Have you always thought something was “off” with your body? Have you read the symptoms of hypothyroidsm and thought, “That's me. I have that. Finally, an answer as to why I feel so bad!” Then you go see your provider, only to be told that, “You’re fine. Your thyroid is ‘normal’”. Or maybe, you currently take a thyroid medication, but you still don’t feel well.
Well girl, do I have some news for you!
Symptoms of a low functioning thyroid include (may have 1 or multiple):
- Cold body temp
- Poor circulation in hands & feet
- Fatigue, low energy, sluggishness
- Depressed
- Forgetfulness or fuzzy thinking
- Muscle or joint pain
- Dry skin or brittle nails
- Slow growing hair or hair thinning
- Digestive ailments (constipation, IBS, ...)
- Menstrual irregularities
- Infertility
- Low libido
- High cholesterol
- Weight gain or difficulty losing weight
Millions of Americans suffer from a low functioning thyroid. Yet, most go undiagnosed and untreated, which may lead to fatigue, depression, weight gain, insulin resistance, heart disease, stroke, dementia, osteoporosis, and the list goes on.
The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and The American Thyroid Association recognize hypothyroidism (low or poor functioning thyroid) as a thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level of above 4.12mIU/L, but their guidelines recommend considering treatment when TSH is above 10 mIU/L, as these patients are at an increased risk of heart failure and cardiovascular mortality.
These guidelines miss or neglect those who have a suboptimal or low functioning thyroid. This is where you exhibit symptoms of a low functioning thyroid, but your lab results aren't out of the “normal” range.
Traditionally trained providers usually diagnose on the previously mentioned criteria and usually treat similarly. They are trained to prescribe T4 only, examples include levothyroxine (generic), Synthroid, Levoxyl,...
However, many studies have demonstrated that this therapy may not be sufficient in order to help patients truly feel well. Using T4 only preparations may not allow for adequate conversion of T3 (the thyroid hormone that helps women to feel better), and therefore, improvement in symptoms is often NOT adequate.
Usually a combination of T3 and T4 hormones will result in OPTIMAL thyroid levels and improvement in symptoms previously listed. T3/T4 can be compounded or prescribed in a commercially available form such as: NP-Thyroid, Nature-Throid, Armour Thyroid, ... Keep in mind, these medications are not FDA approved for treatment of hypothyroidism and would be considered off-label use. The reason they are not FDA approved is that they were already being used to treat hypothyroidism or the symptoms of low functioning thyroid before the FDA was even in existence; therefore, they did not have to have FDA approval for continued use. Also, approx. 20% of prescribed medications are used off-label (knowningly or not to the patient).
The use of a combined T3/T4 can potentially restore, through proper titration, optimal levels or lab results AND improvement and/or resolution of low functioning thyroid symptoms.
NORMAL DOES NOT MEAN OPTIMAL!
I don’t know about you, but I care less about how “normal” looks on a piece of paper, and more about how I feel and what is going to lower my risk of chronic illnesses and optimize my overall health. I try to keep this in mind when treating my patients. I want to listen to my patients and find out what symptoms they have and how these symptoms affect their daily life, after performing a thorough evaluation (interview, assessment, and blood work), I then discuss each treatment option including no treatment, standard treatment, and integrative health options. I ultimately partner with my patients by allowing them to make decisions in their care, working closely together through treatment options, and closely monitor them until we can reach results that have safely enabled them to live a healthier, more abundant, more productive, more confident, and overall better life. I urge you to find someone who is willing to do the same, because you deserve to live your best life.
As with any therapy, there can be side effects, sensitivities, and adverse effects. For this purpose, a slow initiation of thyroid hormone is usually used, and frequent monitoring may be necessary until stability in the improvement of symptoms is achieved. As mentioned in this video, T3/T4 prescription medications are not “the cure all”, it is critically important to support hormone balance, eliminate symptoms, improve health, and lower risk of chronic diseases through proper diet, exercise, and stress reduction (mental, physical, and environmental stress).
Check out my full video on thyroid optimization here.
Advisory: The concepts here are evidenced based. The information presented is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any person. It is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for actual health advice from an individualized health care professional.
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