Thyroid Imbalances
Thyroid issues are among the most common causes of hormonal imbalances – affecting an estimated 20 million Americans. If you’re dealing with stubborn weight, constant fatigue, or poor memory & focus, it may very well be a thyroid condition like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.
Does This Sound Like You?
Are you feeling fatigued most days despite a full night’s sleep?
Do you suspect your thyroid is to blame, but your doctor tells you that “your labs are fine”?
Perhaps you are already taking thyroid meds, but still don’t feel like yourself?
All of these symptoms are trying to tell you something… you aren’t getting the proper treatment you need!
Signs & Symptoms Of Thyroid Disorders
The common symptoms of hyperthyroidism (characterized by too much thyroid hormones) include extreme or quick weight loss, nervousness and excess sweating, infrequent periods, eye issues, skin issues, muscle weakness, and a fast heart rate – and most likely is associated with Graves’ disease.
The far more common symptoms of hypothyroidism (characterized by not enough thyroid hormones) include:
- Unexplained weight gain (or having trouble losing weight)
- Sluggishness, low energy, fatigue
- Brain fog, poor focus and memory
- Dry skin and hair
- Sensitivity to cold & cold extremities
- Frequent and stronger menstrual periods
Causes and Conventional Treatment
There are many aspects that can compromise thyroid health including nutritional deficiencies, environmental toxins, pregnancy, and genetic factors. With Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, there’s typically a genetic predisposition as well.
Apart from more serious autoimmune thyroid conditions, women can contract thyroiditis after giving birth – this is also referred to as postpartum thyroiditis.
Nutrition also impacts your thyroid functions. A diet high in inflammatory foods such as sugar, junk food, gluten, poor quality fats, and regular alcohol consumption can all disrupt thyroid health. Deficiencies in important thyroid nutrients (like iodine, selenium, and zinc) can also be to blame.
The conventional treatment for hypothyroidism is hormone replacement medication, usually in the form of synthetic Synthroid or Armour.
While this can help some people in the short term, it doesn’t begin to address the reason why your thyroid function is impaired in the first place. As a result, over time, you might need more and more thyroid medication while still struggling with symptoms.
With this cookie-cutter approach, women have often been prescribed the wrong type of hormone medication – providing them with just one form of the hormone while they may need another. This is why comprehensive testing for thyroid function is so important beyond just TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone).
Thyroid Health
What most conventionally trained doctors don’t realize is that environmental toxins, stealth infections, and nutritional deficiencies hugely impact thyroid health.
Heavy metals, which have made their way into our food chain, can damage delicate gland tissues and cause your thyroid to malfunction.
Gluten is an inflammatory protein molecule that affects the integrity of the gut lining, leading to what’s known as Leaky Gut syndrome and frequently turning into autoimmune disorders like Hashimoto’s.
In addition, we are exposed to many more man-made chemicals (so-called xenobiotics) today – present in medications, beauty products, and cleaning supplies that disrupt proper hormone function.
These toxins accumulate inside your body getting stuck in your tissues and ultimately triggering more serious disorders that affect hormone balance, digestion, joint health, and proper liver function.
That’s why in functional medicine we never treat the symptoms – but rather start with an in-depth look at your medical history, your toxic load, and exposure to problematic environmental triggers informed by advanced lab tests to identify the underlying root cause for your thyroid issues.
As part of our holistic approach towards thyroid health and overall hormonal balance, we then devise a full body-balancing protocol which may require bioidentical thyroid hormones if the thyroid gland can no longer produce sufficient hormones.
We can help you reboot optimal thyroid function but also address other areas that may be causing havoc with your thyroid and adrenals – including diet, gut health, lifestyle and stress factors, sleep habits and more.
If you have been experiencing symptoms that may be connected with thyroid dysfunction and are looking for answers beyond a symptomatic treatment, schedule a discovery consult today so you can see what your best next steps are.
Your Next Steps
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