The time has come to draft a proposed charter for the Petit Papier Society
(and Men's Auxiliary) of the Thyroid listserv.  I propose that membership be
open anyone who meets one of the following criteria.  A Petit Papier woman
is anyone who:

1.  has been told that her symptoms do not exist because her blood work is
normal;
2.  has been told that her thyroid replacement medication should be reduced
despite persistent symptoms of hypothyroidism;
3. has been referred to a psychiatrist when she insisted that her symptoms
were due to thyroid disease;
4. as a result of any of the above, or close variants thereof, has been
driven to do her own research;
5. has campaigned for a change of treatment plan by presenting a licensed
member of the medical industry with the results of her independent research.
(Research shall be deemed to include information derived from this list as
well as published sources.  It is desirable but not necessary that the
licensed member of the medical industry be wearing a white coat during the
presentation.)

Nominations for elective office in the Petit Papier Society shall be open to
anyone who meets criteria 4 and 5, above.  The Society shall from time to
time consider various of its members for certain distinctions:  The Medal of
Valor, The Purple Heart, The Legion of Honor and various other citations.

A few observations:
The Petit Papier woman is a subspecies of female whose existence has been
observed only in direct contact with the medical industry.  The precise
nature of this relationship is a matter that warrants close study.

The criteria above do not address the experiences of listmembers who have
conditions other than hypothyroidism.  Contributions and comments based upon
the experiences of other members are most welcome!

Esther