“My doctor says my thyroid is fine. Then why do I feel so tired?” This question comes to me in various ways many times a day. As it turns out, the patient is often correct in suspecting the thyroid as the root cause of many of their problems. And the reason the cause is often overlooked is most doctors just don’t listen and look. Our traditional medical training has been to diagnose disease based upon testing and disregard signs and symptoms which are contrary.

For years, it has been believed that the TSH test alone was adequate for diagnosis, yet the defined range of normal has changed. Normal range does not mean optimal range. If your physician says you are normal, yet the TSH is 4 you may be hypothyroid. The levels of the thyroid hormones should be measured as their active, unbound form, called the free T3 and free T4. And both compounds, not just T4, should be used for replacement therapy. Synthroid, and the other synthetic treatment options, provide only T4 . This explains why many persons still suffer from symptoms such as weight gain even though the physician assures them their TSH and T4 levels are adequate. Adding the necessary T3 may be all they need to feel better.

Thyroid health requires adequate nutrients: iodine and selenium, two very important micronutrients which are lacking in many diets. Supplementation may correct many forms of mild hypothyroidism without even using hormones. Providing the body what it needs is the first step toward healing. I also look for thyroid antibodies. If you have been told you have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, you have thyroid antibodies. Your immune system is actually attacking its own thyroid. This autoimmune disorder needs to be treated nutritionally to calm the inflammation and to prevent progression into worse disorders.

At Crabapple Internal Medicine I treat the thyroid by treating the entire patient. This means listening, examining, and testing with the intention of correcting the physiology, not just treating the symptoms. I can use natural thyroid gland supplements, such as Armour, or individually compounded T3 plus T4.

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