So, You've Been Told Your Thyroid Is Normal....

Here's some thoughts on thyroid from an expert Dr. K. Holtorf.  Just sharing his posts about thyroid disorder.  I think you will have an "Aha" moment about the way you have been feeling even if you have been told that everything with your thyroid is "NORMAL".  So, have you been told your thyroid is normal?  Yes?  Then you might want to read these comments.

The TSH (or Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) is the test that most doctors use to screen for hypothyroidism. But this test actually measures how well the pituitary is “talking” to the thyroid gland, rather than measuring actual thyroid hormones or, more importantly, the level of thyroid activity in the body . Patients are often frustrated because their TSH test results are “normal,” and their doctor tells them nothing is wrong. This standard testing does not catch 80% of patients who have low thyroid hormone levels.

The overwhelming majority of doctors and endocrinologists use Synthroid, which is the inactive thyroid hormone T4, and hope your body converts it to the active thyroid hormone T3. The problem is that the conversion of T4 (the storage hormone) to T3 (the active hormone) can be reduced in anyone with significant stress, depression, history of dieting, insulin resistance, obesity, diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, autoimmune disease, chronic inflammation, chronic infections, PMS, iron deficiency, and many more conditions. Thus, T3-containing preparations and straight time-released T3 is much more effective for the majority of people.

Most physicians, including endocrinologists, feel that a suppressed TSH is an indication that the dose of thyroid should be reduced (except with thyroid cancer). While a suppressed TSH may be an indication the patient is hyperthyroid, this study found that was the case only 20% of the time. In other words, doctors who make the assumption that a suppressed TSH means over-replacement and decrease the dose based on the suppressed TSH will be wrong 80% of the time because 80% of the time a suppressed TSH was shown not to be an indication that the patient was hyperthyroid or receiving too much thyroid replacement. Unfortunately, most physicians, including endocrinologists, lack of ability or confidence to clinically evaluate a patient’s thyroid status and lack understanding of the limitations of standard thyroid function tests, which has resulted in the majority of hypothyroid patients receiving inadequate doses of thyroid replacement.

I customize T3/T4 thyroid replacement therapies for patients who just don't do well with T4-only replacement therapy.  If you have been told that your numbers are "normal", but you don't feel "normal", then it's worth getting a second, or even a third opinion. 

To your good health,
Dr. sonja