Thyroid Disease
and Functional Medicine
Imagine…
Your mechanic tells you there’s nothing wrong with your car. You try to leave but it still doesn’t start. Arms folded, he adamantly insists. “Well, there’s nothing wrong with your car.”
Although baffled and disturbed, you’re pretty certain you’ll never be back. That’s a bizarre scenario that would never happen in real life. You’d never let your mechanic get away with that. But if you’re a thyroid patient then that scene is eerily familiar.
You’re still tired. (Thyroid symptom).
You’re still losing hair. (Thyroid symptom).
Your body stays cold. (Thyroid symptom).
You’re thinking gets foggy. (Thyroid symptom).
Your bowel movements are not regular. (Thyroid symptom).
Maybe you’re dealing with 2, 3, 4 or even 5 common thyroid symptoms only to be told your labs are normal.
This is the most common frustration I hear from thyroid patients. Its either:
“ I’m taking thyroid medication but I still feel crummy.”
-or-
“ My labs are normal I and still have symptoms.”
Common symptoms include: fatigue, weight gain or difficulty losing weight, mood swings/anxiety/depression, hormone imbalances like PMS/ irregular periods, infertility, low sex drive), low body temperature or cold hands and cold feet, constipation, dry skin, brain fog or concentration and memory issues.
Why do these symptoms often persist with so many thyroid patients? What is so difficult about a thyroid patient? -AND why do 60% of thyroid patients not even know they have it? Even when doctor tested.
Why do thyroid symptoms never seem to go away?
Persistent thyroid symptoms means the problem is not solved. Ignoring the underlying problem risks your future health. This leaves you more vulnerable to diseases such as cancer, autoimmune disease, diabetes, alzheimer’s, heart disease, and infertility.
Scientific discoveries have validated that…
Providing medication or thyroid hormone just to normalize TSH and T4 lab values does not mean you’ve solved the problem.
Having enough thyroid hormone is only part of the battle. The body must use the hormone as well. This is one of the biggest misconceptions of mainstream medicine.
Only considering how much hormone you have is a mistake.
A big reason why women continue to suffer is because typical approaches don’t ask the question…
Are you even using the Thyroid Hormone?
Your body must convert your hormone to a usable form and then use it in your cells. Without it nothing changes. A more complete process must be applied to get real solutions.
Our unique results with thyroid patients is simply because our approach utilizes a holistic, all inclusive method of addressing the root cause of your thyroid symptoms. The following diagram shows the difference between an incomplete medical approach and our complete holistic approach for thyroid.
If your only addressing half of the story you may not even get half of the results.
The brain sends TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) to the thyroid gland to make Inactive Thyroid Hormone (T4). That’s typically where mainstream approaches stop. They measure and treat TSH and T4. But there remains important next steps that must be analyzed to resolve thyroid symptoms. First, inactive T4 must convert to active T3. That mostly occurs in the liver. Once there is active hormone then our bodies cells must be fully able to receive it. In other words…
We have to USE the hormone.
There are many common reasons why you may not be able to:
1. MAKE thyroid hormone. -or- 2. CONVERT thyroid hormone -or- 3. USE thyroid hormone.
Common Root Causes Include:
• Systemic Inflammation
• Accumulated Toxins
• Chronic Poor Diet/ Sensitivities
• Hormone Imbalance
• Adrenal Fatigue
• Hidden Infections
• Digestive Problems
• Immune Dysregulation
• Malabsorption
• Mitochondrial/ Cell Damage
Functional Medicine and Thyroid Health
Our practice utilizes FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE testing procedures to assess and address WHY you can’t make, convert, or use your thyroid hormone. Your success depends on all of these aspects.
The common Reported benefits to addressing the root cause include:
Improved Sleep
Natural WEIGHT LOSS
Less drug dependency
Better energy and vitality
Real symptom improvement
Confidence in avoiding associated conditions
Assurance that your overall health will be improved and not only symptoms
Other seemingly unrelated symptoms improve
Better BRAIN FUNCTION AND BALANCES
Happiness
Call our office to find out availability and get the real help you need.