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Updated August 20, 2014.

Ric is also an advocate for palliative care, caregiver and end-of-life issues, and has single-handedly transformed nearly every group and individual he has come into contact with along the way.

Ric has opened up his life, his heart, his mind -- to help make the world a better place for his fellow thyroid patients, and he continues to be an inspiration in so many ways to me, and to many, many others.


You can read an award-winning ongoing series of articles profiling Ric, as well as a photo pictorial on Ric and his wife Diane, online. Ric Blake Profiled

JEERS: Synthroid

If you didn't receive a check in 2004 as part of the Synthroid settlement, and you filed as part of the class action suit, then you're pretty much out of luck. A lawsuit, filed in 1997 and settled shortly thereafter, charging Synthroid with suppressing research and overcharging consumers, was finally paid out in 2004. Patients who were on Synthroid since 1990 were supposed to receive $106, and those on Synthroid since 1995 should have gotten a check for $71. Distribution began in late-December 2003 and was completed in the first quarter of 2004. But it wasn't enough that the attorneys and Synthroid's manufacturer rushed to an unprecedentedly low settlement, thereby severely reducing the amount of payment patients could receive, while ensuring the attorneys would receive millions for little effort. To add insult to injury, many patients who had been on Synthroid for decades reported that they were shorted and received only the $71 payment, while other patients reported that despite having filed, they received nothing at all.

Calls and messages to the Synthroid Claims Ligitation group of attorneys got no response. Between the drug companies and the attorneys, there's no need to wonder where all that extra money went -- because it certainly didn't end up in the hands of the patients who overpaid for Synthroid for all those years. And the kicker? Synthroid is STILL way more expensive, even through the research has shown that it is no better than its competitors... (As of Jan 10, 2005, a 30-day supply of Synthroid 88 mcg is $13.99, $5.00 per month more than Levothroid, which is only $8.99 for a 30-day supply. Source: Drugstore.com.)

Synthroid Lawsuit Information

CHEERS: Steph, the"Follicular Cancer Lady"

A big cheer for Steph, known as the "Follicular Cancer Lady," who put together a 22-part warm, witty and wonderful chronicle of her adventures as a thyroid cancer patient. With chapters titled "The Cat Who Tried to Kill Me," to "Hungry Hungry Hypo" to "Lord Endocron Saves the Day," Steph's sense of humor gets her through, and it will get you through too! I love this site, and it's definitely a must-read for anyone with a thyroid problem. Thyroid cancer patients in particular will appreciate the saga of Steph! Don't miss Steph's discussion of trying to find a necklace to hide her scar, how just thinking about Katie Couric's perkiness exhausted her, and many other moments of truthful hilarity. Steph -- we love you. Read more about Steph, the"Follicular Cancer Lady"

CHEERS: Researchers Studying Pregnancy and Thyroid Disease

Finally, we have some research to help protect women who want to get pregnant, or who are pregnant, with thyroid disease. In the past, I shared some experts' recommendations that any woman contemplating pregnancy get a thyroid test, that women with a family or personal history of thyroid or autoimmune disease absolutely be tested before and after conception, and that hypothyroid women be tested frequently throughout the pregnancy, because thyroid dosage requirements were likely to increase. I also felt that it was in the best interest of patients that thyroid antibody testing be part of a fertility workup, because there is evidence that antibodies may require treatment to ensure fertility and a healthy pregnancy. This year, these recommendations entered the mainstream, as the American Thyroid Association issued new guidelines related to pregnancy.

Also, if you're pregnant and hypothyroid, you may need an increase in your dose of thyroid hormone replacement, even just a few weeks after conception, according to research reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. As many as 85 percent of pregnant women with hypothyroidism require an increase in thyroid hormone replacement drug to protect the baby from cognitive problems or even stillbirth. This is critical news for any female thyroid patient who is pregnant, or thinking of becoming pregnant. Learn more now.

You can find helpful resources that inform you of the effects of thyroid disease -- including autoimmunity, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, nodules, goiter and thyroid cancer -- on fertility, pregnancy, post-partum health and breastfeeding at my Pregnancy/Fertility Information Center or in the Thyroid Guide to Fertility, Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Success.