Big pharma, the NHS, thyroid disease and me

Article shared and written by Judy Copage

Judy Copage, Co-editor -in -chief of Central Bylines.  lives in Shrewsbury and spends her time walking on the Shropshire hills, discovering hillforts, attempting to learn photography, and occasionally writing and editing. She worked as a teacher of English as a foreign language and teacher trainer in Portugal, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and Greece for 20 years. Back in the UK, she was a Senior Lecturer in Linguistics at the University of Wolverhampton. She is Director of Copage Educational Services.

​This is a personal account telling the story of a battle with the NHS to get treatment for thyroid disease. Article originally published on Central Bylines at: https://centralbylines.co.uk/big-pharma-the-nhs-thyroid-disease-and-me/ 

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​For many years, after a diagnosis of autoimmune hypothyroidism (Hashimoto’s disease), I struggled with the medication I was given. I had no idea that what lay ahead of me was seven years of fighting for an alternative.

Thyroid basic facts
Your thyroid gland is in the neck. It straddles the trachea, just below the larynx. Until I became ill, I had no idea what it was and how it regulates the chemistry of the whole body. If it goes wrong, you can be affected in many different ways.
It produces two hormones, thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). The balance of both is controlled by another hormone, TSH, which is sent from the pituitary gland to the thyroid.

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