

To understand the complexity of thyroid supplementation, we need to take a quick detour into some basic biology. Don’t panic! We will do our best to make this understandable.

The thyroid gland makes a few hormones but we are only going to focus on two, T4 (thyroxine) and T3 (triiodothyronine). The numbers T4 and T3 represent the number of iodine atoms ( 4 and 3 respectively) attached to the basic hormone structure.

Thyroxine (T4) is a prohormone and is relatively inactive. It has to be converted to T3 by the body. An enzyme removes one of the iodine atoms to accomplish this. As much as 80% of T4 is converted to T3. T3 is three to five times more potent than T4. So the efficient conversion of T4 to T3 is critical, and levels of circulating “free” T3 are essential to well being.

The New Discovery

Okay, before your eyes glaze over, let’s get to the new and exciting research. A team of investigators led by endocrinologists at Rush University Medical Center (in Chicago, IL) has just published studies in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (online, Jan 2, 2015) and the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (online, Jan. 8, 2015).

Their animal research involved removing rat thyroid glands. When the scientists tried to normalize hormone levels with just levothyroxine (L-T4) they were unsuccessful. The animals demonstrated signs of hypothyroidism, especially within the brain, which might account for why some humans complain of cognitive dysfunction on T4 alone. The investigators were able to normalize circulating T3 levels and improve symptoms by supplementing T4 with extra T3.

Their human study uncovered genetic variability in patients suffering from hypothyroidism. They estimate that the mutation exists in 12% to 36% of the population. It makes it harder to convert T4 to T3. The scientists detected negative brain changes in patients that have difficulty making the T4 to T3 conversion. Such patients generally prefer a treatment regimen that involves both levothyroxine together with T3 supplementation (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (May, 2009).

Patient Stories

My daughter has had hypothyroidism since she was 12. She is now 28 and took Synthroid up until 2 years ago. She felt lousy and was tired and her hair fell out and she had dry skin, even though they said her levels were fine! Well she started to take Armour Thyroid two years ago and there was a huge difference!

“She feels better and was also able to lose 60 lbs over the past 2 years. She couldn’t lose any before, as hard as she worked at it. I highly recommend Armour instead of the Synthroid!” J.F.


I have struggled with thyroid problems since I was 8. At age 57, I’ve had thyroid cancer twice, 2 surgeries & now high dose radiation/ablation. My last surgery was 18 months ago & I have gained 18 pounds since then.

“I have no energy & struggle to stay awake. My hair & nails are falling off. I’ve been getting weekly iron IV infusions yet my red blood cell & ferritin levels as well as thyroid levels remain low.”

“For years I took Armour Thyroid & was happy & healthy. Now I’m told I MUST take Synthroid even though I feel it’s ruining my life. I’m in my doctor’s waiting room now; I plan to show him these articles & ask for Armour. It’s hard to imagine the damage levothyroxine has done to my life unless you have lived it. I urge all people taking Synthroid but feeling poorly to tell their doctor & give Armour a try.” Shasha


“I have taken Armour Thyroid, Synthroid and Levothroid at various times. The ONLY one of the 3 that did not give me major side effects has been the Armour Thyroid. I have much more energy, no headaches and no fatigue like I have with the synthetic products.” Diane


We are not beating the drum for Armour Thyroid or any particular brand of natural or synthetic thyroid hormone. Some doctors prescribe levothyroxine and supplement it with Cytomel (T3) or with a special timed-release T3 formulation that compounding pharmacists can make. This creates more balanced T4 and T3 levels circulating within the body.

If you are intrigued by this thyroid discussion we think you will find our newly revised 25-page Guide to Thyroid Hormones of great interest. Not only does it go into much greater depth regarding treatment options, it provides information about thyroid testing that you may not find anyplace else.

Thyroid hormones are essential for normal body functioning. Getting the balance adjusted is a little like Goldilocks and the porridge; not too hot, not too cold, not too much and not too little. We want you to get it just right. Here is a link to our new guide.

Please share this information with anyone you think would be interested. Comment below in the “Add My Thoughts” section and please vote on this article at the top of the page. We appreciate the feedback.

http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2015/01/15/new-study-reveals-why-1-in-6-thyroid-patients-still-feels-bad-on-levothyroxine/

Thyroid lab tests – Statement by Dr J. C. Lowe

There is no credible scientific evidence that the use of thyroid lab tests improve patients’ symptoms or their health. On the other hand, we have ample scientific evidence that the tests don’t.

The problem with the tests is this: Conventional thyroid specialists arbitrarily decided that the aim of treatment for hypothyroidism should be to get the patient’s lab test results right where the doctors prefer them to be. If the lab test results are where the doctor prefers them, then the doctor pronounces the patient well. The conventional doctor does this with total disregard for whether the patient is still ill or not with hypothyroid symptoms. If the patient complains about continuing illness, which most do, the doctor dismisses the continuing illness as a feature of some other undetermined mysterious disorder. Hence, thanks to the conventional thyroid speciality, we have widespread “new diseases” such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and ME.

This conventional medical approach to the “care” of the hypothyroid patient is not scientifically derived. Instead, it is merely an arbitrary convention of doctors. It is based on a combination of erroneous study conclusions and financial incentives from various companies that profit from the widespread use of the mainstream medical protocol. The main companies are ones that produce and market thyroxine and TSH test assays.

The thyroid specialty has imposed this pernicious medical protocol on practicing doctors and their patients. The imposition has resulted in a worldwide public health crisis. Scores of millions of people remain ill because of it, and incalculable numbers of people die prematurely from it, either from cardiovascular disease or suicide.

Some courageous physicians, such as Dr. Barry Peatfield and Dr. David Derry, have become prominent from getting hundreds of patients well by using more rational, nonconventional approaches to thyroid hormone therapy. But the thyroid specialty has deprived thyroid patients of these doctors. It has done so by using regulatory agencies such as the General Medical Council to end these doctors medical practices. This has left the doctors patients without effective care. Many of them have had no choice but to travel from the United Kingdom to the United States for effective treatment through our Center for Metabolic Health—an expensive inconvenience made necessary by the tyrannical power politics of the British thyroid specialty.

It is morally imperative that the false beliefs of the thyroid specialty about the treatment of hypothyroidism be promptly rectified.

Dr John C. Lowe
Board Certified: American Academy of Pain Management
Director of Research: Fibromyalgia Research Foundation
180030th Street, Suite 217-A, Boulder, Colorado 80301 USA
Jlowe55555@… www.drlowe.com

Taken From: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/hypothyroid/conversations/topics/5104

(See  also Linda’s Long Strugglehttp://www.hormonechoicesingapore.com/2015/08/15/lindas-long-struggle/

Women Empowerment: Dispelling Medical Myths

Dr Helene B Leonetti invites us to share this excellent article, posted 16 June 2014. (Bolding by HCS)

The last fifty years have seen great changes in medicine, and being a part of the journey since 1961, I would like to offer a perspective.  Women’s’ health has been in the forefront of my practice, and there are two issues about which I would like to focus: thyroid health, and hormone replacement therapy.

As we get more and more aware of epigenetics and how everything impacts everything else, we can now almost smugly agree that the dietary, environmental, hormonal, increased toxic load, and emotional connection to thyroid function is real.  Yet, the paltry testing and interpretation of those tests have not changed in these last 50 years.  It is a given that women experience far more thyroid disease than men: perhaps 10:1.  And yet, we continue to measure TSH and occasionally free T4 to assess the health of this power organ located interestingly in the area of the fifth chakra.  The testing so essential includes free T3, reverse T3, TPO and thyroglobulin antibodies, ferritin, iodine, vitamin B12, and vitamin D (25 hydroxyvitamin D).  And the old values of TSH (0.5-5.5 now in some labs lowering the range to 0.4-4.5) is still absurdly too large a spectrum, the higher the number, the more underactive the thyroid.  Those of us practicing functional more integrative medicine desire the range more closely to 0.3-2.0;  yet the endocrine world has yet to adopt these more appropriate levels.  And even with the ideal TSH without looking at antibodies, and the other aforementioned levels, some 2-3 of every ten women I evaluate have abnormal findings.  

Adrenal dysfunction measured in saliva is closely aligned with thyroid function and it, too should be evaluated, because one cannot replace thyroid without addressing adrenal fatigue, which is beyond the scope of this writing. We know that heavy metal intoxication, chronic candida from environmental mold, pesticides, gluten sensitivity all impact thyroid health.  Interestingly, the more physiological T4/T3 preparation, known as Armour thyroid, was replaced with Synthroid (T4 alone) with the expectation that the body would know how to take the inactive T4 and convert it to the active T3.  Our bodies are magnificent and magical and if left to their own devices could do this, providing we give the necessary cofactors to assist liver detoxification and conversion to the active form.  But since we still do not accept the vital role of ingredients provided by pure untainted food and nutrients, we cannot put all the pieces together, and continue the band aid approach to therapy.  The important role of compounding pharmacies comes into play here, as Armour thyroid has gone through some struggles with availability and quality, and so many physicians are choosing to have thyroid compounded from porcine thyroid powder under strict regulations, without fillers and additives, often harmful for patients with multiple chemical sensitivities.

Which is my Segway (sic) into hormone replacement for women.  One must remember history so as not to repeat it, said Santayana.  Back in the 1960s an infamous book written by then president of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Robert Wilson, MD, titled ‘Forever Feminine’ extolled the benefits of Premarin (pregnant mares’ urine) an estrogen which became not only the largest selling hormone, but drug in the industry.  This well publicized book by the Wyeth Company who sold Premarin was read by millions of women who flocked to their doctors requesting the miracle hormone that would prevent them from becoming dried up sexless hags, aging with little ability to attract a loving partner.  

This drug which was produced by torturing magnificent mares and their fouls (that story told most eloquently by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) became so profitable and ingested by hundreds of thousands of women, and because it was ordered as estrogen alone, approximately four per cent of women developed uterine cancer.   Back to the drawing board, our astute forefathers realized that if a woman still had an intact uterus, she required the other important hormone, progesterone, to balance the stimulatory effects of the estrogen.  Thus was born MPA (medroxyprogesterone acetate) a synthetic progestogen patentable (operative word here) and it was cleverly marketed as Prempro.  The issue here is that synthetic progesterone has many side effects (see the PDR) and many women began complaining, such that many albeit unnecessary hysterectomies were performed so that women needed only to take estrogen.

This is where the medieval solution to this problem originated and continues to his day. We now know that synthetic progestin is actually more carcinogenic than estrogen, and to the credit of the pharmaceutical industry, a more bio identical progesterone capsule, named Prometrium, has been added to the tool kit of my colleagues.  And if estrogen, and a more gentle plant based form which we now have in pills, patches, sprays, gels were always ordered with the more  balancing natural progesterone, I may not be writing this.  But this is not the case.  Despite the fact that God gave women two major hormones, estrogen and progesterone, and to a lesser amount, testosterone, most physicians stay stuck in the 1970s thinking that if there is no uterus, there is no need for progesterone, especially since we are most familiar with the synthetic version.

My final observation: my profession continues to denigrate bio identical hormones, compounded specifically by pharmacists trained to do so, claiming they can be dangerous, tainted, and found to be dose erratic, according to some critics.  Yet for 25 years I have measured hormones in the saliva, and along with a comprehensive thyroid panel, AND most importantly, my patient’s story, I have been able to formulate small, appropriate doses of these hormones, preferably administered through the skin or in the vagina, thus avoiding first pass through the liver and avoiding cytokines and clotting factors which can be affected by estrogen pills.  And the one size fits all hormones provided by the pharmaceutical industry cannot come close to addressing each patient’s unique biochemistry.  

It is time that we release our egos and righteous indignation about whether we are in the conventional or alternative camps of medical practice.  We are here to serve our patients, and when we integrate the best of both worlds, those whom we serve benefit.  I just had back surgery: not angel dust or acupuncture, though I certainly gave those attention: this is a metaphor for how we need us all.

Helene B Leonetti, MD

www.helenebleonettimd.com

Hormones in wellness and disease prevention: common practices, current state of the evidence, and questions for the future – Erika T. Schwartz & Kent Holtorf,

This article attempts to clarify some of the confusion and controversy surrounding estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, growth hormone, and thyroid hormones and discuss their roles as supported by the present state of evidence in disease prevention and aging as they apply to the primary care practice.

http://jeffreydachmd.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Hormones-in-Wellness-and-Disease-Prevention-Holtorf-Schwartz.pdf

 

 

 

Why natural thyroid is better than synthetic

A very informative three part series by Jeffrey Dach MD

We use exclusively natural thyroid in our office, and a few times every day, I find myself explaining why natural thyroid is superior to Synthroid.  In this article, we will explain why natural thyroid tablets are better than synthetic T4 only.

Part 1:

http://jeffreydachmd.com/why-natural-thyroid-is-better-than-synthetic/

Part 2:

http://jeffreydachmd.com/why-natural-thyroid-is-better-than-synthroid-part-two/

Part 3:

http://jeffreydachmd.com/2013/06/natural-thyroid-is-better/

 

 

Desiccated thyroid extract a safe alternative to levothyroxine in hypothyroidism

More about the study presented at The Endocrine Society Annual Meeting and Expo 2013

From Endocrine Today 17 June 2013 by Samantha Costa  (bolding by HCS)

SAN FRANCISCO — Desiccated thyroid extract could be a potential alternative treatment to standard therapy with levothyroxine in patients with hypothyroidism, Thanh D. Hoang, DO, staff endocrinologist of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., told Endocrine Today here at ENDO 2013.

During a poster session, Hoang said that desiccated thyroid extract could be a viable treatment option for patients with symptoms of hypothyroidism, despite normal TSH measurements while taking levothyroxine alone. Further, the desiccated thyroid extract yielded superior weight loss compared with levothyroxine, he said.

“The current gold standard right now is synthetic levothyroxine, so we wanted to do this randomized, double blind, crossover study to look at the efficacy of both drugs,” Hoang told Endocrine Today.

He and colleagues included 70 patients aged 18 to 65 years with primary hypothyroidism who were prescribed levothyroxine for 6 months. Patients were randomly assigned to either desiccated thyroid extract (DTE) or levothyroxine for 16 weeks.

According to data, patients assigned to DTE lost 3 lb, compared with those assigned levothyroxine (172.9 lb vs. 175.7 lb, P<.001).

“We didn’t find any differences in the neurocognitive measurements between the two therapies, but at the end of the study we did ask our patients which regimen they preferred,” Hoang said.

At the end of the 16-week study, 34 patients (48.6%) preferred DTE therapy, whereas 13 (18.6%) preferred levothyroxine; 23 (32.9%) did not specify a preference, he said. Further analysis confirmed those who preferred DTE lost even more weight over a 4-month period.

We now know that once-daily desiccated thyroid extract is a safe alternative treatment for patients with hypothyroidism who are not satisfied with levothyroxine treatment. It’s an option for them to try, and also desiccated can cause modest weight loss in these patients as well,” Hoang said. – by Samantha Costa

For more information:

Hoang T. #MON-440. Presented at: The Endocrine Society Annual Meeting and Expo; June 15-18, 2013; San Francisco.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.

Treating thyroid patients like children – Dr Malcolm Kendrick

This is a very refreshing article by a well known UK doctor.  Such were the truths it revealed that many of the (at the time of writing) 264 replies came within the first two days after it was posted on his blog. Patients were virtually screaming (forgive the pun) with joy that at last somebody had recognised how they feel.

We do have some doctors in Singapore who recognise how we feel when T3 is missing but it seems that their hands are becoming increasingly tied with regard to helping us deal with it.

Some extracts from the article are posted here with permission but please read the whole article – Dr Kendrick speaks for so many of us. If only he could speak to the Ministry of Health!

Dr Kendrick admits:

To be honest, until about a year ago I had no real idea what T3 was either, but I have learned quite a lot since.

He certainly has. This paragraph really caught our attention (bolding by HCS):

The lab tests, especially for TSH, are far from 100% reliable, to say the very least. In fact the man who developed the test in the UK, at Amersham International in Wales, has told me that the test is virtually worthless in many cases (especially continuous testing when patients are taking thyroid hormone replacement).

And yet more good sense, which echoes what many of us at Hormone Choice Singapore have experienced (bolding by HCS):

Far more telling, from my point of view, is the fact that hundreds, indeed thousands of patients report that, although their blood tests were normal, they felt terrible, and that they have felt so much better when they have been given ‘excess’ T4 and/T3, or NDT (natural desiccated thyroid). Whilst there is no doubt that some of them are, to quote a medical colleague, ‘not tightly wrapped.’ I have spoken to many, many, people who are calm, rational and reasonable, and their stories are compelling. A hellish existence that was ‘cured’ by Dr Skinner and his like. I refuse to believe that all of these patients are ‘somatising’ fruitcakes.

Read the whole article at:

http://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2015/05/01/treating-thyroid-patients-like-children/

And comments at:

http://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2015/05/01/treating-thyroid-patients-like-children/#comments

 

 

The evidence must come not from tests but from a thorough observation of the patient

Emeritus Prof Sir Gordon Arthur Ransome (1910-1978)

Today one of the four colleges at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School is named after Emeritus Prof Sir Gordon Arthur Ransome, remembered by many as the founder of modern medicine in Singapore and admired as an outstanding and brilliant clinician. His contributions to medicine in Singapore went back to 1938, when he was made Associate Professor of Medicine at the then King Edward VII College of Medicine. He also founded the Singapore Academy of Medicine and was its first Master.

The following is taken from an oration to mark Prof Ransome’s retirement in 1971: The life and times of Gordon Arthur Ransome by Seah Cheng Siang in Annals of the Academy of Medicine, January 1972, Vol. 1 (Bolding by HCS)

http://ams.edu.sg/view-pdf.aspx?file=media%5C591_fi_219.pdf&ofile=gar+01.pdf  

Foremostly, Professor Ransome taught by example. Himself a well-trained clinician, he has handed down to hundreds of doctors, clinical methods which were learnt from his teachers and also those innovated by his own increasing experiences.

In taking a meaningful medical history, he has on many occasions, and still does so now, sit by the bedside, eliciting point by point the story of the patient’s illness, with students watching on. From the history and adopting Lord Horder’s methods, a list of possible diagnoses to account for the presenting symptoms, is then compiled.

In front of the students, Professor Ransome will then examine the patient meticulously. A very careful inspection from head to foot is followed by an examination in minutia of the different systems. . .

From the signs culled, and with the results of some laboratory tests, he has nearly in every instance been able to arrive at a definitive diagnosis. A firm diagnosis by this method and not by intuition, is always teachable. He converted many a doctor from practising intuitive diagnosis into exercising a perceptive scientific method.

Another interesting insight into his powers of diagnosis comes from Sir Gordon Arthur Ransome  by Beng Yeong Ng and Jin Seng Cheah in Annals Academy of Medicine May 2008, Vol. 37 No. 5 (Bolding by HCS)

http://ams.edu.sg/view-pdf.aspx?file=media%5C614_fi_929.pdf&ofile=V37N5p426.pdf

 He taught from first principles and emphasised the importance of the use of the 5 senses in the practice of medicine. He placed importance on the art of listening, the essence of the artistry of bedside medicine. Effective listening involves all the senses, not merely the ears. To succeed in healing, a doctor must be trained, above all else, to listen. His skills as a diagnostician were renowned. He believed that X-rays findings tended to lag behind the physical signs. Without any laboratory tests, he was able to arrive at an accurate diagnosis just by taking a comprehensive history and examining the patient skilfully. He was nicknamed “kosong” (meaning “zero” in Malay) as he would give a student zero marks for poor performance in clinical examination. 

This letter from Dr Quek Koh Choon, one of Prof Ransome’s former students, appeared in the Sunday Times on 26 April 2015 and again highlights the importance Prof Ransome attached to observation – note “Tests and investigations were needed only to confirm the diagnosis. (Bolding by HCS)

http://www.pharmacychoice.com/News/article.cfm?Article_ID=1366630 

If Professor Gordon Arthur Ransome were alive today, he would be pleased to see how Singapore has become a great medical centre (“Prof hopes S’pore becomes medical hub”; last Sunday). 

I was privileged to have been taught by him, and to also have had the opportunity to work with him.

He taught me that the practice of medicine is not just a science, but also an art. He emphasised the need to observe the patient as he came into the consultation room – to watch his gait and facial expressions – and also advocated listening to the patient well.

These days, many patients say that many doctors are not listening enough to their complaints, and that they are quickly dismissed to undergo a battery of tests and investigations.

Prof Ransome did not think it wise to resort quickly to investigations. He believed that a great deal could be learnt from a patient’s history, and that astute observation and a thorough examination were key in clinching the diagnosis. Tests and investigations were needed only to confirm the diagnosis.

I used to accompany Prof Ransome on his ward rounds, and he surprised me when, at the end, he invited me to sit down with him and asked for my opinion of the various cases.

I was the most junior doctor then, and the experience certainly jolted me and taught me to value mutual respect among fellow colleagues and to be open to consider an opinion, even from a novice.

Prof Ransome treated all patients with respect and kindness, and did his best for them no matter what their status and background were. Once, he was called to attend to a VIP while examining a patient in a C ward. He said that the VIP had to wait as he was still attending to his patient.

He was a doctor devoted to the practice of medicine. He did not care much for accolades and prestige. Patients were his priority.

He was truly one of the great founders of modern medicine in Singapore. His inspirational values should be remembered by all who follow in the tradition of good doctors and healers.

Quek Koh Choon (Dr) 

We can only guess at what Prof Ransome would have thought of today’s Ministry Of Health insisting that all diagnosis be based only on test results and supposedly evidence based medicine. One can sense his disappointment and hear him cry, “What about the patient? The patient will tell you what’s wrong if you just listen! Just listen – with all your senses! I am giving you zero!”