Delving into research on this topic can be confusing. There are a lot of conflicting sources and it can be a little overwhelming. Here’s a simplified version of what I’ve learned so far:
The thyroid gland helps regulate your metabolism and body temperature, but it has a role in almost every organ system in your body. The two basic types of thyroid disorders are hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. If you are hyper that means your thyroid gland is working too hard and creating too much thyroid hormone and can result in weight loss, anxiety, insomnia, feeling hot, rapid heart rate, etc. Hypo means your thyroid gland is lazy and doesn’t produce enough thyroid hormone for your body resulting in fatigue, weight gain, feeling cold, brain fog, depression, etc.
I got the lazy one. Back before the modern blood tests were invented my symptoms alone would have been enough to warrant treatment. Nowadays though the standard test for thyroid disorders is called TSH or Thyroid Stimulating Hormone, but patients and knowledgeable doctors have found that this is test is not enough. To really know how your thyroid is functioning you need a full thyroid panel with TSH, Free T3, Free T4, ReverseT3 and Thyroid Antibodies.
The two most important tests for hypothyroidism are Free T3 and Free T4. Free T3 is the active thyroid hormone, while Free T4 is your thyroid storage hormone. A working thyroid produces T4, converts it to T3 which then activates your thyroid to make it do it’s thing. Optimally you would like both in the top half of their “normal” reference ranges. Low but still technically in range is sometimes referred to as sub-clinical hypothyroidism and unfortunately isn’t treated by most conventional doctors or endocrinologists. I had to beg my doctor to order these tests(she even flat out refused to run Reverse T3), and after they came in showing I was on the low end of my “normal” range she gloated saying she ran every test “six ways to Sunday” and there was no way that I had a thyroid problem.
I searched for an integrative or functional medicine doctor in my area and after seeing a dud I found my current thyroid doctor who is currently treating me with NDT. NDT stands for Natural Desiccated Thyroid and is a thyroid hormone replacement medicine that comes from a pigs thyroid and thus has both T3(active) and T4(storage) in it already. A lot of hypothyroid patients have problems converting T4 into T3 on their own when they are on a T4 only medication like Synthroid (levothyroxine). If your T3 stays low after you are being treated this may be the problem. There are several different brands of NDT with different fillers to note if you have any allergies. Some also do well on a combo of synthetic T4 and T3 meds.
After getting your numbers to optimal you may feel great or that might not be the end of your journey. Often you need to simultaneously treat your adrenals or vitamin deficiencies. I am doing both currently, but that’s another post.
Well, that’s the gist. If you have questions, leave a comment below. Research resources are also available in the widget to the right.
Until next time,
Mary
Chronically Exhausted 