Hypothyroidism is a disease state that happens when the thyroid gland isn’t functioning properly. This gland makes two different thyroid hormones. These hormones are your master hormones and control almost every aspect of your metabolism. Because they have such a widespread affect on your body, the symptoms associated with hypothyroidism are many, and sometimes hard to discern from other common ailments. Further, many times the medical tests for hypothyroid are incomplete.
The most common test for hypothyroidism is a blood test measuring thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). This test tells us a little about how the thyroid gland is working and being regulated but doesn’t tell us much about why or how a person is developing hypothyroid symptoms. If TSH is high, most of the time it is assumed that it is because the patient is not producing enough thyroid hormone, replacement thyroid hormone then is prescribed. However, lack of thyroid hormone may not be why you are having symptoms.
Just giving someone more thyroid hormone is not going to fix any of these problems. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes thyroid hormone replacement is the most effective thing to do. But, I always want to explore options that restore the normal function of the thyroid before bailing it out with synthetic hormones. You may have also been told by your doctor that your TSH is normal, yet you are suffering from symptoms of hypothyroidism like fatigue, weight gain, cold intolerance, slow heart rate, and constipation. In this case your hypothyroid symptoms could be coming from one of the situations mentioned above. It is important to see a practitioner familiar with the ins and outs of hypothyroidism so that you can get your body back on the right track.