It can be an immensely frustrating health issue to contend with, especially if you limit yourself to conventional medicine and M.Ds. I have met with 4 different medical doctors and none have even come close to helping me.
Small aside...
The last M.D I saw didn't even look at me when he took the 3 minutes he had to discuss a full panel blood analysis. It is that sad. And when I voiced my concern about a possible Thyroid issue, he suggested I "stop listening to my friends, and Oprah". I was enraged, and really I don't even have the time to watch Oprah. I got up and walked out the door.
However I am not here to bash the system, and God knows how much restraint I need for it. My purpose here is to provide you the opportunity to consider alternatives.
Having blood work is important, and I don't throw everything conventionally based out the window. I do however advocate TAKING RESPONSIBILITY and BEING PRO ACTIVE towards your HEALTH.
Do not allow any one practitioner or doctor to control your desire to heal. GET INFORMED and work with health professionals WHO CARE and make you feel CARED FOR.
Moving on...
My story is one that I believe many women can relate to. I've felt very real symptoms for some time and felt like no one was listening, except when I began searching for other approaches to healing. The first time I met my own naturopath I cannot describe what joy, relief, and sense of hope I started feeling.
Finally someone believed what I was saying and didn't just tell me "I was fine, and to just live with it". I did not feel right, and I knew that chronic fatigue is not my natural state nor was I going to settle with just accepting being tired all the time.
Hypothyroidism is real
Even if your lab results don't show it, you can still have the condition! AND there is help and solutions that will allow you to regain your vitality, body and LIFE back. Having hypothyroid is like a plant that gets watered once a month.
You feel deprived, drained, lethargic and like the walking dead. Most days, it took every ounce of my will and effort to get through a day.
I couldn't think with clarity, felt dizzy all the time, would go for a work out at the gym and need 5 days to recover from it, constipated all the time, felt chilled wearing even 5 layers of clothing, gaining weight even though I maintained a clean stellar diet, felt tired when I had to get up in the morning and wired at night when I needed to sleep, and emotionally down most of the time. I pretended to feel well and of course life responsibilities still had to be met. It really is not a fun place to be.
Actually it really sucked.
And I know that's not the most eloquent word, but it best describes how I felt. I was tired of feeling sick and tired, not being the active joyful me I was, and gaining weight eating BIRD FOOD. But it doesn't have to be this way. And I will show you how to take charge of your own hypothyroidism.
The moment I get excited about a topic, my passion has no limits. So in the upcoming days and weeks ahead you will get cutting edge information and real actions steps you can take to get a hold of this pervasive condition.
Are you one of the 40%?
Dr. Broda Barnes, (good name to google) is the pioneer developer of the "basal body temperature test", and stated that over 40% of women have undiagnosed sub clinical hypothyroidism. That is, their laboratory test results may be normal, yet they have true low functioning thyroids.
Most medical doctors will only base their diagnosis on your lab results if they show a discrepancy in TSH or T3 numbers. Often times these numbers can be "normal" and yet you still present with hypothyroid symptoms which are real and valid.
IT'S NOT IN YOUR HEAD. You still may have a compromised thyroid that needs ATTENTION.
STRESS is a huge cause of HYPOTHYROIDISM!
Even a single episode of hypoglycaemia can depress your thyroid for 18 hours! And we all know how stressed we can become with the daily grind and our westernized lifestyles.
HEALING your thyroid REQUIRES A FULL LIFESTYLE OVERHAUL.
You need to address how well you are taking care of yourself or not. What you eat, how much and quality of sleep you get, how much consistent exercise you get, managing mental, physical and EMOTIONAL stress, are all important considerations!
Thyroid Basics- Your 411 Primer
Function:
- It produces thyroid hormones called T3 (triiodothyronine) and T4.
- The thyroid hormone regulates just about every cell in the body, including those in the central nervous system, heart, liver, kidneys, skin, bone, and muscles.
- Among its most important functions is the control of the rate of metabolism, thermogenesis, and oxygen consumption.
- The predominant thyroid hormone produced by the thyroid gland is the relatively inactive T4. The active form of the hormone, T3 is converted from T4 by peripheral tissues (mostly the liver) as needed. Those with HYPOTHYROID may have a faulty conversion rate and suffer with hypothyroid sometimes without even knowing it. This is where standard testing will not be able to determine the most accurate condition of your thyroid!
- The secretion of these hormones is regulated by another hormone called thyrotropin-stimulating hormone (or TSH).
- TSH is secreted by the pituitary gland in a pulsatile or circadian rhythm. This stimulating hormone activates the release of thyroid hormones from the thyroid gland. As thyroid hormones become high (or adequate), TSH secretion from the pituitary gland decreases in what is called a negative feedback mechanism.
- Low body temperature, causing you to feel constantly CHILLY even in warm temperatures
- Hair Loss, eyebrow thinning
- FATIGUE- constant sluggishness, or exhaustion from little effort, particularly in the morning.
- Insomnia or SLEEP DISTURBANCES : The "hard to wake up in the morning and hard to fall asleep at night" syndrome so many stressed people experience. You literally feel you have to drag your butt out of bed and it takes at least an hour to get going in the morning. Then at night when you need to get some rest, you are completely wired and have difficulty sleeping.
- POOR CONCENTRATION- brain fog, inability to focus, and poor memory when once you were sharp as a knife
- Dry, coarse skin
- WEIGHT GAIN and developing an intolerance to intense exercise, when once you had no issues with physical exertion
- Inability to lose weight even when drastically cutting calories or maintaining a sensible diet
- DEPRESSION and mood swings, feeling apathetic, unmotivated and just plain blah
- Constipation, and difficult digestion with pain, and bloating
- Adrenal fatigue or exhaustion
Testing:
- Full thyroid panel is a good baseline and can indicate if the thyroid is high or low fucntioning. TSH, T3, T4
- Basal Body temperature testing: If your average body temperature is consistently lower than 98.6 degrees, it may be a strong indicator for hypothyroid condition.
- Adrenal testing should also be considered with a saliva test done by your natropath/homeopathic practitioner. Most often the adrenals are also affected and should be treated alongside the thyroid.
Most at Risk:
- Women, 40+ especially those peri menopausal.
- People who are chronically emotionally, mentally or physically stressed.
- Those with a family history of thyroid disease or other endocrine conditions.
- Those suffering from another chronic pathology and/or are on prescription meds for it, such as bowel or digestive diseases, cancer, cardiovascular /heart disease, liver conditions, kidney disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, ect, ect.
- Those exposed to radiation.
- Women right after pregnancy.
- Already have another autoimmune disease : i.e. Lupus, MS, arthritis, colitis, allergies
- Injury or traumatic accident
- Those with HIV/AIDS
- Over 60
Next post: Learn which FOODS TO AVOID and harm your hypothyroid.
To your health,
Namaste
Piera
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