TTT 24 Questions with Michael Rosen

Michael Rosen, has hypothyroidism and very kindly agreed to be interviewed for The Thyroid Trust 24 Questions series. #TTT24Q in April 2021, ahead of International Thyroid Awareness Week and World Thyroid Day which take place 25th - 31st May 2021.
This interview is conducted by Lorraine Williams of The Thyroid Trust, who also has hypothyroidism.
Our aim is that this video may help raise awareness of thyroid disease and by featuring Michael as one of our high profile thyroid friends we are giving viewers a chance to learn a bit about a seldom talked about condition if they don’t know about it already. Perhaps most importantly this interview series is designed to also help other thyroid patients feel less alone.
The Thyroid Trust is patient-led and works collaboratively with medics and other organisations who share our objectives, to make things better for thyroid patients. Established in 2017, we completed our registration with the charity commission in 2019. We are always looking for more people to get involved and help us to do more. We’re a friendly supportive team, or try to be to the best of our ability.
The discussion ranges from hypothyroidism, the mysterious symptoms which Michael experienced from the late 1960s before being diagnosed in the 1980s, how people reacted to him when he was unwell, his own reaction to the diagnosis and what he wishes he had been offered, to the most joyous aspect of being successfully treated, his favourite word, raising awareness of thyroid disease, supportive partners and Many Different Kinds of Love, which is the title of his most recent book, subtitled Life and Love in the NHS, written about his near death experience with Covid-19 and the exceptional care he received from the NHS in 2020 - as well as poetry and the healing power of writing and some other surprising tips on how thyroid patients can help themselves to feel well!
Both Michael and Lorraine will be doing more to raise awareness of thyroid disease during International Thyroid Awareness Week - and indeed are always doing so. You can find out how to get involved on The Thyroid Trust website and Michael’s story with hypothyroidism, including a book he has written about it, This Is Not My Nose and a brand new poem, is featured in the patient stories section
www.thyroidtrust.org/michael-...
These videos are intended to be interesting discussions, getting to know people who are involved with The Thyroid Trust, exploring their experiences and airing some of the issues that matter to them. Let us know, by commenting below, if you enjoy watching the interview and if you'd like to see more similar content.
You might also enjoy our Information Videos, where you can watch leading clinicians sharing information about different aspects of treating and managing thyroid disease. Please also watch our 2 minute awareness video, Let's Talk About Thyroid Disease.

[@christinedelittle266]

Thank you so much - such a wonderfully easy listen 😊

[@thyroidtrust]

You're very welcome Christine! We're so glad you enjoyed it!

[@SuperWindy11]

What a fascinating interview. I could happily listen to Michael Rosen talk about any subject but this was particularly interesting as I have family members with Hypothyroidism.

[@thyroidtrust]

thank you Elizabeth, we're so glad you enjoyed and we hope your family members may appreciate that you have some new insight into their condition from watching the video - they might also like to see it, please do share if you think they'd be interested!

[@hazelcarlsen7522]

thank you so much for this entertaining and informative presentation. I am an ex pat now in the USA and it is so comforting to listen to a british presentation ...the languaging is comfortable and insightful. I am happy to have found you as a source of information as I begin tis journey of discovery about the Thyroid...currently my numbers seem to be OK except I have antibodies to my thyroid..and even though my numbers are normamlized for now, I still do not feel that great. Chicken and egg syndrome..is it my Thyroid or is it the stress of these covid quarantine times...anyway..I am delighted to have found you and also thankyou for other resources mentioned during the interview.

[@Chaingun]

i'm one of the few people who in the 1990s was taught "we gotta go through it!" from his book in primary school

[@adam091080]

Michael Rosen why don't you try a private doctor and private tests - why should you be having reduced medicines when you feel better on a higher dose? It's madness you need to have the dose you feel best on!

[@adam091080]

Yes I could listen Michael Rosen talking to paint drying! I wonder if you experienced more severe Covid & longer recovery due to being hypothyroidism?

[@AintPopular]

love this guy

[@theresabaker7824]

Very many thanks to Michael Rosen & Lorraine. There were many new ideas & suggestions made in this wonderful session, useful for us all. Thank you so much.

[@thyroidtrust]

Many thanks for the warm feedbackTheresa!!

[@Chaingun]

every symptom is what i've got, i guess this video may have made me realize, i never heard of it before but always so pale with bloodshot eyes and never been near subtances

[@helveticaneptune537]

Ive lived with hypothyroidism for 12 years now and it doesnt get easier

[@suzannawylie8684]

It seems there was a confusion with the dosage by body weight: around 1.6-1.7 micrograms of thyroxine per kilo of body weight (the interviewer got it the wrong way round). If that's right then I'm probably on too low a dose, which I have suspected for years, and could explain why I've never gone back to feeling energetic or mentally sharp after being very ill, although most of the other symptoms are better than they were before diagnosis and treatment. Thanks Michael for an interesting conversation and all the best for your continuing recovery from covid!

[@thyroidtrust]

HI Suzanna, yes you're right, thanks for spotting the error here, Lorraine got the calculation the wrong way round, it should indeed be 1.6 mcg for each kg of bodyweight - this is what NICE guideline now suggests as a starting dose - www.thyroidtrust.org/nice-guidelines.html

[@suzannawylie8684]

@@thyroidtrust Thank you, that's really useful. It's good to have evidence or recognised research to take to the doctors since they don't pay much attention to my actual symptoms. All the best!

[@notmyrealaccount8564]

Interesting guy, sounds like he went through many things I did. Well apart from finding a good doctor that didn’t insist I was fine or mentally ill. 🙄 Covid gave me horrific eye problems too which no doctor or optician would even believe and I found the medical gaslighting more damaging than the actual virus as I was made to feel like a hypochondriac all over again after a lifetime fighting doctors for an explanation for my health problems and only ever being made worse which caused enough damage without the untreated hypothyroidism on top. 😪

[@adam091080]

oh this is a little disappointing - MR has a great deal of faith in doctors - many hypothyroid patients don't get treated well by doctors - are diagnosed with depression and dismissed - and many of us respond to levothyroxine like arsenic in their system - levo can be like a poison. also tsh levels are not important- T4 & T3 are important .....