A TEACHER whose career ambitions were shattered by thyroid disease is urging health chiefs to fund more research into the condition.

Sally MacGregor, 50, from Chorley claimed she was among thousands of women unable to get an effective treatment on the NHS.

While the majority of ‘thyroid deficient’ patients can be successfully treated with a synthetic version of the thyroid hormone T4, many have found this to be ineffective, as they are still deficient in another hormone, T3.

T3 tests are more complex, and not routinely offered by the NHS, meaning Sally and many others have failed to find a doctor willing to provide the treatment.

She said: “I would love to try a combination of T4 and T3 in a ratio that mimics an actual thyroid, but this option doesn’t seem to be available to me.”

She has backed a campaign by Thyroid UK which calls on the government to fund more research into the benefits of T3, with a view to widening its availability. She knows many other sufferers who self-medicate by buying T3 on the internet from places like Thailand, but said that would make her ‘extremely nervous’.

The disease, also known as hypothyroidism, has had a massive impact on Sally’s life, forcing her to give up as head of music at Runshaw College.

She said: “I would get headaches for three or four days that painkillers didn’t touch. I was also hypoglycaemic, so would lose whole days when I would feel weak, jittery and disorientated.”

Professional bodies including the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), published guidelines on the diagnosis and management of primary hypothyroidism in 2011.

They did not recommend the prescribing of T3 ‘in any presently available formulation’, saying it was inconsistent with normal physiology, had not been unequivocally proven to be of any benefit to patients, and may be harmful.

The RCP restated this position this week.