Is Your Thyroid Secretly Struggling & Trying To Send You An SOS??
Feeling more tired than usual and just can’t seem to shake it? Gaining a few extra pounds despite continued exercise + clean eating? Hair loss, thinning eyebrows, feeling like you’re moving through quick sand, constipation, foggy thinking, dry skin, poor mood, sleep problems, cold body temperature, and even infertility? Many Americans, especially women in their 20’s-40’s, are struggling with undiagnosed thyroid dysfunction, here are a few reasons why…
Current “standard of care” includes measuring only one, sometimes two thyroid lab values—TSH and occasionally T4. Unfortunately, this is like analyzing the thyroid with only one eye open-- there’s no way we can grasp the full functionality of this organ without measuring additional thyroid markers. To get the full picture, a comprehensive thyroid lab work-up should include 1.TSH, 2.Free T4, 3.Free T3, 4.thyroglobulin antibodies & 5.thyroid peroxidase antibodies—all five of these labs. (On occasion, it is necessary to include other thyroid labs: free thyroid index, T3 uptake &/or reverse T3.) By starting with the five key labs, it allows us to open both of our eyes as to the actual nature of how the thyroid is or isn’t working.
Further, once labwork is completed, another tricky factor prevents proper detection of a tired thyroid. The lab reference ranges for “normal thyroid” are based on thousands of patients, many of which had undiagnosed or diagnosed thyroid problems. This is precisely why lab values listed as “normal” aren’t actually normal because the patients sampled were all over the thyroid board! Yikes! We need to be looking at a much more narrow set of reference ranges in order to catch a sluggish thyroid. Make sense? Integrative practitioners typically like to see TSH less than 1.85, Free T4 above 1, Free T3 above 3, and antibody levels as close to zero as possible (any presence of antibodies means your immune system is bullying your thyroid, which interferes with optimal function). Thyroid palpation by your health care provider is always important and even a thyroid ultrasound may also be needed to investigate the actual tissue and to ensure there is not further dysfunction by way of tissue irregularities.
In addition to labwork and imaging, marrying your lab results to how you’re ACTUALLY feeling/your symptoms on a daily basis, creates a more complete investigation and is a very necessary piece to the thyroid + overall endocrine puzzle. Unfortunately, we’ve worked with way too many patients over the years who complain of any combination or all of the above symptoms but because their labs are “normal”, their provider incorrectly reassures that all is well. Newsflash: it’s not. Your thyroid is sending an SOS! The time to act is…now.
Why? Because although this very important organ seems small + simple, sitting on the front of our necks like a cute bow tie, it’s responsible for your energy level + vitality, it contributes to your sense of well-being + mood, it helps your gut to run more smoothly + regularly, and is a key player in your endocrine system. Without a happily functioning thyroid, everything slows down, everything gets a bit harder, and vitality naturally decreases. No fun! And who’s got time for that?
So if any of this information makes you wonder as to the state of your thyroid, kindly request a full lab work-up and another peek by your health care provider to ensure you are not one of the many, many, many walking around beholden to an undiagnosed, sluggish thyroid. If you’re unable to obtain the testing you desire through your provider, we love this thyroid test by Thorne - empower yourself with information! Your thyroid and overall health will thank you, we promise!
