Subject:  RE EMF....thyroid issue and others
Date:     Mon, 9 Jun 1997 144033 -0500 (CDT)
From:     Scott Cantrell <scottca@microsoft.com>
To:       Multiple recipients of list <emf-l@mail.llion.org>
--------------------------------------------------

I would agree with Dr. Beardwood's plea to exercise "critical judgement"
when it comes to evaluating the *theoretical* efficacy of a given
treatment.  ES is a complex syndrome, as evidenced by the failure of
modern medicine to definitively diagnose it, much less treat it.

However, being an ES sufferer, I have learned that it is ineffective to
sit around and wait for an august body of peer-reviewed researchers to
reach a consensus on whether ES exists, and then to wait some more while
they develop a cure that does not violate their medical models.  When it
comes to prospective treatments, my motto has been: "If it doesn't hurt
you, try it!"  And above all, continue learning.  It is our
responsibility to educate ourselves and our doctors.

Like most of you, after reading the Wilson's Syndrome claim I went out
and immediately researched everything I could find re: thyroid function.
It IS complex!  For instance, I found out that irregular patterns of
free cortisol (e.g., increasing at night, when it should decrease) can
mimic the low body temperature of hypothyroidism and Wilson's Syndrome.
Thyroid function apparently cannot be viewed or corrected in isolation,
but must be examined in relation to adrenal function, the
pituitary-hypothalamus axis, and many other factors.  After all, we're
whole organisms, not an assembly of parts and systems!

I also found out that average basal axillary temperature (under the arm
for 10 minutes with a mercury thermometer before getting up in the
morning) is considered a more reliable indicator of thyroid function
than average oral temperature.  And I found several doctors who believe
that it is also more reliable than the common thyroid blood test.  I
found that my basal axillary temp averages 96.4, which is below the 97.8
- 98.2 range reported normal in the standard medical texts I reviewed.
This is curious since my last thyroid function test showed both T4 AND
T3 uptake within normal ranges.

Let me repeat, that when evaluating ES treatments, I think the bottom
line is the answer to the question:  "Does it work?", or perhaps more
accurately: "Does it work for me?".  To that end, I ordered the WS info
pack and intend to give it a try in consultation with my doctor.  Still,
I would feel a little more enthusiatic if even one ES person has been
able to show reduced or eliminated symptoms from WS treatment.

Back to the laboratory ...
-Scott Cantrell



> -----Original Message-----
> From:	C J BEARDWOOD [SMTP:CBEARD@physio.uct.ac.za]
> Sent:	Monday, June 09, 1997 7:55 AM
> To:	Multiple recipients of list
> Subject:	EMF....thyroid issue and others
> 
> Hello all,
> 
> I have been a silent observer of the correspondence among our members 
> over the last few weeks since joining. The writings have been both 
> illuminating, technically helpful and the health issues of concern. 
> 
> Electrical sensitivity seems to be a real problem but it apparently 
> affects different people in different ways which makes it difficult to
> 
> diagnose at present. What is clear is that it is a highly complex 
> disorder which cannot be cured by some quick fix, viz. T3.
> 
> The >cold body< syndrome or Wilson's syndrome for what it is worth, 
> is associated with such an array of symptoms that if you had all of 
> them you would be dead. The only common symptom is a lowered body 
> temperature which is difficult to determine objectively. Normal oral
> temperature ranges from less than 96 deg F in the early morning to 
> 98.6 deg F in mid afternoon (see any textbook of physiology) so it 
> stands to reason that the average of 3 readings will be below 98.6. 
> We would all have Wilson's syndrome by that score if the information 
> given to this group is taken seriously. In women it ranges from about 
> 97.3 F to 98.4 in the preovulatory phase to about 98 F to 99.1 F in 
> the post ovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle. Many other factors 
> affect temperature measurement including exercise and the site at 
> which it is measured.
> 
> Similarly, people with hypothyroidism (lowered thyroid hormone levels)
> 
> have a temperature range which has dropped from the normal to 96.8 F 
> to 97.5 F. This is well within the range claimed for Wilson's 
> syndrome and yet no deficiency in the conversion of T3 to T4 can be 
> shown in this low temperature syndrome. This deficiency can be shown, 
> incidentally, in the case of starvation or the feeding disorder, 
> anorexia nervosa.
> 
> My appeal therefore is for people to exercise greater critical 
> judgement and to accept information as factual only after more 
> rigorous research. Too many people can be mislead.
> Best wishes to you and your endeavours
> Dr Cyril J Beardwood
> Department of Physiology
> University of Cape Town Medical School
> Observatory 7925
> Western Cape Province          Tel No: (+27) 021 4066260 
> South Africa                   Fax No: (+27) 021 477669              
> -----------------------------ooOOoo-------------------------------
> 
> The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do!
> B F Skinner
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> 
.-


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