The Unveiled Truth About Hypothyroidism

People who suffer from hypothyroidism have an underactive thyroid gland. This gland sits just under your voice box in your throat. The thyroid gland controls two of your hormones which are known as Thyroxine (T3) and Triiodothyronine (T4).

Put simply ... when your thyroid gland is not producing enough of these hormones your body will not function normally and you will experience a wide range of symptoms with the most significant being:

Overwhelming fatigue – to the point where it is an effort to even lift your legs and arms to get from (a) to (b) let alone take care of your family and work as well. You will also be feeling just as tired when you get up in the morning as you did when you went to bed the night before ... there seems to be no end to your fatigue.

Lack of libido – which can be very distressing when you're in an intimate relationship. Although you love your partner dearly ... the thought of physical intimacy is like the straw that breaks the camel's back, because when you go to bed – you – just – want – to – sleep. And unfortunately, your partner becomes the last person on your list to give a piece of yourself to.

Depression – this can come right out of the blue and even be out of character for you ... but nevertheless the feelings of despondency and hopelessness are real and can plunge you into a dark pit of despair – making you feel like you're in a bowl of pea and ham soup – with bits floating past you – but you can't grab a hold of anything solid to make you feel safe ... and the sides of the bowl seem too far away. You constantly feel in danger of sinking. This depression can feel completely overwhelming and isolating --- and you may even feel like you just want to run away from the whole world, find a hole, crawl in it and die.

If you are feeling like this right now ... I promise, you can make it through the darkness ... to the other side and feel that life is worth living and you will find joy again.

Brain Fog – you have trouble remembering things – especially short term memory stuff ... and you may even worry that you have Alzheimer's Disease creeping into your already crazy life. It also may feel like a physical heaviness and pressure in your brain that makes you appear dull-witted or stupid and not able to string your thoughts or sentences together in a coherent way. This is a scary symptom.

Weight gain – it seems that whatever steps you take to lose weight – it has the opposite effect. Distressingly, you can't seem to stop the weight from piling on from month to month – and sometimes even week to week. This can be very upsetting ... and aggravate your feelings of depression ... creating what feels like a vicious downward spiral and health conspiracy.

Decreased Sweating – now this might seem like it's a good thing ... but it's not. In fact, it's a very significant sign that your thyroid is not functioning normally. So if this is happening to you – and your bloods are saying that you are within the normal range ... you need to investigate further and find out what the naturopath has to offer. Because, if you're not sweating ... something is definitely wrong and you need to find out how to fix it – not just brush it aside as a non event, or something to be grateful for.

Puffy face – not only does a puffy face make you look and feel like you've had a hard night on the alcohol (when you haven't !!!), but the extra fluid in your head puts added pressure on your brain ... which will not only give you a headache, but it will make you feel generally unwell. You'll most likely want to stay in bed ... and wish that you could just roll over and go back to sleep and escape from your body for a bit longer.

Thinning Hair / Hair Loss – it is devastating when your hair brush seems to be perpetually filled with hair no matter how many times you clean it. And often you'll find that as you run your hands through your hair, it falls out in your hands or breaks off because it has become brittle. It doesn't seem to matter what treatments you use ... it still keeps falling out. You'll notice this more if you have long hair.

Unfortunately, this describes the life of many sufferers ... and also the life of some people who apparently have a normal functioning thyroid. But ... there is more to this health challenge than just the bloods ... and an accomplished naturopath can get below the surface and treat the root cause of these disturbing symptoms.

What if your tests are normal ... but you still have symptoms?

It is not uncommon for your blood tests to indicate that you're within the normal range for acceptable thyroid function ... but nevertheless you can still be suffering from these disturbing underactive thyroid symptoms.

Now, if your bloods do fall within the normal range, yet you're experiencing symptoms ... your doctor will most likely tell you that you don't need any treatment and you'll have to learn to live with your symptoms. Find ways of living a less stressful life, eat a good balanced diet and get plenty of rest.

If you are diagnosed with Hashimoto's Disease or Hypothyroidism you will most likely be medicated and sometimes this is necessary, especially if you have had your thyroid removed, or it has atrophied.

However, a naturopath will investigate further and get to the root of your symptoms rather than treat the disease. This allows you to heal your whole body using a combination of herbs or herbal tonics, nutrition, diet, exercise, and lifestyle considerations. And you'll also find that as a holistic practitioner – your naturopath will treat your mind, body and spirit ... and work in with any clinical medicine you need to take.

Causes of hypothyroidism

Now ... there are a number of diagnoses or labelled causes that are used to describe why the thyroid gland falters or fails ... and they are:

1. Iodine Deficiency - this is the most common cause of in the world.


2. Hashimoto's Thyroiditis – this is an autoimmune disease where your immune system gradually destroys your thyroid by the attacking its own healthy thyroid cells – and in the process creates an iodine deficiency. This is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in the USA.


3. Ord's Thyroiditis – this is also an autoimmune disease, but it differs from Hashimoto's thyroiditis in that it causes atrophy (wasting away - death) of your thyroid gland. This is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in Europe.


4. Post-Partum Thyroiditis – this is caused by pregnancy. In the US, it is estimated that 1 in 6 mothers experience hypothyroidism within 12 months of giving birth. And up to 25% of these women require lifelong treatment. It is believed that post-partum thyroiditis occurs because of the changes required by your immune system during pregnancy ... and they don't rebalance after you deliver your baby.


5. A deficiency in the thyroid stimulating hormones released by the pituitary and hypothalamus glands. Your pituitary and hypothalamus glands are intrinsically linked to your thyroid gland and one affects the other, and this affects the other in a complex cycle of cause and effect ... I go into this cycle in a lot more detail in my comprehensive health report: "The Hypothyroidism Solution".


6. Having no thyroid ... now this can occur for a number of reasons ... probably the most significant one being thyroid cancer – which unfortunately is one of the fastest growing incidences of cancer diagnoses in the last ten years. Sometimes, it is found that an enlarged goitre is causing physical problems when swallowing or turning your head and the medical solution is to remove your thyroid.
   
   And lastly, there is a procedure called radioactive iodine treatment which is used to treat an over active thyroid or Hypothyroidism. One of the most common conditions of Hypothyroidism is Graves Disease. Once the out of control thyroid is subdued or totally killed depending on the degree of radioactive iodine treatment given --- this gives you hypothyroidism and you need to be treated with T4 and sometimes T3 replacement – depending on your physician and your particular overall medical circumstance.

There are other causes of that many practitioners don't know about

Now, apart from the traditionally known causes ... there are many other causes of hypothyroidism. Some of these are:

• stress


• adrenal fatigue


• heavy metal toxicity


• oestrogen dominance


• reverse T3

And ... this is where you need a skilled practitioner in the area of hypothyroidism to work this out for you. Unfortunately, not many practitioners are trained to this level or are aware of these deeper issues, so they cannot give their patients the type of care they deserve.

Thankfully, "The Hypothyroidism Solution" covers all of these and more, and they are presented in a way that you can work together with your primary care practitioner to discover the true root cause of your hypothyroidism.

More Hypothyroidism Symptoms

There may be some more hypothyroidism symptoms that you're suffering. Not everyone suffers all of the symptoms at the same time. And some of these symptoms only occur in advanced hypothyroidism.

• Droopy Eyelids – no matter what you do your eyelids droop over your eyes – it's as if the skin has no elasticity left in it ... sometimes it is so bad that you will need plastic surgery to raise the droopy eyelids so that you can see. This also makes you look like you are dopey and not really with it ... and it can be embarrassing.


• Slow Reflexes – you probably wouldn't have even thought that your slowing reflexes was related to hypothyroidism ... this symptom has to do with the impact the underactive thyroid has on your muscles and your brain.


• Excessive Menstrual Bleeding – this is another symptom that you would not have believed could come from an underactive thyroid. You would presume that this is a gynaecological symptom ... and approach this complex issue from that point of view. The thing with excessive menstrual bleeding is that this can lead to anaemia which is a whole other medical problem. But rectify the thyroid situation --- and this will balance out naturally.


• Premenstrual Tension – now ... it would be inaccurate to say that all premenstrual tension is caused by hypothyroidism, because that just isn't true ... but if you are suffering from PMT as it is often referred to, and this is a new symptom you're experiencing --- then it is worth having your thyroid levels investigated ... and take this as a sign to learn more about the other symptoms of hypothyroidism to see if you're suffering from any of those as well.


• Muscle Aches, Cramps, or Weakness – again ... these symptoms don't immediately scream out that they're a consequence of an underactive thyroid. But it's worth noting that if you don't have enough salt in your diet you can get cramps ... and salt contains iodine.


• Cold intolerance – this is also a symptom of other diseases ... so it's not a primary symptom that will alert you to hypothyroidism. The significance of this symptom to an underactive thyroid is that you will be sensitive to temperature change even in summer. Living in a cold climate, this symptom can make life plain miserable, as you will feel as if you can never get warm.


• Carpel Tunnel Syndrome – this symptom was quite surprising when doing my research, as it would have been one of the last symptoms I would have associated with hypothyroidism. So ... if you're suffering from carpel tunnel syndrome ... and have some other symptoms that are outlined here ... this is a BIG prompt for you to have your thyroid levels tested if you haven't done so already.


• Slow Speech and a hoarse, breaking voice (similar to a teenage boy's voice breaking) – one of the most common characteristics of someone with hypothyroidism is that you're continually clearing your throat ... to get your voice box working properly. If you start to develop a sexy, husky voice, and you have not always had a voice like this – this is another sign to have your thyroid levels tested.


• Low Basal Body Temperature (this is particularly significant for women trying to fall pregnant) – normally the only people who are taking their basal body temperature are women who are trying to get pregnant. The interesting fact about this is that women with a low basal body temperature have much difficulty in falling pregnant ... despite all other signs indicating that there are no physical reasons for failure to fall pregnant. So ... you would be correct in assuming that if you undertook a thyroid balancing regime ... you would increase your chances of becoming pregnant.


• Absence of Periods or Irregular Periods – there are a variety of medical reasons why this symptom would occur ... and not all of them are related to an underactive thyroid. But it is important to note that it is a symptom of hypothyroidism, and worth investigating further, if you have had no previous history of this symptom, and you are experiencing other underactive thyroid symptoms.


• Loss of Appetite – you get to the point where everything becomes too much effort ... even eating ... in fact, because you don't know what you feel like to eat, you end up not eating at all.


• Constipation – this is another symptom that you would most probably not associate with hypothyroidism. And this problem has far reaching consequences to the rest of your health. The constipation will be contributing to your irritability and intolerance of the world in general and particularly those around you. Relieve your constipation ... and you will feel a whole heap better already.


• Dry, Itchy Skin – you are most likely driving yourself nuts with this symptom ... particularly on your legs. You probably have scabs and scars on your calves from scratching too much and making your legs weep. It feels like you are burning from the inside out and can't scratch deep enough to soothe the itch.


• Poor Muscle Tone – you'll probably notice that you slouch and don't sit up straight when you are not consciously remembering to do this. Sometimes it's too hard to sit up straight – and your muscles hurt, too.


• Goitre (swelling of the thyroid gland) – a goitre can cause all sorts of problems ... aside from looking unsightly in more advanced cases, you could find yourself retching when you brush your teeth as your gag reflex is triggered; or it can press on nerves in your throat or voice box causing problems with your voice and speech. They can also become painful.


• Thin Brittle Finger Nails – it doesn't matter what you do, your nails break and look unattractive. To have all your nails the same length is almost impossible.


• Bradycardia (this is a low heart rate – with less than 60 beats per minute)


• Thinning of the outer third of the eyebrow – what an unusual symptom ... but if you are a woman this can be devastating, as your eyebrows define your eyes and for this part of the eyebrow to become thin or, in fact, to disappear altogether changes your whole appearance, and not for the better in most cases.


• Elevated Cholesterol Serum – everyone knows that elevated cholesterol increases the risk of heart attack ... but not many people know that it can be a consequence of hypothyroidism. So when you balance your hypothyroidism, your cholesterol levels will balance as well, reducing your overall health risks.


• Impaired kidney function – with this symptom you will notice swelling in your face and legs, particularly around the knees, your muscles will hurt and you'll find if you wear any rings on your fingers, they'll be tight and difficult to remove.

Thyroid Treatment – "Medical"

To support low thyroid function and improve body balance and harmony, there are 3 three common medical treatments used:

1. T4 Only – at the moment, this is the preferred treatment in mainstream medicine for underactive thyroid. It involves the supplementation of levothyroxine in a synthetic form ... it is sometimes simply referred to as thyroxine.


2. T4 and T3 in Combination - This treatment plan involves taking a combination of synthetic T4 and T3 together. This is not as commonly used as T4 by itself – because the T3 is more fragile and is not so easy to take.


3. Desiccated Thyroid Extract – This is an animal based thyroid extract. And is most commonly sourced from pigs. It is a combination therapy using natural forms of T4 and T3. This treatment is gaining more popularity, as patients are finding that it suits them the best out of the three medical solutions.

Now, it is really important to emphasise that you have blood tests 6-8 weeks after commencing any thyroid medication or making any changes to it.

Although, synthetic treatment returns underactive thyroid sufferers to a better level of health than when they were un-medicated, there are side effects to these treatments that hypothyroid sufferers have to live with. Doctors do the best they can with the treatment protocols available to them.

There is more to having a healthy, fully functioning, vital body than taking a drug. And this is where the natural therapy modalities, and lifestyle therapies can assist conventional medicine. Or ... in some cases support the immune system to the point where you no longer need medication. Now, in saying that ... any thyroid medication changes needs to be monitored by your doctor via blood tests. So DON'T just stop taking it without appropriate supervision.

Thyroid Treatment – "Natural Therapy"

Naturopaths treat differently to the medical protocol above. Although, if you have had your thyroid removed or it has been completely killed with radioactive iodine the synthetic medication is essential in combination with natural therapies. Naturopathy uses a variety of healing modalities including:

1. herbal medicine


2. specific diet plan


3. vitamin, minerals and amino acid supplements


4. specific exercise program


5. planned stress management strategies

The naturopath takes a holistic view of your health and treats your whole body. The positive consequence of this is that other under-performing organs and systems become more healthy, too.

This creates a ripple effect throughout your body ... leaving behind feelings of depression, apathy, fatigue and general ill health – AND leading you to improved feelings of well being, vitality, enthusiasm for life and good health.

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