Download Save Your Skin: Ask for a thyroid test

Save Your Skin: Ask for a thyroid test
By Deirdre Kohley, RPh
The largest organ of your body, the one that covers you, can tell tales about your thyroid.
Is your skin dry, wrinkled and pale? Are you losing your hair and eyebrows? Are you noticing your memory is toast and
you cannot focus your foggy brain as you slog through life fatigued and grumpy? Are you constipated and depressed with
heart palpitations and an every expanding waistline? Were lab test ordered and you hoped they would show why you feel
so debilitated and unable to enjoy life?
Then you get the call from your health care provider: All of your tests are normal.
Don’t accept that response. Call back and politely request a redo. Let them know that you need the “full monty” of testing
to determine if that beautiful butterfly shaped gland in your neck is functioning. Are the hormones it produces performing
as nature intended?
Thyroid hormones control your metabolic rate and have receptors on all tissues in your body. They help maintain healthy
weight, body temperature, and enable your cells to produce energy. They also influence your mood as they directly act on
your brain, GI tract, gallbladder and liver function. No wonder you feel like an itchy, exhausted, puffy, angry wreck.
The traditional medical model that is commonly used to test for thyroid function is the TSH: Thyroid stimulating
hormone. TSH is produced by the anterior pituitary when the hypothalamus is alerted that the thyroid hormones
circulating in your body are too low. If your blood test for TSH is too high, it means that your brain thinks your thyroid is
not producing enough thyroid hormone and you may be given a “thyroid” pill (usually levothyroxine). If your TSH is
within the reference rage of “normal”, you won’t. If the TSH is too low, it may mean your thyroid is overproducing the
hormone and that is not good either. However, the TSH level is not the total thyroid picture.
If you dig into the growing number of books, blogs, support groups and functional medicine supporters, you will find that
there is so much more to the thyroid story. You must ask for a more complete thyroid panel. Ask for free T3, free T4,
reverse T3, thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPO), thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb), along with Vitamin D level, ferritin,
total iron (TIBC), and B-12 for starters. You may run into a medical professional who has not yet studied beyond the TSH
or is hampered by an insurance plan. If that happens and you want to order some of your own test, a great place to start is
www.ZRTlab.com.
There are many great books to get you comfortable with the basics of thyroid function and help you discover what to do
about fatigue, weight changes, depression , anxiety, rising cholesterol, gut dysbiosis (bowel issues), autoimmunity,
muscle/joint aches, and problems with hair/nails and skin.
According to the author of Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms? when My Lab Tests Are Normal: a
Revolutionary Breakthrough in Understanding Hashimoto's Disease and Hypothyroidism , Dr. Datis
Kharrazian, 90% of hypothyroidism is due to Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, and if it is left unchecked, then result
can be the destruction of your thyroid.
Copyright © 2016, Bluewater Wellness
17212 Van Wagoner Road, Spring Lake, MI 49456
Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune disease that can be genetically inherited and become active due to physical,
chemical or emotional stressors. When faced with unrelenting stress, the adrenal glands release increased
amounts of cortisol that can upset the delicate balance of thyroid function. The symptoms of depleted thyroid
hormone and decreased sensitivity at the tissue receptors leads to decreased digestion, increased leaky gut
syndrome, insulin resistance and inflammation everywhere. This is when, without the proper testing and
diagnosis, you could be prescribed a number of medications to treat symptoms. Finding out why you have
symptoms, called root cause resolution medicine, is ultimately important to save your thyroid and restore your
health.
Dr. Izabella Wentz has the hottest book out, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis: Lifestyle Interventions for Finding and
Treating the Root Cause, and has the most informative website: www.thyroidlifestyle.com. Both are about
using lifestyle interventions to find and treat the root cause of Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and other thyroid related
problems. As with many health care professionals, Dr. Wentz has a personal story to tell and describes her
journey. Her body was damaged by the immune system overload that began with an unhealthy gut, unrelenting
stress and misdiagnosis. She provides proof that you can heal your thyroid and get on a path to regain your
health and vitality. She recommends eliminating certain inflammatory foods and focusing on healing your
intestinal microbiome.
Dr. Sara Gottfried is the author of The Hormone Cure. Dr. Sara describes the thyroid as one of the Charlie’s
angels as she offers a unique hormone balancing program designed to get you back to your luscious self. Get
wise to the fact that how you eat, sleep, exercise, supplement and eliminate stress may determine how
successful you are at feeling fantastic once again.
Look for supplements that can support your thyroid when needed. A test exists to determine if you are iodine
deficient and is recommended in the book Iodine: Why You Need It, Why You Can’t Live Without It, by Dr
David Brownstein. He writes about specific nutrients like selenium and zinc that may help reduce TPO
antibodies (the ones that destroy your thyroid) and help convert T4 to the active thyroid hormone, T3.
Your skin may give you some hints about your thyroid health. Let all the other clues urge you to take action to
do exactly what needs to be done to help you live your best life.
Copyright © 2016, Bluewater Wellness
17212 Van Wagoner Road, Spring Lake, MI 49456