According to Mary Shomon, the General Medical Council (GMC) of Great Britain
has gone after Dr. Barry Durrant-Peatfield, one of the few doctors who treat
"outside the box" -- and that's the box has been hurting many of us!  Mary's
site (thyroid.about.com) has a direct mail link to the GMC, and she has urged
us to contact them with our, ahem, feelings.

Attached for illustrative purposes is my letter to the GMC.  I apologize for
the length.


It is my sincere hope that if the GMC is going to censure, or remove the
license to practice medicine of, Dr. Barry Durrant-Peatfield, that it make
its reasons public and for wide international dissemination.

If Dr. Durrant-Peatfield's treatments have harmed people, we the public (and
in particular that segment of the public that has hypothyroidism) need to
know specifically and in detail what has caused the harm, so that we in other
countries may be alerted to the dangers lurking in modalities of treatment
offered here that are similar to Dr. Durrant-Peatfield's.

On the other hand, if objection to Dr. Durrant-Peatfield's treatment is
predicated merely on the a priori assumptions that TSH testing is the only
proper diagnostic tool, and levothyroxine the only proper
thyroid-hormone-replacement, then the GMC has no basis to proceed against
him.  Scientific assumptions must always be subject to questioning.  Attempts
to silence other voices merely harm the public the GMC ostensibly acts to
protect.  (Remember Dr. Simmelweis, who was driven out of the medical
profession for daring to suggest that doctors wash their hands after handling
cadavers before examining women about to give birth!)

Furthermore, those lodging accusations against Dr. Durrant-Peatfield should
be required themselves to list any and all affiliations with pharmaceutical
companies, and whether they've received grants from the same for their own
research.  The manufacturers of levothyroxine have every right to compete in
the marketplace on behalf of their product.  They have no right, however, to
erect and hide behind a false facade of protecting the public from
'questionable medical practices' to achieve commercial ends.


-edward reisman

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