Symptoms of and Treatment for Hypothyroidism
Some 20 million Americans are affected by thyroid disorders….that’s 1 in 13 people! And more than half of those people are unaware they have a thyroid problem because it frequently goes undiagnosed….until it gets severe.
According to the National Women’s Health Information Center, one in eight women will experience a thyroid disorder during their lifetime. This fact may surprise you because you’ve probably never heard it explained to you fully. This is because most doctors are only vaguely familiar with thyroid disorders.
Sharon’s Story…
Four years ago Sharon was explaining to her husband that she was experiencing increasing fatigue and irritability. They were fighting over little things which previously were never an issue in 39 years of marriage.
She was gaining weight even though her diet and exercise regiment didn’t change, and she was starting to lose hair and experience heart palpitations.
Eventually, Sharon went to her family doctor for a routine physical and blood workup. Her MD suggested testing for the Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH). Sure enough, Sharon’s TSH was 27, more than 25 points above normal and was diagnosed with low thyroid. Her doctor placed Sharon on synthetic thyroid medication for life. But Sharon Never Felt Better.
Sound familiar?
That’s because Sharon’s story is identical to the millions of other hypothyroid patients that have been diagnosed. Unfortunately, there is much more to this thyroid picture than just your TSH. There are many additional tests that NEED to be run in order to get well.
Let’s talk about the thyroid gland a bit.
The thyroid “runs” your metabolism. It is the “gas pedal” of the body. Thyroid hormones have a direct effect on most organs, including the heart, which beats faster and harder under the influence of increased thyroid hormones (this is why heart problems can often accompany chronic thyroid problems in women, and perhaps why heart problems are more common in women under the age of 50).
T3 is the more biologically active hormone. It’s more important for cellular function, and in fact, 80% of T4 is converted to T3 in the body’s peripheral tissues. Basically, T4 is just a precursor for the more active hormone, T3.
One of the problems in some thyroid disorders is that you may have trouble converting T4 to T3 in your tissues. Have you been checked for this? This can create a deficiency of T3, disrupting the body’s ability to properly regulate metabolism, which leads to specific symptoms.
There are 6 different pattern of Thyroid Dysfunction and only ONE of these patterns will respond to thyroid replacement hormone.
Signs, Symptoms of Low Thyroid, Hypothyroid, Hashimoto’s Disease
Most Cases of Low Thyroid are Autoimmune.
After an individual is diagnosed with low thyroid, Hashimoto’s, or Hyperthyroidism they typically undergo the “standard treatment” – medications such as Synthroid, Levothyroxine or RAI
Then why, after undergoing treatment for low thyroid, do so many individual’s symptoms continue? The answer is not in the medication, but in the diagnosis. Hypothyroidism when caused by the immune system is NOT really a disease of the thyroid at all, but an autoimmune attack on the thyroid from a normal functioning immune response that has ‘gone awry.’
Symptoms of Hypothyroidism
- Fatigue, tiredness, or sluggishness
- Cold feet and/or hands
- Require excessive amounts of sleep to function
- Gain weight easily
- Have difficult or infrequent bowel movements
- Depression
- Lack of motivation
- Morning headaches that wear off as the day progresses
- Thinning hair or excessive hair loss
- Dryness of the skin and/or scalp
- Mental sluggishness
Symptoms of Hyperthyroidism
- Heart Palpitations
- Inward Trembling
- Increased Pulse (even at rest)
- Gain weight easily or
- Difficulty gaining weight
- Nervous and Emotional
- Insomnia
- Night Sweats
Treatment for Causes of Low Thyroid, Hypothyroid, Hashimoto’s Disease
If you suffer or believe to be suffering from Thyroid disease or Hashimoto’s disease, and the doctor you have been seeing is ignoring your health or doesn’t know what else to do, contact us.
At DrHagmeyer.com we look beyond your TSH levels and look at all the underlying factors causing thyroid shut down and there are over 30 different metabolic factors at stake here.
Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis is an autoimmune disorder in which the patient’s immune system attacks the thyroid. Patients that suffer from Hashimoto’s experience some or all of the above symptoms.
Hashimoto’s disease is the most common cause for hypothyroidism in the U.S. and has been published and well accepted in the endocrinology literature, but it is often overlooked by traditional and alternative healthcare models.
Improper testing can leave a patient misdiagnosed, mismanaged, and miserable.
You have to take responsibility for your own health and seek out a doctor who will work with you until the answers are discovered.
There is always a cause to an effect, always a reason for a symptom; there is always a reason ‘why,’ you just haven’t found someone yet to help you figure it out.
