Hypothyroidism
Did you know that according to a recent study evaluating the prevalence of thyroid disease, there may be more than 13 million Americans who are unaware that they have a thyroid condition?
At Hotze Health & Wellness Center, our approach to hypothyroidism is alternative and complimentary and that is primarily why we are so successful in treating our patients.
The two main differences in our approach to hypothyroidism are:
1.We do not believe that blood tests are the primary way to diagnose hypothyroidism and look to the patient first, keeping in mind that lab tests may lie, but patients do not.
2.We treat hypothyroidism with bioidentical thyroid hormone that contains both the inactive thyroid hormone, thyroxine (T4), and the active form, tri-iodothyronine (T3).
How many times have you visited your physician with symptoms of hypothyroidism such as fatigue, weight gain, high cholesterol, symptoms of fibromyalgia like joint and muscle pain, low libido, recurrent infections, cold extremities, or hair loss among others? Maybe you have even asked your physician if it might be your thyroid, but after running all of the tests your lab results indicate that your thyroid levels are within the "normal range"?
If a physician relies solely on blood tests to determine if the patient has hypothyroidism regardless of whether or not the patient expresses the symptoms of hypothyroidism, then what is the purpose of the office visit? What do the clinical history of the patient and the findings from the physical examination really matter? Why not just draw the patient's blood for study and save the time, expense, and humiliation of an office visit?
The "normal laboratory range" of thyroid hormone is an arbitrary value, defined statistically as plus or minus two standard deviations from the mean. This so-called "normal range" is as wide as the Grand Canyon and as tall as the Empire State Building. In practice, it means that approximately 90-95 percent of the population will always fall within the normal range. However, it's assured that 90-95 percent of the population does not feel healthy, well, or full of energy.
Leaving aside the problems of conflicting lab test results and variable definitions of what is "normal", there is another reason why lab tests should not be the sole factor in determining whether an individual has hypothyroidism: thyroid hormone levels decline with age, with predictable effects on energy and well-being. It is the relative decline in your thyroid hormone level that matters, not your level compared to some arbitrarily defined standard.
If a doctor relied solely on a lab test to evaluate your thyroid function, he would tell you that your condition is "normal" - but you wouldn't feel normal with 50 percent less thyroid hormone. To ensure that you have plenty of energy and feel healthy, your doctor should strive to maintain your thyroid hormone level in the range that is optimal for you.
This is the approach that we take at Hotze Health & Wellness Center with our patients. We do perform blood tests, primarily to measure free thyroxine (T4) and to determine whether thyroid antibodies are present. We also look at the total cholesterol and LDL levels because these are often elevated in patients with hypothyroidism. However, the primary criterion for diagnosis and for evaluating the effects of treatment is how the patient feels. If the symptoms of hypothyroidism are present, we treat accordingly.
We treat with dessicated thyroid, such as Armour thyroid or NatureThroid. Such desiccated thyroid preparations contain both the inactive and the active forms of thyroid hormone. Common synthetic thyroid preparations such as Synthroid, Levoxyl, Levothroid, and other levothyroxine sodium products contain only a synthetic version of T4, the inactive form of thyroid hormone. This may work for you if your body is perfect at converting the inactive T4 to the active T3 that your body can actually utilize. Unfortunately, what many people have is a conversion problem or Hypothyroidism Type 2. Your body may make enough thyroid hormone, but not be able to assimilate it into the cells where it can actually do its job. This results in less than optimal function for you. There isn't a blood test that will tell you if you have a problem assimilating thyroid into your cells. We must rely on your symptoms to give us this piece of information.
Your discussions with us, combined with our medical examination and tests, determine if desiccated thyroid supplementation might be of benefit to you. If you come to our Center with symptoms of hypothyroidism, even though your thyroid hormone levels might be in the so-called "normal" range, we may offer you a therapeutic trial of bioidentical thyroid hormone replacement unless you have a health condition that precludes this. We will monitor you and incrementally adjust your dose, checking your thyroid lab values to assure that they are within safe ranges, until your symptoms of hypothyroidism are resolved.
Speak with a Wellness Coordinator today to find out if Hotze Health & Wellness Center is a good fit for you! Call 281-698-8698 to learn how you can get your life back starting today!