- Category : Thyroid
Battling Hypothyroidism? Ask your Doctor….better yet Demand Your Doctor to Run these Tests
If you’ve recently been diagnosed with hypothyroidism by your doctor or have been battling thyroid disease without success and your frustrated because your TSH goes up and goes down, This article will give you some direction on what you need to do next.
You have to go back to your doctor and demand that he/she run These two tests. The scientific literature is filled with studies showing that a person may fall within the normal limits of the TSH and have Hashimotos. The two tests that need to be run are
TPO antibodies (thyroid peroxidase antibodies) and TGB antibodies (thyroglobulin antibodies)
Just last week a patient came to our clinic who has been suffering with a fatigue, depression, weight gain and has felt terrible for as long as she can remember and was getting worse year after year. When I spoke with her on the phone, I instructed her to have these two tests performed immediately. Upon much resistance here endocrinologist ran these tests.
Low and behold what came back? Elevated….. off the chart levels for antibodies against her thyroid. When She got to our office she grabbed me and hugged me and wouldn’t let go! Not only was this an experience I will never forget but she said to me, Dr Hagmeyer you were the only doctor who has finally been able to give me some answers. That’s why I wrote today’s blog. Many of you reading this right now has hashimoto’s and don’t even realize it.
Why should you yell and scream until your doctor orders these two tests?
Because the most common cause of low thyroid in America is a disease called Hashimoto’s. It’s an autoimmune condition that can devastate your entire body –not just your thyroid gland.
Elevated TPO antibodies or elevated TGB antibodies indicate that your immune system is targeting and attacking your thyroid gland. Only ONE of the two antibodies needs to be positive to indicate Hashimoto’s. But with that said you still need to have BOTH run.
Low thyroid symptoms are bad enough:
- hair loss, hair thinning
- constipation
- sleep problems – feeling you could sleep 8 hours all over again
- dry, flaky skin
- depression
- brain fog – feeling like your mental responses are slow
- infertility
- weight gain -even if you exercise and eat “right”
But, Hashimoto’s can lead to breakdown and Disease in other sites of body as well.
The Brain, Cartilage, Nerves, Pancreas or Stomach, Ovaries.
Most GPs, family practitioners–even endocrinologists–don’t test for Hashimoto’s. My experience is that the only reason they ever seem to test for it, is to shut up an insistent patient.
Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune condition in which your immune system targets your thyroid gland and literally eats it up – chews it up. You lose pieces of your thyroid gland and you never get them back.
End results is, you can’t make thyroid hormones and you get low thyroid symptoms like depression, thinning hair, dry skin, constipation, brain fog, infertility, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, high LDL low HDL, anemia and low vitamin D levels. I have seen it several hundred times.
If you have just been diagnosed with low thyroid, the very next thing you must find out – whether or not you have Hashimoto’s.
Hashimoto’s is a whole different ball game.
Sadly, your medical doctor is probably not going be able to help you with the autoimmune process. They really only have one way to work with any thyroid problem: thyroid hormone replacement.
POINT: Almost all Hashimoto’s patients are going to require some replacement at some point because they are losing pieces of their thyroid gland.
Problem is —There’s at least 30 different ways that your thyroid can be affected. Only one of the 30 responds well to thyroid hormone replacement. That’s why millions of women still feel lousy even though their lab tests are normal…Even though they’re taking the thyroid medication like they’re supposed to. Thyroid Medication has no effect on slowing down the damage caused by your immune system.
They still feel bad because most of them have Hashimoto’s. And the autoimmune part of the problem has been ignored.
I want you to know that YOU can feel better. If you’ve been newly diagnosed hypothyroid, you need take action. You need to Take action sooner than later. This is not going to go away.
You’ve got to stand up for yourself and demand those tests: TPO Antibodies and TGB Antibodies.
What to do when the TPO antibodies and TGB antibodies test results come back….
If TPO & TGB antibodies are negative, two things:
- 15% of Hashimoto’s patients are seronegative–meaning they never test positive for the antibodies but have Hashimoto’s anyway. Keep reading below.
- There are 30 other reasons why you could have low thyroid symptoms. Find a doctor to investigate these 30 other causes.
If TPO & TGB antibodies are positive…
You must find a doctor that understands how to approach Hashimoto’s from a functional perspective…someone who understands that there’s even more testing that has to be done above and beyond blood work.
You are going to need a doctor who will investigate the many triggers for Hashimoto’s. …factors that perpetuate Hashimoto’s–
A Good Investigator Will Be Able To Give You Answers To The Following Questions
- Why your immune system is out of balance.
- What’s fueling the fire in your body?
- What can be done over time you to modify and alter the attack on the thyroid
Once you have an autoimmune condition (like Hashimoto’s), chances are good that you will end up with another autoimmune condition.
Contact our office and let us give you the answers.
If you haven’t already Requested our Free Thyroid Recovery Guide you can do that here You can also contact us and schedule a free Phone consult to learn more. Simply fill out the contact us form here.
