How a PhD biologist with a destroyed thyroid, a private consulting practice, and no patients became the most-cited underground authority on hormones in America
I am a 73 year old woman. Never had a child (did have an ectopic pregnancy and one ‘terminated pregnancy’), lost a ‘tube’ with the ectopic pregnancy, then had a tubal ligation a few years later. All my reproductive organs are intact and I plan on keeping it that way.
I have been on BioIdentical HRT (from a compounding pharmacy) for over 24 years. A doctor who specialized in hormone replacement medicine for men & women prescribed it years ago. He also was into thyroid health, and through the temperature and pulse method he determined I had hypothyroidism, and later a blood test confirmed I have Hashimotos. I take 90 mg NP Thyroid daily. I have been taking the natural desiccated thyroid for 24 years as well.
I have not been to a gynecologist for over 24 years!
I feel the BioIdentical HRT keeps me sane, my body feels good, and I still have sexual desire (with the right partner.) I will never give them up! My NP prescribes my HRT as well as my NP Thyroid.
I have also declined all diagnostic testing, like mammograms, colonoscopies, bone density tests and what have you for a few years now. As well as ALL vaccines and shots.
I'm the same...about 25 years ago saw a brilliant functional doc. I'm 85 this week! If I had a partner I could be sexually active....But my wonderful man died and I like being alone.
I followed Ray Peat's work from over 15 years ago long before his curious elevation to nutritional sainthood. Over the years I learned that more often then not his theories were wrong. There are literally dozens on anecdotes he commonly repeated which were on their face patently false. Many of them were clear misinformation, whether intentional or naive, they were so frequent and emphasized that it became utterly impossible to regard him in good faith. There are many articles and even videos made going into detail regarding his misinformation. He had a few useful insights such as NDT which by no means were his discovery. Wildly dishonest claims such as growing inches taller from mega-doses of DHEA, and the health value of eating tubs of ice cream nightly should tip any true student of health off to his wildly unreliable claims.
To me, this article does NOT seem like a "hit piece." Rather, I read it as an attempt to correct a few crucial things that the author believes that Ray Peat got wrong. The author clearly gives credit and acknowledges what Ray Peat got right, and then respectfully, but honestly points out what he thinks Ray Peat got wrong.
In my work, I write a great deal. I hope I get most of it right. I certainly do my best. But I also would be a fool not to acknowledge that I most certainly get some of it wrong.
The collective community of practitioners, researchers, and healers are always learning more. (One of my very first teachers made me promise to retire if a day ever came when I thought I knew it all.)
No question that Albert Einstein was a true giant in the area of physics. Yet, the most current quantum physics research shows that he got some of it wrong. I think if we were able to ask him, he would affirm that we should point out what we think he got wrong. That is a way to respect the legacy, with honesty. It is also a way that the collective wisdom increases over time.
BTW, for the last few months, I have started using AI to help me find the best expressed research and to improve the quality of my writing so that it is easier for my readers to wade through often complicated topics that I write about. Using AI in this way also saves me some time. This allows me to contribute more. So, what is wrong with that?
This is what a so called "research" article looks like when the author relies on AI to generate it. AI is the accumulation of ALL the information available on line. The Powers that Be have an agenda and can get AI to vomit up whatever they prefer the gullible public to swallow and then repeat on line ad infinitum. The author did not do his due diligence when writing this piece. This article is a prime example of the recital of AI generated propaganda.
The sabotage of Ray Peat's legacy since his death has been breathtaking to watch and quite the eye opener. Ray Peat saved my life. Twice. Email exchanges happened. Valuable advice was given. For Free. I am incensed by this hit piece.
I decided to pin this to the top of the comments because it is a legitimate point of view, even though I disagree with it.
Anyone who doesn't work with AI in their writing today is behind the times, and this piece took 30 to 40 hours of my writing, editing, and analysis time. Authors who use AI indiscriminately without any background get garbage-in, garbage-out results. That is true.
My background in this field is 2,000 hours, however, and I used all my skills. I thought my criticism of Peat was judiciously framed, and I could have done a real exposé that would have looked a lot worse. See the other adjacent comment for more about the problems with Ray Peat.
Great info. And, I have hashimotos and I pay $100/month for 30 pills of armour! I have been searching for years for a cure but now that I can get 500 pills for $170?!! I love you Dr. Yoho!! You just saved me $1400 over the course of 16 months!! Screw pHARMA!!!!
Hey Doc, it has been a while since I visited your SS. I have only partially gone through this and got to this point and had to laugh:
"Arguing with them about whether they are thirsty is like arguing with Germans. You just piss everyone off. (Since I am German, I get a pass on this.)"
As I am also half German, I can relate. Last week I was in to see a local GP about a tick bite and the nurse checking my BP asked one of their standard inane questions to a patient, me. "Do you feel SAFE in your home?" Deadpanning her I replied: "yeah, I feel fine but do you understand how you lose all credibility asking that to any guy? Have you EVER had a guy say. . . no?(She admitted, no she hadn't.)
Further I said: "you know you only piss a guy off saying something like that."
I failed to point out I am both German AND Irish!
regardless, I should not get a pass. . . should have been nicer . . .
My PCP had me fill out a form asking among other questions, "do you have any guns in your home...and how are they stored". I just wrote across the form "It's not your business." (If I ever gave that form to any of my patients--loggers, fishermen, farmers, mechanics--I'd have been laughed out of town.)
I also am half German and the other half Irish and English. Those GP's and Nurse Practitioners are asking those absurd questions because of the protocol they are forced to follow. It is best to not even answer them.
Hard to believe the crazy crap they:re coming up with. I told them I wasn't there for a cognitive assessment. (I didn't add "go away" though, bc I needed their cooperation on what I WAS there for.
Great article. The WHI study’s wrongful interpretation did damage and shorten so many women’s lives! The destruction is still occurring with many doctors refusing to prescribe hormones to their patients. Thank you for mentioning world link medical as it was the place I looked to find my current hormone practitioner. I’m on estradiol, progesterone and testosterone and don’t know where I would be without that help. It took me 2.5 years after menopause to find someone who would prescribe therapeutic and physiological levels of hormones and it should never have taken that long to find someone. The WHI is to blame for the reluctance of doctors to prescribe. Hope that now bioidentical hormone replacement and knowledge will gain traction and become common practice as the harm from the WHI destroyed generations.
like most medical specialties, I've now become disappointed with the gyno world too. The damage done to all of us is really incalculable as is the pain and suffering.
I never considered the possibility that I might need hormone treatment. I am 74, and when I was younger I had hyperactive thyroidism. I had a lot of energy and always moved fast. Since my issues with Shingles in 2020, and whatever caused my lung and breathing issues in 2021, I am easily exhausted by almost any physical activity. And my daily blood pressure averages about 90/70, which is low. Would taking a testosterone "booster" help? The ones I see on Amazon are just supplements, not actual testosterone. Or perhaps a DHEA supplement.
You can buy DHEA over-the-counter, which often is very helpful in someone who's never been on testosterone. If you want more of a boost, consider seeing somebody and getting testosterone injectable or cream.
In 2001 the Barnes basal metabolism test was prescribed for me by the best and only Dr that ever helped.me with my chronic fatigue. I never got my heart rate and temperature to jive correctly though, even to this day. I tried so much natural thyroid that some pharmacists wouldn't fill it.
Mainly he helped me by being very honest, and for introducing me to supplements that would help a person with an unknown chronic infection. I had been to other doctors. But he gave me a $5 urine test that was suppose to come back pretty colors of blue and green. Mine turned black. A clue ya think that my body was stagnant? Other doctors were clueless. (At this time the "yuppy flu" era was passing.) Every visit he would have me try something else. He was so cool. I asked him what would become of me. He answered that some people get over it and some don't. What a refreshing doctor.
“The critical [thyroid] measure is T3, not TSH or T4”
When was a young buck, I mostly worked for companies that were too small to provide medical insurance. Private insurance was outrageously expensive, so I took the calculated risk that young people don’t usually have huge medical bills, and I went without coverage for decades. But to track my health, I got Life Extension’s “Comprehensive (now called “Elite”) Male Panel” every year during their annual blood test sale:
The strategy was that if a major health problem cropped up, I could sign up for private health insurance without having a DIAGNOSIS of a major health problem that the insurance company could exclude as a “pre-existing condition.” The strategy worked, because except for a few years that my wife’s employer provided spousal coverage, I had none until I hit Medicare age.
To circle back to the opening quote, the LE male panel included TSH, T3, and T4, which were always within the normal range. After 30 years of normal thyroid values, I wasn’t concerned that my Medicare annual wellness check did not include a thyroid test.
In 2016 an ENT discovered a small growth on my vocal cord, which he removed, which turned out to be cancer. Six weeks of radiation followed. (In retrospect, the oncologist was WAY too aggressive at nuking my throat. Vocal cords have neither a blood supply nor a lymph supply, so there’s no way for a vocal cord cancer to “travel.” But pre-COVID, while skeptical of the medical establishment, I was not openly hostile to it, as I am today.)
Unfortunately, a number of years passed before I suspected my radiation treatments damaged my thyroid. Neither my PCP nor ENT had raised the possibility. A couple of years ago I ordered a thyroid test from LE that showed the following:
T4: 2.1 (less than half of the bottom of the normal range of 4.5 to 12)
Free T3: 1.8 (below the normal range of 2.2 to 12.0)
TSH: 46.7 (more than 10X the TOP of the normal range of 0.45 to 4.5 — egad!)
In other words, my TSH was flogging my thyroid like a dead horse, trying to stimulate more production, but the thyroid was not responding, likely because it had been burnt to a crisp by the radiation.
I am now on levothyroxine, being titrated by my new PCP, a D.O. I asked to be started on Armour Thyroid, but I discovered it has been discontinued. Until reading this report, I did not know the names and sources of alternate (regulated) desiccated thyroid brands, and I was not about to use the (poorly controlled) Amazon offerings, so I accepted the synthetic version. I will switch to bioidentical thyroid ASAP. Thank you for this information, Dr Yoho!
Randy, your numbers indicate extreme hypothyroidism. Levothyroxine is not the best option for thyroid replacement for most people. Dr Yoho mentioned earlier that he uses NP Thyroid with a small dose of Cytomel, which is the active thyroid hormone, T3.
You could look on line for a World Link Medical certified practitioner near where you live.
Regarding Cytomel, from my own personal experience, only use the name brand, if you go this route. Generic T3 aka liiothyronine is absolutely not as effective as the name brand. A 5mcg tablet of Cytomel costs the same as a 25mcg tablet, so I recommended to patients that they ask their Dr for a prescription for 25mcg tablets and cut them in half or quarters (mcg means microgram) I believe that there are fewer excipients in the larger dose, as well. I LOVE Cytomel. Discovered it in Dr Lee Vliet's book "It's My Ovaries Stupid" in 2003, and have been taking 25-50 mcg daily ever since. Your situation may be a little more complicated than most because of the aggressive radiation you had.
Thank you, Laurie, for your thoughtful and comprehensive reply. I kick myself (and my PCP and ENT) that several years passed before I realized the radiation’s collateral damage to my thyroid. After my lab test, I wanted to take Armour thyroid, but since it was being discontinued, I settled for the synthetic. Better than nothing, I reasoned, but now that I read Dr Yoho’s promo of Thyroid-S from Thailand, I have just ordered a 500 tab supply.
Thank you especially for your Cytomel recommendation. Most generics are “as good as” the name brand, but some are not. I found that generic Flexeril is not nearly as effective as the brand. It usually has to do with the generic’s binder or release characteristics, not the active ingredient itself, which is tightly controlled.
Thank you, Robert for this great overview. The research field is still filled with automatons. I was just reading a paper by Lehmann, J., Lin, H., Zhang, Z. et al. The mechanosensitive adhesion G protein-coupled receptor 133 (GPR133/ADGRD1) enhances bone formation. Sig Transduct Target Ther 10, 199 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-025-02291-y and as I was reading it I was waiting to hear how all the elements they are currently studying in normal and knockout mice remained governed by HORMONES, and the first mention was in the introduction: "Current therapies often focus on vitamin D and/or calcium supplementation, and more specific pharmacological treatments are associated with severe side effects. For example, postmenopausal estrogen therapy increases the risk of cancer and thrombosis..." So, 20 researchers, working worldwide, and none of them could see fit to strike a misleading statement like that. I assumed it was a Pharma funded project, but the there was no financial interests declared.
We have to continue to live in a parallel world, away from these megalomaniacs.
what an outstanding article I don't know how you do it just when I think I've read the best article you come out with another one and then another one I share your substack articles and save them all thank you so much
"For oral and transdermal (not recommended except for vaginal) estradiol,..." I'm curious as to why you do not recommend transdermal estradiol? I'm on transdermal patches (1mg biweekly) and have been doing very well on them for the past 2.5 years. I thought that oral was not the best form due to 1st pass by the liver. I'd like some more education on this please and thank you!
Transdermal estradiol relieves symptoms effectively but does not have as many positive effects on the heart as oral estradiol. If you want to use the two together, that's fine, but oral estradiol is optimal.
I am a 78 yo woman. On Bioidentical HRT since menopause when my sex drive fell through the floor! I still like and have sex often and I attribute this to my hormone therapy. I have Biest and testosterone cream and progesterone capsules all from compound pharmacy. I still have all of my lady parts and have had 3 vaginal births.
I want to add that since my last birthday 1.5 weeks ago, I decided to identify as 68 (which is still old!) I just can't wrap my head around 78. I play pickleball, golf, water volleyball, cards, and am an artist.
I have been following Peat but not a zealot since my gut just told me that estrogen can't be that bad. I still follow Mercola because I think he still has a lot to offer; I just take a hard pass on the estrogen bandwagon.
I've been on Thyroid meds for years also. Taking small amount T4 (levothyroxine) and 40mcg T3 (liothyronine) spread throughout the day. Sometimes my temp is up and sometimes not. I think I will try some of the natural thyroid that you mention.
Just randomly - niacin (the flush version) can raise growth hormone, but you have to take it on an empty stomach, and then wait 4 hours before you eat again. Article below, followed by the key chart showing the growth hormone pulse - initially a small blip, then a big pulse peaking after 4 hours. Chart was originally in the "Ward Dean" article, but it has been removed. I routinely take niacin for growth hormone, and it has worked well for me.
Good news: niacin is really cheap - like 10 cents per 500mg capsule. Bad news: you get the flush, which makes your skin turn red, and that scares some people. I don't mind since I'm used to it by now. I suspect "no flush" niacin won't create growth hormone.
The practical take-home lesson of this study is that anyone using niacin as a growth hormone stimulant should take it on an empty stomach (glucose and insulin also inhibit growth hormone, as well as fatty acids).
Magic word expensive I take niacin but I was not aware until I read above post that taking it on an empty stomach is a four hour window I use the powder usually from bulk supplements I'll have to read up on that. I can't afford the IGH🙈 I know this is five days but I always come back and reread post and Look for your replies
I am a 73 year old woman. Never had a child (did have an ectopic pregnancy and one ‘terminated pregnancy’), lost a ‘tube’ with the ectopic pregnancy, then had a tubal ligation a few years later. All my reproductive organs are intact and I plan on keeping it that way.
I have been on BioIdentical HRT (from a compounding pharmacy) for over 24 years. A doctor who specialized in hormone replacement medicine for men & women prescribed it years ago. He also was into thyroid health, and through the temperature and pulse method he determined I had hypothyroidism, and later a blood test confirmed I have Hashimotos. I take 90 mg NP Thyroid daily. I have been taking the natural desiccated thyroid for 24 years as well.
I have not been to a gynecologist for over 24 years!
I feel the BioIdentical HRT keeps me sane, my body feels good, and I still have sexual desire (with the right partner.) I will never give them up! My NP prescribes my HRT as well as my NP Thyroid.
I have also declined all diagnostic testing, like mammograms, colonoscopies, bone density tests and what have you for a few years now. As well as ALL vaccines and shots.
From those who listen, I have heard many stories like this. Thank you for contributing.
I'm the same...about 25 years ago saw a brilliant functional doc. I'm 85 this week! If I had a partner I could be sexually active....But my wonderful man died and I like being alone.
Wow…something to look forward to! 💓🙏🏼
I followed Ray Peat's work from over 15 years ago long before his curious elevation to nutritional sainthood. Over the years I learned that more often then not his theories were wrong. There are literally dozens on anecdotes he commonly repeated which were on their face patently false. Many of them were clear misinformation, whether intentional or naive, they were so frequent and emphasized that it became utterly impossible to regard him in good faith. There are many articles and even videos made going into detail regarding his misinformation. He had a few useful insights such as NDT which by no means were his discovery. Wildly dishonest claims such as growing inches taller from mega-doses of DHEA, and the health value of eating tubs of ice cream nightly should tip any true student of health off to his wildly unreliable claims.
I did not get into it this deeply, but this is consistent with my findings. Thank you for contributing.
To me, this article does NOT seem like a "hit piece." Rather, I read it as an attempt to correct a few crucial things that the author believes that Ray Peat got wrong. The author clearly gives credit and acknowledges what Ray Peat got right, and then respectfully, but honestly points out what he thinks Ray Peat got wrong.
In my work, I write a great deal. I hope I get most of it right. I certainly do my best. But I also would be a fool not to acknowledge that I most certainly get some of it wrong.
The collective community of practitioners, researchers, and healers are always learning more. (One of my very first teachers made me promise to retire if a day ever came when I thought I knew it all.)
No question that Albert Einstein was a true giant in the area of physics. Yet, the most current quantum physics research shows that he got some of it wrong. I think if we were able to ask him, he would affirm that we should point out what we think he got wrong. That is a way to respect the legacy, with honesty. It is also a way that the collective wisdom increases over time.
BTW, for the last few months, I have started using AI to help me find the best expressed research and to improve the quality of my writing so that it is easier for my readers to wade through often complicated topics that I write about. Using AI in this way also saves me some time. This allows me to contribute more. So, what is wrong with that?
This is what a so called "research" article looks like when the author relies on AI to generate it. AI is the accumulation of ALL the information available on line. The Powers that Be have an agenda and can get AI to vomit up whatever they prefer the gullible public to swallow and then repeat on line ad infinitum. The author did not do his due diligence when writing this piece. This article is a prime example of the recital of AI generated propaganda.
The sabotage of Ray Peat's legacy since his death has been breathtaking to watch and quite the eye opener. Ray Peat saved my life. Twice. Email exchanges happened. Valuable advice was given. For Free. I am incensed by this hit piece.
I decided to pin this to the top of the comments because it is a legitimate point of view, even though I disagree with it.
Anyone who doesn't work with AI in their writing today is behind the times, and this piece took 30 to 40 hours of my writing, editing, and analysis time. Authors who use AI indiscriminately without any background get garbage-in, garbage-out results. That is true.
My background in this field is 2,000 hours, however, and I used all my skills. I thought my criticism of Peat was judiciously framed, and I could have done a real exposé that would have looked a lot worse. See the other adjacent comment for more about the problems with Ray Peat.
Great info. And, I have hashimotos and I pay $100/month for 30 pills of armour! I have been searching for years for a cure but now that I can get 500 pills for $170?!! I love you Dr. Yoho!! You just saved me $1400 over the course of 16 months!! Screw pHARMA!!!!
Good job, butterfly. You read to the end.
I used to get my thyroid meds from Thailand, but sadly they will no longer ship to the USA due to FDA restrictions.
Hey Doc, it has been a while since I visited your SS. I have only partially gone through this and got to this point and had to laugh:
"Arguing with them about whether they are thirsty is like arguing with Germans. You just piss everyone off. (Since I am German, I get a pass on this.)"
As I am also half German, I can relate. Last week I was in to see a local GP about a tick bite and the nurse checking my BP asked one of their standard inane questions to a patient, me. "Do you feel SAFE in your home?" Deadpanning her I replied: "yeah, I feel fine but do you understand how you lose all credibility asking that to any guy? Have you EVER had a guy say. . . no?(She admitted, no she hadn't.)
Further I said: "you know you only piss a guy off saying something like that."
I failed to point out I am both German AND Irish!
regardless, I should not get a pass. . . should have been nicer . . .
My PCP had me fill out a form asking among other questions, "do you have any guns in your home...and how are they stored". I just wrote across the form "It's not your business." (If I ever gave that form to any of my patients--loggers, fishermen, farmers, mechanics--I'd have been laughed out of town.)
I wrote “Not medically relevant” when presented with that question.
Much more nuanced and less confrontational, Randy. Thank you.
I also am half German and the other half Irish and English. Those GP's and Nurse Practitioners are asking those absurd questions because of the protocol they are forced to follow. It is best to not even answer them.
Hard to believe the crazy crap they:re coming up with. I told them I wasn't there for a cognitive assessment. (I didn't add "go away" though, bc I needed their cooperation on what I WAS there for.
Great article. The WHI study’s wrongful interpretation did damage and shorten so many women’s lives! The destruction is still occurring with many doctors refusing to prescribe hormones to their patients. Thank you for mentioning world link medical as it was the place I looked to find my current hormone practitioner. I’m on estradiol, progesterone and testosterone and don’t know where I would be without that help. It took me 2.5 years after menopause to find someone who would prescribe therapeutic and physiological levels of hormones and it should never have taken that long to find someone. The WHI is to blame for the reluctance of doctors to prescribe. Hope that now bioidentical hormone replacement and knowledge will gain traction and become common practice as the harm from the WHI destroyed generations.
Cogent Comment!
like most medical specialties, I've now become disappointed with the gyno world too. The damage done to all of us is really incalculable as is the pain and suffering.
Unbekoming has done multiple takedowns of the gynecology and obstetrics world that are worth reading, especially if you have that equipment.
I never considered the possibility that I might need hormone treatment. I am 74, and when I was younger I had hyperactive thyroidism. I had a lot of energy and always moved fast. Since my issues with Shingles in 2020, and whatever caused my lung and breathing issues in 2021, I am easily exhausted by almost any physical activity. And my daily blood pressure averages about 90/70, which is low. Would taking a testosterone "booster" help? The ones I see on Amazon are just supplements, not actual testosterone. Or perhaps a DHEA supplement.
You can buy DHEA over-the-counter, which often is very helpful in someone who's never been on testosterone. If you want more of a boost, consider seeing somebody and getting testosterone injectable or cream.
In 2001 the Barnes basal metabolism test was prescribed for me by the best and only Dr that ever helped.me with my chronic fatigue. I never got my heart rate and temperature to jive correctly though, even to this day. I tried so much natural thyroid that some pharmacists wouldn't fill it.
Mainly he helped me by being very honest, and for introducing me to supplements that would help a person with an unknown chronic infection. I had been to other doctors. But he gave me a $5 urine test that was suppose to come back pretty colors of blue and green. Mine turned black. A clue ya think that my body was stagnant? Other doctors were clueless. (At this time the "yuppy flu" era was passing.) Every visit he would have me try something else. He was so cool. I asked him what would become of me. He answered that some people get over it and some don't. What a refreshing doctor.
“The critical [thyroid] measure is T3, not TSH or T4”
When was a young buck, I mostly worked for companies that were too small to provide medical insurance. Private insurance was outrageously expensive, so I took the calculated risk that young people don’t usually have huge medical bills, and I went without coverage for decades. But to track my health, I got Life Extension’s “Comprehensive (now called “Elite”) Male Panel” every year during their annual blood test sale:
https://www.lifeextension.com/sales/lab-tests#male-female
The strategy was that if a major health problem cropped up, I could sign up for private health insurance without having a DIAGNOSIS of a major health problem that the insurance company could exclude as a “pre-existing condition.” The strategy worked, because except for a few years that my wife’s employer provided spousal coverage, I had none until I hit Medicare age.
To circle back to the opening quote, the LE male panel included TSH, T3, and T4, which were always within the normal range. After 30 years of normal thyroid values, I wasn’t concerned that my Medicare annual wellness check did not include a thyroid test.
In 2016 an ENT discovered a small growth on my vocal cord, which he removed, which turned out to be cancer. Six weeks of radiation followed. (In retrospect, the oncologist was WAY too aggressive at nuking my throat. Vocal cords have neither a blood supply nor a lymph supply, so there’s no way for a vocal cord cancer to “travel.” But pre-COVID, while skeptical of the medical establishment, I was not openly hostile to it, as I am today.)
Unfortunately, a number of years passed before I suspected my radiation treatments damaged my thyroid. Neither my PCP nor ENT had raised the possibility. A couple of years ago I ordered a thyroid test from LE that showed the following:
T4: 2.1 (less than half of the bottom of the normal range of 4.5 to 12)
Free T3: 1.8 (below the normal range of 2.2 to 12.0)
TSH: 46.7 (more than 10X the TOP of the normal range of 0.45 to 4.5 — egad!)
In other words, my TSH was flogging my thyroid like a dead horse, trying to stimulate more production, but the thyroid was not responding, likely because it had been burnt to a crisp by the radiation.
I am now on levothyroxine, being titrated by my new PCP, a D.O. I asked to be started on Armour Thyroid, but I discovered it has been discontinued. Until reading this report, I did not know the names and sources of alternate (regulated) desiccated thyroid brands, and I was not about to use the (poorly controlled) Amazon offerings, so I accepted the synthetic version. I will switch to bioidentical thyroid ASAP. Thank you for this information, Dr Yoho!
Randy, your numbers indicate extreme hypothyroidism. Levothyroxine is not the best option for thyroid replacement for most people. Dr Yoho mentioned earlier that he uses NP Thyroid with a small dose of Cytomel, which is the active thyroid hormone, T3.
You could look on line for a World Link Medical certified practitioner near where you live.
Regarding Cytomel, from my own personal experience, only use the name brand, if you go this route. Generic T3 aka liiothyronine is absolutely not as effective as the name brand. A 5mcg tablet of Cytomel costs the same as a 25mcg tablet, so I recommended to patients that they ask their Dr for a prescription for 25mcg tablets and cut them in half or quarters (mcg means microgram) I believe that there are fewer excipients in the larger dose, as well. I LOVE Cytomel. Discovered it in Dr Lee Vliet's book "It's My Ovaries Stupid" in 2003, and have been taking 25-50 mcg daily ever since. Your situation may be a little more complicated than most because of the aggressive radiation you had.
Blessings to you!
Thank you, Laurie, for your thoughtful and comprehensive reply. I kick myself (and my PCP and ENT) that several years passed before I realized the radiation’s collateral damage to my thyroid. After my lab test, I wanted to take Armour thyroid, but since it was being discontinued, I settled for the synthetic. Better than nothing, I reasoned, but now that I read Dr Yoho’s promo of Thyroid-S from Thailand, I have just ordered a 500 tab supply.
Thank you especially for your Cytomel recommendation. Most generics are “as good as” the name brand, but some are not. I found that generic Flexeril is not nearly as effective as the brand. It usually has to do with the generic’s binder or release characteristics, not the active ingredient itself, which is tightly controlled.
Thanks again and may God richly bless you!
Thank you, Robert for this great overview. The research field is still filled with automatons. I was just reading a paper by Lehmann, J., Lin, H., Zhang, Z. et al. The mechanosensitive adhesion G protein-coupled receptor 133 (GPR133/ADGRD1) enhances bone formation. Sig Transduct Target Ther 10, 199 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-025-02291-y and as I was reading it I was waiting to hear how all the elements they are currently studying in normal and knockout mice remained governed by HORMONES, and the first mention was in the introduction: "Current therapies often focus on vitamin D and/or calcium supplementation, and more specific pharmacological treatments are associated with severe side effects. For example, postmenopausal estrogen therapy increases the risk of cancer and thrombosis..." So, 20 researchers, working worldwide, and none of them could see fit to strike a misleading statement like that. I assumed it was a Pharma funded project, but the there was no financial interests declared.
We have to continue to live in a parallel world, away from these megalomaniacs.
Exactly.
what an outstanding article I don't know how you do it just when I think I've read the best article you come out with another one and then another one I share your substack articles and save them all thank you so much
High praise. I work at it 50 hours a week plus. Thank you.
"For oral and transdermal (not recommended except for vaginal) estradiol,..." I'm curious as to why you do not recommend transdermal estradiol? I'm on transdermal patches (1mg biweekly) and have been doing very well on them for the past 2.5 years. I thought that oral was not the best form due to 1st pass by the liver. I'd like some more education on this please and thank you!
Transdermal estradiol relieves symptoms effectively but does not have as many positive effects on the heart as oral estradiol. If you want to use the two together, that's fine, but oral estradiol is optimal.
I am a 78 yo woman. On Bioidentical HRT since menopause when my sex drive fell through the floor! I still like and have sex often and I attribute this to my hormone therapy. I have Biest and testosterone cream and progesterone capsules all from compound pharmacy. I still have all of my lady parts and have had 3 vaginal births.
I want to add that since my last birthday 1.5 weeks ago, I decided to identify as 68 (which is still old!) I just can't wrap my head around 78. I play pickleball, golf, water volleyball, cards, and am an artist.
I have been following Peat but not a zealot since my gut just told me that estrogen can't be that bad. I still follow Mercola because I think he still has a lot to offer; I just take a hard pass on the estrogen bandwagon.
I've been on Thyroid meds for years also. Taking small amount T4 (levothyroxine) and 40mcg T3 (liothyronine) spread throughout the day. Sometimes my temp is up and sometimes not. I think I will try some of the natural thyroid that you mention.
Thank you for this great article!
You sound like you have it all together. I have an article coming up about Mercola.
Just randomly - niacin (the flush version) can raise growth hormone, but you have to take it on an empty stomach, and then wait 4 hours before you eat again. Article below, followed by the key chart showing the growth hormone pulse - initially a small blip, then a big pulse peaking after 4 hours. Chart was originally in the "Ward Dean" article, but it has been removed. I routinely take niacin for growth hormone, and it has worked well for me.
Good news: niacin is really cheap - like 10 cents per 500mg capsule. Bad news: you get the flush, which makes your skin turn red, and that scares some people. I don't mind since I'm used to it by now. I suspect "no flush" niacin won't create growth hormone.
https://www.warddeanmd.com/the-cholesterol-wars-champion-can-also-raise-growth-hormone/
The practical take-home lesson of this study is that anyone using niacin as a growth hormone stimulant should take it on an empty stomach (glucose and insulin also inhibit growth hormone, as well as fatty acids).
https://purepowernutrition.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Niacin-Hgh-res.jpg
I am on injectable growth hormone now. This is harmless, highly beneficial and rarely causes any side effects, but it is pricey.
Magic word expensive I take niacin but I was not aware until I read above post that taking it on an empty stomach is a four hour window I use the powder usually from bulk supplements I'll have to read up on that. I can't afford the IGH🙈 I know this is five days but I always come back and reread post and Look for your replies