Natural Hormones for the Thyroid
If you have ever had trouble with your thyroid, you know how uncomfortable you can be. Your thyroid is responsible for metabolism, energy, sleep, mood, and even whether you feel hot or cold. It functions like the engine in your car, hard to move without your engine. If your thyroid gland becomes overactive, and everything is working correctly, then there will be low levels of TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) circulating through your body. Symptoms of an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) can often resemble symptoms of an anxiety attack at first. You may feel like your heart is racing, you may feel unnaturally hot, you will have difficulty sleeping, and you may feel like you can’t sit still. More common however, is a under-active thyroid (hypothyroidism), it is the exact opposite. You usually will have too much TSH circulating in your body (asking the thyroid gland to release more hormones), you may feel slow, tired and sluggish, experience weight gain, depression, you will often feel cold, and you may feel like you can never get enough sleep, frequent constipation, and menstrual irregularities as a result. Having the right balance of thyroid hormones in your body is essential to overall health and well-being.
What Is The Thyroid?
The thyroid is a gland is located at the base of your neck. It is shaped like a butterfly, and it supposed to respond to levels of TSH in the blood to either speed up glandular activity associated with metabolism or slow down. The thyroid gland produces thyroid hormones, which then sends messages to the rest of your body to increase or decrease metabolism. When this process, called a negative feedback loop, becomes interrupted, your whole system can become majorly affected.
What Causes Abnormal Levels of TSH?
There can be a variety of reasons someone’s thyroid hormones can be off-balance. For most people, it is an decrease in the thyroid hormones T4 and T3 which begins to cause weight gain and fatigue. This usually corresponds with an increase in the TSH. There can be any number of reasons for a sluggish thyroid. If there are abnormal levels of TSH in the system, most doctors will order a follow-up of different thyroid hormone levels called a thyroid panel test to see just where the thyroid is malfunctioning. A complete thyroid panel should become a standard test. Most physicians are missing problems when the TSH comes in normal and they never check the actual hormones of the thyroid. A doctor may also order an ultrasound or radioactive thyroid uptake scan where a patient will be given radioactive iodine to see how the thyroid processes it. This testing can rule out major problems such as cancer, or pinpoint minor issues of the thyroid and recommend a thyroid hormone replacement to regulate metabolism.
How Are Abnormal Levels Of Thyroid Hormones Treated?
Typically, a synthetic hormone replacement like Synthroid is prescribed for the thyroid. This synthetic hormone can be fairly effective for some patients, but in recent years there has been a bigger push toward a more natural form of thyroid hormone replacement. Natural, desiccated thyroid hormone has been rated FAR superior by patients who have undergone treatment with this type of hormone replacement therapy for a under-active thyroid gland.
Please read tomorrows Blog for specifics on natural hormone thyroid therapy or call Beyond-Biology today at 888-908-0804 for more information.