Thyroid Health

Hormones — such as estrogen, testosterone, thyroid, insulin and cortisol — are extremely important chemical messengers that affect all aspects of your health. So when your hormones are out of balance, your whole life is out of balance!

Thyroid Imbalances

Dealing with chronic fatigue or brain fog?

Are you gaining weight despite being strict diet and exercise routine?

Do you feel achy, weak, or stiff?

Do you take a sweater with you (even in Florida in July) because air conditioned stores and restaurants make you shiver?

Have you been feeling depressed for no particular reason?

Whether you suffer from all these symptoms or just a couple, you could be suffering from a thyroid problem.

Symptoms

Your thyroid gland has a huge impact on your energy level and many other functions. Located in the base of your neck, the thyroid gland makes hormones that controls your metabolism, digestion, muscles, brain development, mood and bone maintenance. The thyroid also regulates how quickly your body burns calories from the foods you eat, and whether you burn or store fat.

Common symptoms of hypothyroidism (low thyroid function):

Feeling tired all the time (especially at the end of the day)
Needing more sleep than usual yet waking up tired
Feeling cold
Constipation
Weight gain (or difficulty losing weight)
Brain fog
Bad memory
Hair loss
Early grey hair
Dry hair
Dry skin
Dry eyes
Depressed mood or anxiety
Irregular menstrual cycles or heavy periods
Miscarriages and problems with fertility
Low libido
High cholesterol
Puffy eyes
Stiff or sore muscles

Thyroid hormone tells your cells to burn fat to generate energy, so you can imagine how it feels when you don’t have enough….

Our approach to thyroid health

We do a comprehensive thyroid panel, including TSH, Free T4, Free T3, reverse T3, TPO antibodies and antiTG antibodies.

We also look for underlying factors that may be interfering with how you are using your thyroid hormones, including stress, inflammation, and digestive problems.

Why are you hypothyroid in the first place?

Most women have no idea why they are hypothyroid. The question is not usually asked. But wouldn’t you like to know?

There are some environmental factors that can damage your thyroid gland, like heavy metals and toxic chemicals in the environment. Deficiencies in iodine can do it too, although that is not so common in our modern life.

The most common cause of hypothyroidism in women (accounting for about 90% of cases!) is an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto’s.

I was sure it had to be my thyroid, but my doctor tested me and said everything was normal....

We hear this all the time.

In medical school, doctors are taught to measure TSH, the screening thyroid lab test. If you don’t feel good, and request a thyroid test, your doctor will typically be happy to measure this for you on a blood test. If you are full blown hypothyroid (low thyroid), your test will be abnormal and your doctor will diagnose you with hypothyroidism.

Here is why this issue is so frustrating to so many women.

There are a lot of reasons why the TSH screening test will be within the “normal” lab range, but you still won’t feel good. One reason is that the lab range is very broad and is somewhat controversial. Your level may be “normal” but not optimal.

Even more often, we find that the TSH really is perfectly fine, and your thyroid gland is making the right amount of thyroid hormone, but you can’t USE the thyroid hormone in your cells. If you can’t use it, then your cells behave as though you are hypothyroid, and you have the symptoms, but your TSH test will look normal!

What could be wrong?

Your thyroid gland make T4 (thyroxine). T4 circulates around in your bloodstream, but it doesn’t actually do much. When it gets to your tissues (especially your liver) you have to convert it into T3. T3 is the hormone that actually activates your cells and tells them to burn fat and generate energy. You could have a problem converting the T4 from your thyroid gland, into the T3 your cells need.

Here are just a few common reasons why you may not be doing a great job converting T4 to T3:

Stress (cortisol, the main stress hormone, reduces T3 conversion)
Nutrient deficiencies (certain vitamins are needed as co-factors for T3 production)
Imbalances in your gut microbes (your gut bacteria either help or hinder the process)
Estrogen dominance (imbalances in your estrogen and progesterone levels)
Inflammation

If this is your problem, your thyroid gland is fine and you don’t necessarily need thyroid replacement – we need to correct the underlying factors so you can USE your thyroid hormone properly!

STRESS, CORTISOL, AND "ADRENAL FATIGUE"

Adrenal fatigue is a dysfunction of the entire stress response system that develops as a result of prolonged stress.

Common symptoms include:

Tired and wired, feeling anxious and overwhelmed

Insomnia: difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep

Chronic fatigue and exhaustion, physical and mental

Whole body aches or fibromyalgia

Frequent colds and viral illnesses

Depression and irritability

Digestive issues (IBS symptoms, leaky gut)

Weight gain and belly fat

For most of us, fatigue is difficult to quantify. We’ve all been “tired” before, but when we rest, eat, catch up on our sleep, and take better care of ourselves, we rebound and feel well again. For people with Adrenal Fatigue there is no rebound. The body has been pushed too far for too long, and it can no longer function this way. Stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol help us survive under acute stress, but in a long run they cause inflammation, weaken our immune system, disrupt our digestion, and age us prematurely,

When cortisol is out of balance, whether it is too high or too low, it affects the rest of the hormones, causing your thyroid and sex hormones decline and not be able to function appropriately, and causing a myriad of symptoms. It can predispose to many diseases like IBS, hypothyroidism, allergies, autoimmunity, frequent colds, PMS, and even early menopause.

The good news is that “Adrenal Fatigue” is reversible and can be restored with proper nutrition, lifestyle, and supplementation.

Take The First Step On Your

Journey Back To Health

Interested in exploring our programs? Considering becoming a patient? We are happy to answer any questions to help you determine if Midlife Wellness Institute is right for you.