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by Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath
Let’s look at your thyroid today…
This is something I see time after time with clients diagnosed with thyroid challenges such as hyperthyroid, hypothyroid, thyroiditis, Hashimoto’s, Grave’s and more.
- An individual has all the symptoms of a thyroid challenge
- Thyroid labs are off
- Medication is prescribed
- Labs are now normal
- Yet all the symptom challenges remain unchanged
Here’s another scenario.
- An individual has all the symptoms of a thyroid challenge
- Thyroid labs all come back as normal in the reference range
- They are told everything is fine, yet they are still suffering with symptoms
This is why I say thyroid treatment is ridiculous?
What is important to look at regarding your thyroid function?
First we will recognize what most doctors are looking at in regard to thyroid function. Most are looking at TSH, T4 and T3. TSH is the thyroid stimulating hormone that is produced in the pituitary gland who’s purpose is to communicate to the thyroid how much T4 and T3 to produce. The T4 and T3 are hormones produced in the thyroid to allow the benefit of normal body function. So with this information, many practitioners are making diagnosis of thyroid dysfunction with this information.
Let me show you another reason why this is ridiculous.
Most are simply not looking at the thyroid comprehensively. Here is the comprehensive way of reviewing what is going on with your thyroid and understanding all these points are essential for moving forward in thyroid balance.
- Hypothalamus sends thyroid releasing hormone (TRH) to the pituitary gland
- Pituitary gland releases thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) to the thyroid gland
- TSH stimulates the thyroid to utilize iodine to create T4 and T3
- 93% of this production is T4 and 7% isT3 (Recognize that the body predominately functions on an active form of T3)
- 60% of your T4 is converted in the liver into active T3
- 20% of your T4 is eventually converted in active T3 in your gastrointestinal tract
- 20% is converted into reverse T3 which is an inactive form
- Any remaining T4 is converted into active T3 in peripheral tissue
Even with this said, there is even more to understand when addressing thyroid function. Here’s more
- One of the most common and often not assessed challenges for the thyroid is and autoimmune thyroid condition
- Another key factor is your (TBG) or thyroid binding globulin which is the protein that acts as the delivery system to transport the active T3 to the cells of your body for use
So what do you test if you are suspecting a thyroid challenge so you can actually address this properly and eliminate your symptoms?
- Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH)
- Total thyroxine (TT4)
- Free thyroxine index (FTI)
- Free thyroxine (FT4)
- Resin T3 uptake
- Free triiodothyroxine (FT3)
- Reverse T3 (rT3)
- Thyroid binding globulin (TBG)
- Thyroid antibodies
Now there’s one more key here. It is important to recognize functional ranges rather than the typical reference ranges on the typical blood panel results. Often those outside of the functional or optimal ranges will already be suffering with the symptoms of thyroid dysfunction.
It is often difficult to get the proper testing ordered and I here of people struggling to get their doctors to order some of these tests all the time. Go to this link for great savings on a comprehensive thyroid testing for yourself.
One last topic to mention.
What are the symptoms of thyroid dysfunction?
Here you go…
- Fatigue
- Weight gain despite adhering to your diet
- Morning headaches that wear off as the day progresses
- Depression
- Constipation
- Hypersensitivity to cold weather
- Poor circulation and numbness in the hands or feet
- Muscle cramps while at rest
- Increased susceptibility to colds and other infections and difficulty with recovery
- Slow wound healing
- Excessive sleep required to function normally
- Chronic digestive challenges such as low stomach acid
- Itchy dry skin
- Hair falls out easily
- Dry skin
- Low body temperature
- Edema, especially facial swelling
- Loss of the outermost portion of eyebrows
There you have it. The most comprehensive information I can provide in a short article. I trust that you can use this in some positive manner in your life.
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