Thyroid Disorders
An estimated 20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disease. Up to 60 percent of these people are unaware of their condition. One in eight women will develop a thyroid disorder during her lifetime. Levothyroxine, a synthetic form of thyroid hormone, is the 4th highest selling drug in the U.S. 13 of the top 50 selling drugs are either directly or indirectly related to hypothyroidism. The number of people suffering from thyroid disorders continues to rise each year.
Hypothyroidism is one of the most common thyroid disorders. One recent analysis suggested up to 10% of women over 60 have clinical or subclinical hypothyroidism. It is characterized by mental slowing, depression, dementia, weight gain, constipation, dry skin, hair loss, cold intolerance, hoarse voice, irregular menstruation, infertility, muscle stiffness and pain, and a wide range of other not-so-fun symptoms.
In fact, every cell in the body has receptors for thyroid hormone. These hormones are responsible for the most basic aspects of body function, impacting all major systems of the body. Thyroid hormone directly acts on the brain, the G.I. tract, the cardiovascular system, bone metabolism, red blood cell metabolism, gall bladder and liver function, steroid hormone production, glucose metabolism, lipid and cholesterol metabolism, protein metabolism and body temperature regulation. For starters.
You can think of the thyroid as the central gear in a sophisticated engine. If that gear breaks, the entire engine goes down with it.
One of the biggest challenges facing those with hypothyroidism is that the standard of care for thyroid disorders in both conventional and alternative medicine is hopelessly inadequate.
The following articles explain why thyroid disorders are so often under- and mis-diagnosed, why so many patients with thyroid symptoms have normal lab results, why conventional thyroid treatments so often don’t work, and how to successfully treat thyroid disorders by addressing the underlying mechanisms involved.
articles
- The Most Important Thing You May Not Know About Hypothyroidism
- Three Reasons Why Your Thyroid Medication Isn’t Working
- Iodine for Hypothyroidism: Like Gasoline on a Fire?
- 5 Thyroid Patterns That Won’t Show Up On Standard Lab Tests
- The Gluten-Thyroid Connection
- Thyroid, Blood Sugar & Metabolic Syndrome
- The Thyroid-Gut Connection
- 5 Ways That Stress Causes Hypothyroid Symptoms
- The Role of Vitamin D Deficiency in Thyroid Disorders
- Why Changing Your Diet is Always the First Step in Treating Hashimoto’s
- Why Thyroid Medication is Often Necessary
- 3 Steps to Choosing the Right Thyroid Hormone
- Basics of immune balancing for Hashimoto’s
Offsite resources
- The Healthy Skeptic Facebook page
- Dr. Kharrazian’s thyroid website
- Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms, But My Lab Tests Are Normal? by Datis Kharrazian, DC
