What to Look for in a Hashimoto's Doctor

What to Look for in a Hashimoto’s Doctor

Category : Hashimotos, Hormone

The thyroid gland is located at the base of the front of your neck — below the Adam’s apple. As part of the endocrine system, it’s a vital organ that produces hormones. It’s responsible for a wide range of processes and functions, including metabolism, body temperature, and more.

The two most important hormones produced by the thyroid gland are triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4). The pituitary gland produces thyroid-stimulating hormone, which regulates the production and release of thyroid hormones.

In patients with Hashimoto’s disease, the body’s immune system attacks the thyroid gland. It’s an autoimmune disease that results in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (inflammation), eventually leading to an underactive thyroid gland. In fact, Hashimoto’s disease is the leading cause of hypothyroidism.

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While it’s unclear what causes the autoimmune attack, there are ways to treat Hashimoto’s disease. The problem is most traditional doctors aren’t properly treating Hashimoto’s patients and don’t take everything into account when diagnosing the underlying causes of the disease.

What’s Wrong With the Conventional & Traditional Approach?

The ‘standard approach’ to diagnosing and treating Hashimoto’s disease is flawed and often ignores some of the most prominent symptoms, causes, and risk factors. Traditional doctors generally aren’t asking the right questions and have a hard time finding the best treatment.

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There are several reasons why and I’m going to share them with you below:

Traditional doctors usually treat the thyroid condition with thyroid medications. This does not stop the immune systems attack on the thyroid gland.
Traditional doctors generally don’t treat the underlying cause that triggered Hashimoto’s disease.
Traditional doctors generally only use one form of thyroid medication (levothyroxine or Synthroid), For patients with Hashimotos disease many of the binders and ingredients can exacerbate the autoimmune attack.
Traditional doctors generally wait several years before diagnosing Hashimoto’s disease, instead of diagnosing and treating it as soon as possible.
Traditional doctors treat every patient the same way. What causes your thyroid disease is different that what causes your next door neighbors thyroid disease.

Most traditional doctors measure thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels in the blood and if it’s high, they prescribe a thyroid medication until the levels are normal. Since there’s so much more to Hashimoto’s disease than a TSH test, traditional doctors aren’t properly treating it.

What to Look for In a Hashimoto’s Doctor

The key to treating Hashimoto’s disease is finding the right doctor for the job. While this usually involves ditching the ‘standard approach’ to treating this autoimmune disorder, the good news is that’s what most functional medicine practitioners specialize in — they do things differently.

A doctor that’s committed to functional medicine and integrative medicine is one that takes into account all the symptoms of Hashimoto’s, finds the root cause of the thyroid disease and autoimmune condition, and finds the best form of treatment for each individual, unique patient.

To ensure you’re matched with the right Hashimotos doctor, let’s take a look at some of the traits and qualities you should look for in a Hashimoto’s doctor:

Experience & Past Success

The first thing you should look for is experience and past success with thyroid patients with Hashimoto’s disease. You want someone that has treated both thyroid disorders and autoimmune disorders at the same time, that way you can trust that you’re in good hands.

Many patients have gone through the same symptoms you’re going through right now and it’s important that you’re matched with a doctor that has experience with these unique individuals. While everyone’s body is different and reacts differently, the more experience the better. If you are looking to take a Root Cause based approach, you will want to make sure your doctor is also certified in Functional Medicine.

Communication & Understanding

Communication plays a vital role in building a good doctor-patient relationship. If they can’t communicate with you, then you won’t feel comfortable enough communicating with them. This will only lead to a divide between doctor and patient, which results in a lack of understanding.

Speaking of understanding, that’s another thing you need in a Hashimoto’s doctor. They not only need to have a good understanding of the patient’s symptoms, but they need to have a deep understanding of what Hashimoto’s is, what might be causing it, and how to properly treat it.

Dedication & Passion

It doesn’t matter what type of doctor you’re looking for or why you’re searching for a doctor, it’s important that you find one that’s both dedicated and passionate about what they do. You want someone that absolutely loves what they do and takes pride in helping others stay healthy.

At the end of the day, your doctor should want you to be healthy as much as you do. They should be just as invested as you and should go above and beyond to ensure you live a happy, healthy, and quality life. When their passion shines through, it makes you feel comfortable.

Natural Treatments & Lifestyle Changes

While there are many kinds of medications to treat thyroid disease, Hashimotos disease is an immune system disorder. Unfortunately, if your doctor fails to address your immune system triggers, you won’t experience long term success. While some patients with Hashimotos require thyroid medication, it requires much more than that. Without addressing things like diet, food sensitivities, Leaky Gut, Oxidative stress, Hormone imbalances, gut microbiome, etc you may never truly see progress.

That’s where functional medicine practitioners excel. Since they’re concerned with the root cause of the disease, they’re constantly looking for ways to treat those causes naturally through various lifestyle changes, including optimizing nutrition, exercising regularly, or sleeping better.

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Why Hashimoto’s Patients Can Trust Dr. Hagmeyer

Hashimoto’s disease is an autoimmune disorder that compromises thyroid health and thyroid function. Without the right diagnosis and treatment, Hashimoto’s can result in a wide range of health concerns that put the patient at risk of a low-quality life — which no one wants to see.

If you’re looking for a quality, safe, and effective treatment for Hashimoto’s disease, you’ve come to the right place. I’ve been a functional medicine practitioner for over 20 years and have helped a number of Hashimoto’s patients find peace in their life with proper treatment.

Take advantage of this FREE 15-minute consult with me today!

I’m not like traditional doctors in the sense that I take the time and energy to understand each unique client. I know there’s no cookie-cutter solution to any health problem and I’m dedicated to finding the best treatment option for you. To learn more about how I can help you, contact me today!

What’s Wrong With the Conventional & Traditional Approach?