Hypothyroidism & Iron Deficiency Diagnosed as a Psychiatric Disorder | Too Late Schmart

Hypothyroidism & Iron Deficiency
Diagnosed as a Psychiatric Disorder

by Stanford Field
June 1999

Drug Roulette

This is a story of my daughter's encounter with psychiatric medicine. In her teenage years, she lived with her mentally ill mother. My daughter (J) experimented with various street drugs and became moody, distraught, angry, vulgar and depressed.

In her early 20's, she sought help from the public medical facility. A psychiatrist there decided that she should take Prozac. As her condition worsened, the psychiatrist incrementally increased the dosage of Prozac until it was four times what was originally prescribed. Despite this, "J's" mental and physical condition continued to deteriorate.

The game of drug roulette was stepped up. "J" was told to take Buspar with the Prozac. She continued to deteriorate. Her doctor then tried Haldol and Prozac. That combination caused "J," in her words, to "freak out."

She sought help from me after she had become glassy-eyed, nervous, cold, shaking and prone to a great deal of crying. She was in a non-functional condition when I took her to the emergency psychiatric clinic where she was admitted for a three-day stay.

The game of drug roulette continued at the clinic. She was given lithium and Prozac. She became violently ill with headaches and nausea. She was then put back on Prozac which had not worked in the first place. She had gone full circle after inept and irresponsible experimentation by psychiatric doctors. Throughout the entire encounter with all these drugs, she was never given a blood test or any other kind of test to determine any deficiencies.

At the parting interview prior to discharge from the emergency clinic, the psychiatrist told me that" J" needed to stay on Prozac for the rest of her life because she had inherited the mental sickness that was afflicting her mother. The conclusion reached by the psychiatrist was made without any tests to verify its validity. Clearly, this was the subjective opinion of a doctor who was unable to diagnose the case.

BECOMING AN HONOR STUDENT

"J" began to sleep 14-18 hours a day. She was always cold, and her fingers and toes were numb. She had no energy and was experiencing continual dizziness and crying spells. She continued to take four Prozacs a day.

My partner-in-life, Judy, and I began to search through our medical books for the symptoms that my daughter had. We ultimately found that a thyroid deficiency and/or a lack of iron could account for these symptoms. A thorough blood test showed she had almost no thyroid hormones, and .her iron concentration was well below the low range for normal.

After taking thyroid hormones and iron for 2-3 weeks, we could not believe our eyes. "J" had become energetic, fully alert and filled with vitality. After a great deal of convincing, in another 2-3 weeks, she had given up taking any Prozac.

She began a program of taking regular amounts of multivitamins, antioxidants, cod liver oil and nutritious food. She eats a great deal of fish, fresh vegetables and fruits, and drinks plenty of water. She avoids animal meat, greasy hamburgers, toxic oil-soaked french fries, soft drinks, and sugar. She is once again a wonderfully healthy person.

It is now about three years since the turnaround. She will soon graduate from a junior college with honors. She plans to continue her education in a university to obtain a degree in journalism. Best of all, she has regained a great deal of self-confidence, and she has become a kind, friendly, and thoughtful person.

RECOMMENDATION

Please tell this story to the parents of the young people who have been sucked into the whirlpool of drugs as a treatment for the various syndromes and illnesses that have been cooked up to promote drug use.

TOO LATE SCHMART is written by Stanford Field (BS chemical engineering, 1951) who has been avidly studying biochemistry and physiology, since 1993, with an aim of staying healthy despite the ever-increasing odds of age-related decline. This publication is written to the best of his ability, and it is intended to document any findings that may be useful to interested readers. The publication has neither profit nor political motives.