Quack Quack, Dr. Oz!

I have low thyroid, but just above the level to be prescribed hormones. I had some terrible symptoms for about a year- I saw on his show that L-Tyrosine taken 2x a day will keep your thyroid in check. Well, I started taking it as directed and my hair stopped falling out, the ear ringing stopped,the weight gain slowed, the fatigue stopped, and the depression, dry skin and hair , and puffy face went away. I don't care about what the other people said- if I hadn't been watching that show, I may not be feeling well today.My doctors wouldn't listen...

So you didn't have hypothyroidism... what exactly were your levels? The symptoms you described ARE symptoms of depression (which you said you had) as well.

I'm hypersensitive to the, "I treated thyroid problems with such and such," because having HAD a long history of turbulent thyroid and adrenal issues, it's just not how it works... but boy, is "low thyroid" the thing people point to when they're depressed or having trouble losing weight. (Obviously, these are legitimate symptoms of hypothyroidism AND some cases of hyperthyroidism).

L-Tyrosine doesn't even remotely effect the thyroid, either... there's mixed science on if it actually benefits depleted cortisol, which also has symptoms you mentioned... but if Dr. Oz seriously said it helps thyroid, then you just gave us more evidence of his borderline malpractice.

This is only funny because without Tyrosine, the thyroid fails to function properly.

That is all...

Sigh. Taking concentrated L-Tyrosine does not have much benefit to underactive thyroid as once thought; it's been linked much more to cortisol issues and is NOT recommended for legitimate hypothyroidism, as three separate endos told me (for awhile, things were nefarious for me, so my family and I were researching everything we could) and as even a brief Google search also noted. It IS a controversial supplement among endos because it does not properly treat hypothyroidism, while some (generally naturopaths) suggest it for those "not quite hypo but swear they're underactive." It's akin to the occasional story of "So and so advised I take iodine because I think my thyroid's not quite working, and iodine is essential to thyroid function" when almost everyone in the Western world has more than enough iodine in their system. Excuse the lack of clarity in my initial post.

In addition to the above... Dr Oz (though his "fat burning" stuff is mostly nonsensical) for the most part promotes naturopathic remedies... which many view as hoopla. Personally, it's my preference. If I can fix it with vitamins/minerals/herbal supplements... why bother with a prescription for something that's manufactured in a lab by companies making billions, paying kickbacks to doctors to prescribe it in mass quantities, and doing incomplete research to boot?

(my daughter was born with a heart defect due to a medication deemed perfectly AOK for pregnancy even though they did NOT A SINGLE FLIPPING STUDY on it before deeming is safe. Those idiotic f*cktards had a hand in making my daughter get open heart surgeries for the rest of her life.... and I wish our cardiologists were as naturopathic minded, to be honest).

Your post to me earlier makes sense now, and I'm definitely not one who goes, "WOO, ONLY HARDCORE MEDICAL SCIENCE" either, but many naturopathic remedies don't necessarily have the same science behind them. Your doctor who assured you of the safety of a drug clearly did an awful thing, as there HADN'T been science there; it works both ways in terms of "Is there validity behind this drug/practice/whatever?"

I'm definitely not fully against naturopathy, as my first brush with adrenal insufficiency when I was much younger was "solved" by going to a naturopath and briefly going on a T3/T4 compound for thyroid and a series of different supplements (like serotonin) to help the issue without going the traditional medicine way of "pump her with cortisol and make her gain thirty pounds more." Granted, I say "solved" in quotes... because according to the science of the day, naturopathy or not, my levels were normal; nine years later, when it happened again, we discovered science had more accurately assessed cortisol levels, and my initial levels had actually never been "normal" according to the newer standard.

So, is the naturopath or conventional medicine necessarily at fault for me there? Nah, it was just the unfortunates of being in a "guinea pig" zone for science.

So, I'm glad I made it out of that when I was fourteen... but in my second brush with naturopathy, I was put on quite a wild goose chase, all with a doctor running much more expensive tests than necessary, all while not being covered under insurance like a general doc or endo would be...

Plus, if you knew anything about drug trials, you'd know NO FDA approved medication can't be released until it has gone through extensive testing and multiple trials. This, of course, does not mean there aren't side effects that eventually don't get the drug pulled off the market(however, many of those decision are political, not practical). It takes between 4-10 years for a drug to go from early formula to market because of all the testing....so, to say the drug was not tested, is a lie.

"why bother with a prescription for something that's manufactured in a lab by companies making billions, paying kickbacks to doctors to prescribe it in mass quantities, and doing incomplete research to boot? "

I think there are AIDS and Cancer patients that might think differently.....oh, and the drug research industry isn't as devilish as you think it is.....

The medicines that AIDS and Cancer patients use is FDA approved, these weight loss supplements aren't. They may say they are; but they're not. As long as there is 1 ingredient in it, anyone can slap on "FDA approved" on their label. This is the irony of OTC drugs. Prescription drugs are gone through the ringer and have very high standards they have to meet to get them approved. OTC drugs can basically have anything in it. There really aren't standards.

I agree!

It's pretty sickening, especially since anyone can get their hands on OTC drugs. So backwards.

"why bother with a prescription for something that's manufactured in a lab by companies making billions, paying kickbacks to doctors to prescribe it in mass quantities, and doing incomplete research to boot? "

I think there are AIDS and Cancer patients that might think differently.....oh, and the drug research industry isn't as devilish as you think it is.....

The medicines that AIDS and Cancer patients use is FDA approved, these weight loss supplements aren't. They may say they are; but they're not. As long as there is 1 ingredient in it, anyone can slap on "FDA approved" on their label. This is the irony of OTC drugs. Prescription drugs are gone through the ringer and have very high standards they have to meet to get them approved. OTC drugs can basically have anything in it. There really aren't standards.

I agree!

It's pretty sickening, especially since anyone can get their hands on OTC drugs. So backwards.

Yeah, homeopathic medicine drives my wife nuts. She is a geneticist that does cancer drug research, so I know quite a bit about the process in which a drug goes from idea to market.

Plus, if you knew anything about drug trials, you'd know NO FDA approved medication can't be released until it has gone through extensive testing and multiple trials. This, of course, does not mean there aren't side effects that eventually don't get the drug pulled off the market(however, many of those decision are political, not practical). It takes between 4-10 years for a drug to go from early formula to market because of all the testing....so, to say the drug was not tested, is a lie.

There are NOT tests done on pregnant women. It's considered unethical. So NO. We were all living guinea pigs after being ASSURED of its safety.

I'd like the name of this drug please.....so I can actually research this highly dubious claim.

There are cures for cancer... but then where would big daddy pharmaceuticals (and ultimately big daddy gub'ment) be if they went and cured the sick? :huh:

There are cures for cancer... but then where would big daddy pharmaceuticals (and ultimately big daddy gub'ment) be if they went and cured the sick? :huh:

Uh, no....another myth.

:brokenheart: i watch dr. oz every now & then. one time i was watching he gave a tip for green tea. if you brew it yourself & drank a lot of it a day it would help you in losing weight with a sensible diet & moderate exercise. well, i followed that advice, i drink 1 gallon of green tea a day. i am happy to say that i did lose 90 pounds as a result but that included proper diet & exercise. i am sorry people do not like dr oz but he gave me correct advice. since i have been on mfp i have lost another 36 pounds!

Are you joking, or did you miss the part you wrote that I bolded?

http://www.consumerjusticefoundation.com/20110606383/fda-food-and-drug-administration/dangers-of-pharmaceutical-drugs-while-pregnant