Thyroid Health and Your Well Being
When and what to test to properly evaluate your thyroid function
Every day I see patients complaining of fatigue, hair loss and stubborn weight loss. They have been suffering with these symptoms for months, and know something isn’t quite right. They have cleaned up their diet, and keep pushing themselves to exercise more, yet they aren’t feeling better.
SYMPTOMS of Hypothyroidism:
- Fatigue
- Weight gain or difficult to lose weight
- Hair loss and dry brittle hair
- Constipation
- Dry skin
- Cold intolerance or cold hands/feet
- Sweet and carbohydrate cravings
- Irregular periods
- High cholesterol
- More…
One of the first things I will test is their thyroid function by running a complete thyroid panel. More times than not, their thyroids are under functioning leading them to feel so miserable.
TESTING – Comprehensive Thyroid Panel:
- TSH
- T3
- T4
- Free T3
- Free T4
- Reverse T3
- Thyroid Antibodies: Thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) and Thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb)
The good news is, once we know what is the common root cause of their symptoms, we can treat their under functioning thyroid to resolve their symptoms and improve their well being.
Hypothyroidism is the most common thyroid disease, and when left untreated can leave people feeling miserable and helpless. It commonly goes under diagnosed due to poor testing methods that are still being used by the conventional medical system. It’s important to take a functional look at your thyroid health to evaluate your actual active hormone levels.
Many women come to see me as a last resort, as they have been told their thyroid function is normal, even though they are still experiencing hypothyroid symptoms. Through proper evaluation and comprehensive testing, we can determine if their thyroid is under functioning, or maybe they are experiencing these symptoms due to poor conversion from T4 to T3. T3 is the active hormone, and needed in correct amounts to exert it effects through the body.
Treatment strategies for hypothyroid include replenishing nutritional deficiencies, thyroid healing herbs and in some cases pharmaceuticals including thyroid hormone replacement. Each individual is different and a combination of the above treatment strategies can be used to support and heal the thyroid to get you back to your vibrant and healthy self.
If you or someone else suspects your symptoms could be caused by your thyroid be sure to talk to your health care practitioner to be properly evaluated for hypothyroidism.
Best in Health,
Dr. Kaleigh
The content provided is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Tags: Health, Hormones, Naturopathic Medicine, Testing, Thyroid
Lauren Woodley
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I had no idea that hypothyroidism is the most common thyroid disease, but it goes left untreated. When you’re feeling the symptoms, it sounds like it’s important to do some research into your doctor so you can see if they are using proper methods and effective methods, so that they don’t miss the diagnosis and you get the help that you need. Better yet, it seems like you should just go immediately to a specialist rather than to your general doctor.