Natural News & Medicine

Low Thyroid: The Hidden Epidemic

There is no greater misunderstood malady in the medical world than low thyroid; aka subclinical hypothyroidism. Its very name 'subclinical', depicts how the symptoms and serum levels are indeed hidden beneath or outside of the 'normal lab values'.

Symptoms may include: fatigue, mental lethargy, dry skin, poor memory, low libido, constipation and a big clue; feeling cold often.

Why is this syndrome so misdiagnosed? How is it possible that in this day in age that something so simple like the thyroid be so greatly misunderstood or ignored?

Why is it that the majority of people (mostly women) live with this undiagnosed syndrome most of their lives? Once you find out that you are experiencing this common issue; what will you or your doctor do about it? These answers lie ahead.

Dr. Lucinda Messer is an alumnus of Bastyr University .She holds a degree in  Naturopathic Medicine; she is board certified in  anti-aging medicine through the American Academy of Anti-aging Medicine and holds a fellowship in Integrative Oncology. She is a physician who is an expert in diagnosing and treating subclinical hypothyroidism. 

Dr. Messer has clinically treated over 3,000 patients for thyroid issues in the last 17 years and has also treated herself for this commonly misdiagnosed medical quandary.

It takes a specialist in anti-aging medicine to really understand the biochemistry behind this hidden health issue. Visiting your local MD will not get you anywhere but frustrated; most all doctors only run a TSH (a screening test) to look at how your thyroid is doing. Realistically, a Free T4, Free T3, Reverse T3 and other hormones should be also tested for.

The next issue; once these more accurate labs are performed; what now? If your doctor does not know any better to order these labs; you can bank on the fact that he/she will not have any idea on how to interpret them and therefore, treat you appropriately.

Evaluation is extremely important; why would you go to a Volvo mechanic when you have a Ford truck? Talking to a thyroid expert instead of a general practice doc is absolutely required here! 

A thyroid expert (not an endocrinologist as you may think) is able to explain all of these levels and exactly what is occurring in your body .The most common issue is not the thyroid's ability to produce a sufficient amount of thyroid hormone (FT4); but its' poor ability to convert this hormone into its more active metabolite, triodothyronine (FT3).This is the crux; wherein lies the real issue for most of us; our inability to activate T3 in our peripheral tissues.  Once properly diagnosed and evaluated; your healthcare expert should be able to discover all the underlying reasons why this conversion was not taking place. Common reasons for a conversion disorder are stress, hormone imbalance, poor nutrient intake and anemia. All of these issues must be addressed in order to help remove the underlying reason for this syndrome. Natural desiccated thyroid like Naturethroid or Armour thyroid is used to reset the thyroid and to give back to the body what it has been so long missing (T3). Since there is no T3 in synthroid or other T4 medications; as well as no ability to convert to T3, it is not recommended for a conversion disorder. Commonly, the T4 levels are not an issue anyhow. However, there is a synthetic form of T3 called Cytomel; it can be used for vegans for hypothyroidism.

 Another big issue is stress; if a person has chronic stress (over 3 weeks) this in turn keeps cortisol levels running high in the body. This event totally prevents the conversion of T4 to T3. Instead, thyroxine (T4) transforms into a storage form (inactive) called Reverse T3. The higher levels are (over 150) the greater your chances of having this conversion disorder secondary to cortisol. Not only does the cortisol (HPA) axis need to be shut off and restarted; the body requires active T3 to reset the feedback and help in proper conversion.

Pacific Health Restoration offers office visits as well as phone visits to help with this epidemic issue. We provide discounted blood tests for the thyroid and all other hormones. After consulting with Dr. Lucinda about your results, she will place you on a program to rejuvenate and restart your thyroid levels to optimal ranges.