Thyroid Disorders

Do you struggle with hypothyroidism or Hashimoto's?

If you are currently experiencing fatigue, weight gain or the inability to lose weight, brain fog, irregular and painful periods, constipation, or hair loss, you aren't alone. Many women with hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's experience many of these symptoms, despite being on thyroid medication like synthroid and levothyroxine. The main reason being that these medications do not address the many underlying issues that are causing your thyroid problems to begin with. 

What does the thyroid do?

The thyroid gland which is located at the base of the neck is responsible for regulating your metabolism and affects all systems of the body. Your thyroid hormones affect literally every cell in your body, which is why when your thyroid starts under-functioning, you can experience symptoms from head to toe.
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What blood tests should I do?

If you suspect that you have a thyroid issue or if you have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, Hashimoto's, or even hyperthyroidism, you need to get a COMPLETE work up of your thyroid, which include ALL of the following blood tests: ⁠
🔎 TSH⁠
🔎 Free T4⁠
🔎 Free T3⁠
🔎 Anti-Tg⁠
🔎 Anti-TPO⁠
🔎 TSI (if hyperthyroidism)⁠
🔎 Reverse T3⁠
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Unfortunately, most MDs will only run TSH and T4, which gives you only a few pieces of the puzzle meaning that we are missing the full picture. This is especially important if you are taking synthroid, which is the most common treatment for hypothyroidism.
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TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) is the signal from the brain that tells the thyroid gland to produce the thyroid hormones T4 and T3. Simply put, T4 is the inactive form of thyroid hormone that needs to be converted into T3, which is the active thyroid hormone that goes on to promote activity in our cells.⁠
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Levothyroxine, or more commonly known as Synthroid, is a synthetic form of T4 (the inactive thyroid hormone). In order for this drug to be utilized by the body, our cells must be able to convert the synthetic T4 into active T3. ⁠
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In a perfect world, this would happen 100% of the time, but unfortunately it does not. Reality is that many people are "poor converters", meaning that that despite taking Synthroid, their levels of T3 are still very low which means that they are STILL going to be experiencing many hypothyroid symptoms (fatigue, brain fog, hair loss, etc)! ⁠
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The problem here is that if you are only testing TSH and T4, you have no idea whether or not you are converting to T3 properly. You can have completely "normal" TSH and T4 levels, but sub-optimal T3 levels.⁠
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The end result is an increase in medication dose, but this is NOT the answer! 

What is Hashimoto's Thyroiditis?

Hashimoto's Thyroiditis is the most common cause of hypothyroidism. It is an autoimmune disorder that affects the thyroid. Your immune system is now dysregulated and can no longer differentiate between "self" and "foreign". As a result, there is the production of thyroid antibodies (anti-TPO and anti-Tg), which can directly attack the thyroid tissue, causing more inflammation and more symptoms.

Conventional doctors do not treat Hashimoto's any different from hypothyroidism - synthroid/levothyroxine is still the main treatment, which can be a problem for some.  

Many women with Hashimoto's still experience symptoms despite being on medication and despite having "normal" blood work. This is because the underlying issues that are driving autoimmunity, like inflammation, leaky gut, chronic stress, toxin exposure, etc. are not being addressed by thyroid medications.