Signs of Hashimoto’s Disease
Have you been diagnosed with a thyroid condition but feel that some piece of this still missing?
After years of working with thyroid gland patients, I know that a thyroid condition involves more than just your thyroid gland. Many doctors only look at the thyroid when diagnosing the condition, but I know that the thyroid does not work in a vacuum; as with other conditions, our body needs several parts working together well to function optimally.
Your adrenal glands sit right on top of your kidneys, and they are also known as your “stress glands”, as they respond to physical, chemical and emotional stress. They release hormones to your hypothalamus (located in the center of your brain) and pituitary gland (located below the hypothalamus).
Your pituitary releases thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) to act onto your thyroid to work so your thyroid will release T3 (triiodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxine), therefore increasing their levels in the blood. If your adrenals are not working properly—which could be due to triggers such as stress from a bad relationship, a high-pressure job, blood sugar imbalances (diabetes) or even having taken prescription drugs over a prolonged period of time—they aren’t feeding back into your pituitary gland properly. Without the stimulation from the adrenals, the pituitary can’t release TSH like it should, and the cycle continues without balancing.
Your pituitary gland can also suffer from dysfunction as well. For instance, high cortisol, which is released from your adrenal glands, will make your pituitary gland sluggish, as can oral contraceptives.
There’s also an autoimmune component as well, mostly known as Hashimoto’s Disease. Hashimoto’s (as most people call it) is an autoimmune condition attacking your thyroid gland. Did you know that 90% of hypothyroid patients are misdiagnosed and are actually suffering from Hashimoto’s? In this scenario, you thyroid gland is an innocent bystander. It s being attacked by you own body’s immune system. Of course it won’t work properly when this is occurring, and there is not a medicine out there to calm down the autoimmune attack (without shutting your immune system down).
I haven’t even discussed food triggers that can create inflammation and affect all of your body’s organ systems, even destroying the brain. For now, let’s say it’s safe to say that certain foods will make Hashimoto’s Disease, worse!
All of these different scenarios need to be taken into consideration when looking at a person’s thyroid condition. If your doctors are not analyzing how your adrenal glands and pituitary gland are working, then they are missing a huge piece of the puzzle in regards to managing your health care needs. If your doctor hasn’t run the thyroid antibodies, to rule in or rule out Hashimoto’s Disease, they are missing huge piece of the puzzle.
How do we find the missing pieces in your puzzle? Through specialized testing. If you don’t look at every aspect of a patient’s health, I guarantee you that something will be over looked. This is why many thyroid patients consult with me in order to regain their health. If you feel that some pieces of the puzzle may be missing in order to reach your health goals, call my staff to schedule your consultation: (714) 731-7680.
Are you still struggling with hypothyroid symptoms even though are taking your medications?
Did you know that 90% of hypothyroid patients are still struggling with thyroid symptoms, even though they are taking their medication? The reason many hypothyroid (low thyroid) patients are still battling with their fatigue, hair loss, weight gain, and brain fog is because they were misdiagnosed to begin with. These patients are actually suffering with Hashimoto’s Disease. And here is the secret; medication may not help the Hashimoto’s patient feel better…because the medication doesn’t do anything to fix the problem. What is the problem?
Hashimoto’s Disease will cause hypothyroid symptoms!
Hashimoto’s disease is an autoimmune condition that is attacking the thyroid gland. Not many doctors are running patients’ thyroid antibodies to screen for this autoimmune condition. Instead, Hashimoto’s patients are still having brain fog, memory loss, depression, cold hands and feet, not to mention the fatigue that goes along with these life-debilitating symptoms.
When your thyroid gland is under functioning, it can’t produce hormone properly. The bad news is that every single cell of your body relies upon that thyroid hormone. The brain is extremely reliant upon a functioning thyroid gland, when the gland is not work…patients begin to have quicker neurological degeneration (i.e. Dementia, Alzheimer’s and/or Parkinson’s Disease).
In order to control Hashimoto’s Disease, you must first figure out what is driving the autoimmune attack to begin with. Here is a short, but not comprehensive, list of some of the triggers that drive Hashimoto’s:
- Is Leaky Gut Syndrome occurring? This is when the gut lining is inflamed and not absorbing vitamins and minerals very well.
- Does this patient have any hidden infections? Doctors miss infections a lot (parasitic and bacterial infections are some of the most common).
- Does the patient have any food sensitivities? Many times, patients are eating foods that make their body attack the thyroid gland (gluten, dairy and soy are the BIG three)?
- How is the patient’s blood sugar? Is it stabilized throughout the day? Is the patient a diabetic? Does the patient suffer from hypoglycemia?
- Is the liver working well? The liver plays a critical role in thyroid hormone conversion, along with getting inflammation down.
How to manage Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism?
When one has an autoimmune condition, it will never go away! However, you can still live a wonderful life as long as you are managing your condition properly.
Once I help patients figure out the triggers driving the autoimmune condition, a multi-faceted approach is needed to keep the immune system from attacking the thyroid gland. I teach patients how to clean up their eating (I hate the word diet; what are the first three letters of the word?), along with guiding them through the healing process utilizing homeopathies and supplementation.
Helping the body heal is rarely a quick fix, instead healing takes time and effort on a patient’s part. My job is to teach and educate, guiding patients through the process.
These are just a few of the basics of autoimmune management for Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism. If you feel this may be an approach that you need, contact my staff to schedule your consultation: (866) 375-4641.
