Women ask me.
Men ask me.
Every day I am asked about thyroid problems.
These people aren’t “crazy”. Their problem isn’t “all in their head”. People are frustrated!
Basically, they have been told “your thyroid is normal”…even though they have many of the classic symptoms of a low thyroid.
OR…
They have been diagnosed with a low thyroid…started on medication…most commonly Synthroid or levothyroxine…but still feel lousy.
These people are not stupid! They know something is wrong!
So, I have put together my list of sure fire thyroid tactics that I use with all of my thyroid patients.
I only have room for 4 of my 7 tactics though…
Step One: Know your numbers.
The test most often used by doctors to screen the thyroid is TSH (which stands for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone). The problem is most doctors use a very generic normal range when interpreting this test.
This is what I do: I follow the stricter guidelines from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.
A TSH above 2.0 is a thyroid problem evolving.
A TSH above 3.0 is a low thyroid.
Shockingly, many doctors don’t seem to care too much about this number until it hits the double digits! So, when I see a TSH of 2.0 or higher I know there’s a problem and start digging deeper.
Step Two: Get tested for thyroid antibodies.
90% of the cases of hypothyroidism are actually due to antibodies attacking the thyroid gland.
This is called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and is an autoimmune condition.
Basically what happens is your body makes chemical bullets that destroy your thyroid gland. This is important to know because the natural treatment for this condition is radically different than with regular thyroid cases.
Here is the really sad part – the vast majority of medical doctors do not ever run this test because it does not change THEIR treatment recommendations.
I assure you that it does change MY treatment recommendations…radically.
It changes the situation from a simple hormone problem to a complex immune system problem.
Step Three: Test for cortisol.
Cortisol is made in the adrenal glands and is our main stress hormone. Cortisol has many functions in the body, and it has a direct impact on the thyroid gland. When cortisol levels are out of balance this will basically put the brakes on the thyroid gland.
Cortisol is easily tested with a saliva test.
Again, most doctors do not take this extra step to test for cortisol, but I do because it radically impacts my treatment plan.
In fact, I find cortisol imbalance as the number one cause of low thyroid in the majority of my patients.
This means I usually treat the cortisol imbalance, not the thyroid, and the thyroid gets better.
Step Four: Test the GUT.
20% of healthy thyroid activity depends on a healthy digestive tract.
Part of this has to do with digestion and absorption. If food does not get broken down and absorbed properly, the nutrients needed to build the thyroid hormones (selenium, zinc, iodine, vitamin A, vitamin D, etc.) will become deficient/insufficient. This lack of building materials means that thyroid hormone production slows down.
Next, if there are hidden infections in the digestive tract (parasite, yeast, pathogenic bacteria) this will create inflammation and irritation which then creates more thyroid hormones but in an INactive form.
Inactive is inactive…these hormones do absolutely nothing to help your health and actually further slow down your thyroid.
Thyroid problems can be tricky to figure out, that is why I stick to my list of 7 tactics.
Make a promise to yourself starting today:
Stop feeling lousy…rotten…awful…crummy…miserable…terrible…crappy.
Find a good Functional Medicine doctor to help you get to the root cause of your health problems.
Like I always say:
Find the cause.
Fix the cause.
Feel normal again!
One last thing…
Dr. Carri Drzyzga, DC, ND – The Functional Medicine Doc
Find the Cause. Fix the Cause. Feel Normal Again!