It is a common hormone condition that causes a raft of distressing symptoms for thousands of British women, from weight gain and crushing fatigue, to hair loss and migraines.
Roughly one in five Britons are affected by an underactive thyroid, caused by problems with the butterfly-shaped gland in the neck which governs functions from digestion to heart rate and mood.
Treatment to combat the illness involves pills that cost just a few pence a day.
So when influential doctors’ magazine the British Medical Journal last month advised against prescribing the medication to a large group of patients there was, understandably, an outcry.
Roughly one in five Britons are affected by an underactive thyroid. Treatment to combat the illness involves pills that cost just a few pence a day (stock photo)
In the article, some GPs and researchers claimed one of the most commonly given drugs, levothyroxine, did little to improve their condition.
Now, the British Thyroid Association and the Society for Endocrinology, which represents experts in the field, have hit back, arguing that doctors should actually prescribe tablets to more patients.
Indeed, campaigners say accessing treatment is already a struggle for some, forcing them to resort to buying drugs online from risky, unregulated overseas pharmacies.
Dr Peter Taylor, a consultant endocrinologist and lecturer at Cardiff University, warned the new guidance could make matters worse. He says: ‘Patients could become even more sick because GPs will read this and say, “I’m not going to treat them.” ’
Lyn Mynott, head of the charity Thyroid UK, agreed, adding: ‘We know that patients do well on medication, but the reality is many are unable to get treatment as it is. Some end up self-medicating, which has potentially dangerous consequences, or paying over the odds for treatment they are entitled to get on the NHS.’
Isobel Hotten knows this only too well. The computer expert, 60, from Guisborough, North Yorkshire, says she has paid thousands to see a private GP after NHS doctors refused to give her the drugs she needs. Her problems first began when she was 35. ‘My hair, even my eyebrows, started falling out,’ she says. ‘My weight went up from 10st to over 15st and I eventually lost my job in 2009 because I’d fall asleep at work. My NHS GP just said I was depressed, and told me my weight was actually to blame for the way I felt.’
Only after the private GP carried out tests and prescribed drugs including levothyroxine, a synthetic version of a hormone produced by the thyroid, did her symptoms improve. Her weight stabilised at just under 9st, she stopped losing her hair, and she felt she was getting her life back.
In most cases, an underactive thyroid is caused by the immune system going rogue and attacking the healthy gland. This leads to low levels of key hormones
