By Sarah A LoBisco, ND
· Are you feeling low? Having mood swings? Anxious?
· Are you gaining or losing weight without a major change in diet or exercise?
· Are your hair, nails, and skin dry and brittle?
· Do you feel like your hormones are all wonked out?
· Is your sex drive non-existent?
· Are you “normal” by conventional lab testing but know something is off because of how you feel?
· Are you holding fluid, constipated, and feeling just plain “not-pretty” or “unhandsome”
· Are you overly tired, exhausted, or get crazy energy changes?
· Do you experience sleep disturbances?
All of the above can be signs of an imbalance in hormones. Whenever an imbalance in one hormone occurs, all others become derailed.
You may want to do your mind and body a favor and become knowledgeable about different methods to support yourself (I love dealing with informed clients!):
Send an hour of your time listening to a powerful interview with Dr. Sara Gottfried:
The Epidemic of Undiagnosed Thyroid Problems with Actress Gena Lee Nolin & Thyroid Expert Mary Shoman at http://www.saragottfriedmd.com/digital-prescriptions/
In this interview you’ll learn:
1. How thyroid health is the “canary in the goldmine” for the body. It will signal when something is array in many seemingly unconnected symptoms. These symptoms include those listed above: mood changes, anxiety, fatigue, low sex drive, weight changes, hair and skin changes, digestive issues, and fluid retention.
2. That low thyroid function is not just a disease for the overweight, mid-40-year-old female. It can encompass a range of ages and sexes including thin young females and athletic teenage men. Someone who looks healthy can really be quite thyroid sick!
4. Other factors such as stress, digestive issues, and hormonal imbalances of estrogen, insulin, and progesterone can impact thyroid. (I wrote about some of these factors in “Mood Imbalances Part III: The Thyroid-Depression Connection”).
5. How your immune function can contribute to thyroid symptoms and the connection to virus infections and thyroid fatigue.
6. In keeping with my topic with children how a women’s thyroid health in pregnancy affects the development of her child!
Thyroid symptoms often wax and wane. This is due to the intricate and delicate balance of hormones in the body. A minuet dose in one can create powerful downstream effects in others. Working with an understanding doctor who is knowledgeable is imperative to assisting well-being.
Although the interview above advocates one direction for medication, I’ve found in practice that individualized approaches are vital! Taking care of the thyroid is multidimensional and involves the art of practicing medicine and looking at each individual. Knowledge on the part of the practitioner (and you) in all the factors involved in balance is critical.
For example, many of my clients diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (autoimmune thyroid disorder) have different responses to medications and supplements. This is because the cause of the thyroid imbalance may differ. One may have history of cancer and the issue is with balancing immunity, another may have environmental exposures which depletes the adrenal glands and creates liver stagnation for proper hormonal elimination.
Without balancing out all factors one will never get to the root CAUSE of thyroid imbalances and be chasing symptoms with more extreme swings in disease manifestations.
To read about breastfeeding, visit my home page at dr-lobisco.com.
Links:
Dr. Sara Gottfried. The Epidemic of Undiagnosed Thyroid Problems with Actress Gena Lee Nolin & Thyroid Expert Mary Shoman at http://www.saragottfriedmd.com/digital-prescriptions/
Dr. Sarah: Epigenetics: The Power of Health Choices in Children. http://dr-lobisco.com/epigenetics-the-power-of-health-choices-in-children/
Dr. Sarah: Breastfeeding and Healthy America: Epigenetics in Children II
Breastfeeding and Healthy America: Epigenetics in Children II
Dr. Sarah: For the Sake of Our Children: Childhood Obesity Part II: http://dr-lobisco.com/for-the-sake-of-our-children-childhood-obesity-ii/
Dr. Sarah: Mood Imbalances Part III: The Thyroid-Depression Connection: http://dr-lobisco.com/mood-imbalances-part-iii-the-thyroid-depression-connection/
Environmental Impacts: Children More At Risk. 12/5/12. https://www.saratoga.com/living-well/2012/12/environmental-impacts-children-more-at-risk.html
Protecting our Children’s Heath & Their World. 12/5/12. http://dr-lobisco.com/protecting-our-childrens-heath-their-world/
Putting our Children’s Future First: The Environmental Impacts on Development. 12/14/12. http://dr-lobisco.com/putting-our-childrens-future-first-the-environmental-impacts-on-development/
