16th-22nd October 2021
This Thyroid Awareness Week, we want to raise awareness of how many people are #wingingit with their thyroid health because we don’t receive enough information from our doctors especially in regard to medication.
We are #wingingit by trying to access the medication ourselves that we are being refused i.e. liothyronine and NDT.
This should not be happening and we want the world to know about how thyroid patients are left to their own devices and how dangerous this can be.
Webinar – Saturday 16th October
We are kicking off Thyroid Awareness Week with a free webinar on Saturday 16th October at 1.00pm entitled, “The Menopause, Diet, and Stress – How these Affect your Thyroid”.
Our speakers this year include three nutritional therapists talking about menopause, diet, and stress; Alice Peck from The Wren Project; and a new Support Networker who will tell you all about her thyroid journey.
We will be updating you about our #T3Campaign and answer as many queries as we can about thyroid disease.
Our webinar is free to attend but we would welcome a donation when you book your place as that will help us to continue our vital work.
If you would like to support us, please make a voluntary donation of £3 to Thyroid UK by texting TAW to 70085. Texts cost £3 plus one standard rate message.
Activities with Medichecks
Thyroid UK is working with Medichecks on more activities this year:
Medichecks will be creating an Instagram and Facebook filter for use during Thyroid Awareness Week to raise awareness of thyroid conditions and the butterfly-shaped gland.
Medichecks will be asking people to tag Medichecks and Thyroid UK so that we can re-share to encourage others to do the same. Please do participate if you can.
On top of helping us to raise awareness, Medichecks will very kindly be donating £2 for every thyroid test purchased during Thyroid Awareness Week.
Butterfly Day – Friday 22nd October.
We suggest using purple face paints and dress up in purple butterfly clothing/fancy dress (Lyn says, the sparklier the better!). Please take photos and place them on your social media and tag @thyroiduk and @Medichecks in your Facebook posts and @thyroiduk_org and @Medichecks in your Twitter posts.
Photo competition
Send your Thyroid Awareness Week photos to us, with your name and address, and we will feature them in our Thyroid Awareness Week Photo Competition gallery. A sweet treat prize will be awarded for the best photo.
Butterfly tattoos
We are selling temporary butterfly tattoos which you can place on your body and take photos for your social media posts. You can use these on Butterfly Day as well, which will raise awareness amongst your family and friends about the thyroid and its impact on you and other people. You can purchase the tattoos from our online shop for £1 per sheet plus p&p.
The #wingingit campaign
We are asking people to support those battling thyroid conditions by wearing brightly coloured “like a butterfly wing” eyeliner. This concept aims to stand in solidarity with the thousands of us who feel like we are #wingingit because we are self-medicating after struggling to find solutions to help manage their thyroid conditions.
We will be encouraging the public to show us they are #wingingit by wearing “like a butterfly wing” eyeliner for their work video calls or in the workplace during Thyroid Awareness Week.
- The #wingingit campaign – a “how-to” video on perfecting winged eyeliner will be shared by Thyroid UK and Medichecks via social media.
- Please share pictures of you wearing “like a butterfly wing” eyeliner on your social media and tag @thyroiduk and@Medichecks in your Facebook posts and @thyroiduk_org and @Medichecks in your Twitter posts so that we can reshare your pictures and raise awareness.
The campaign will also raise awareness, for those who do not know, of the thyroid as a butterfly-shaped gland that can hugely impact health and has many life-changing symptoms that could affect a friend or a family member in the future.
Donate to raise awareness
We will be encouraging employees and the public to donate £1 to Thyroid UK via text message which will be used to raise awareness of thyroid disease. To donate £1.00 all you have to do is text #WINGINGIT to 70085. Texts cost £1.00 plus one standard rate message.
More Thyroid UK Activities:
Alice Godfrey, Nutritional Therapist who deals with thyroid conditions, has kindly made some short videos for Thyroid UK which we will be publishing throughout the week on our YouTube channel.
- Monday 18th October – Zinc and the Thyroid
- Tuesday 19th October – The Thyroid and Gluten
- Wednesday 20th October – Mindfulness for Thyroid Patients
- Thursday 21st October – Vitamin D and the Thyroid
We are launching our partnership with The Wren Project – a place where individuals, newly diagnosed with autoimmune disease, can talk about the emotional and social impact of diagnosis. Alice Peck will be discussing this during the webinar on the 16th October.
We are also launching a new Support Group that will be initially run via Zoom meetings. Caroline Midwood will be giving you more information during the webinar.
Let’s make Thyroid Awareness Week this year a really big one!
We rely on donations so that we can continue to support and campaign for people with thyroid and related conditions. If you have found our information helpful, please make a donation or become a member.