Over at the About.com Thyroid site, patient advocate Mary Shomon is sharing details about the new 2015 Thyroid Awareness campaign being promoted by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE).
Their effort, which is featured at their site, ThyroidAwareness.com, hinges on two initiatives - "Same/Same/Same," and "Ten Questions to Ask About Your Thyroid Health."
The central theme of their effort is their "Same/Same/Same" initiative, which focuses on telling thyroid patients to take the same drugs, the same way, at the same time every day. The main "tool" of the initiative appears to be an out-of-date and incomplete list of thyroid drugs, including manufacturers and links to photos of pills and capsules. The list notably excludes all natural desiccated thyroid drugs, while including thyroid drugs no longer on the market. Shomon details key concerns with the campaign — including its sponsorship by big drug companies — in her critique of the campaign.. She has also produced an alternative,more up-to-date and inclusive list of thyroid drugs, drug manufacturers, dosages, and links to photos.
Shomon also looks at the AACE's thyroid awareness flyer, titled Ten Questions to Ask About Your Thyroid Health. Shomon takes issue with the AACE's unfocused and sometimes overly simplistic questions, which include "Where is the thyroid located?" and "How is TSH measured?" In response, she has put together ten questions that as a patient advocate, she believes patients should ask about their thyroid health.
