Thyroid Hormone Deficiency—An Overview

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Parts used with permission from the book From Fatigued to Fantastic!

By Teitelbaum M.D. (Penguin/Avery, Oct 2007)

Dear Readers,

Underactive thyroid function is becoming alarmingly common—and is

horribly under-diagnosed. The good news is that once it is diagnosed,

it can be very easy to treat, and treatment can save your life in

addition to making life worth living!

The thyroid gland, located in the neck area, is the body's gas pedal.

It regulates the body's metabolic speed. If the thyroid gland produces

insufficient amounts of thyroid hormones, the metabolism decreases and

the person gains weight. Other symptoms of hypothyroidism include

intolerance to cold, fatigue, achiness, confusion and constipation.

Unfortunately, most physicians are not up to date with the research

that shows that TSH (the main test used to check your thyroid) is VERY

unreliable—missing MOST of the people who need thyroid. Even the " more

reliable " free T4 test will only be considered abnormal if you are in

the lowest 2% of the population (i.e., have thyroid failure).

The normal range for most labs are based on statistical norms (called

" 2 standard deviations " ). This means that out of every 100 people,

those with the 2 highest and lowest scores are considered abnormal and

everyone else is defined as normal. Unfortunately, our testing system

does not take biological individuality into account. To translate how

poorly this " 2% " system works, consider this. If we applied it to

getting you a pair of shoes, any size between a 4 and 13 would be

" medically normal. " If a man got a size 5 shoe or a woman a size 12,

the doctor would say the shoe size they were each given is " normal "

and there is nothing wrong with it!

I believe that most people with CFS, Fibromyalgia, severe unexplained

fatigue or pain, or perhaps even unexplained severe weight gain

deserve a therapeutic trial of prescription Armour or compounded

thyroid. If your doctor won't prescribe it, find a Holistic Physician

or go to one of the Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers as these

physicians are up to date on the research.

Other useful tools include:

1. If you can't get prescription thyroid, try natural support with

" BMR Complex, " a mix of Thyroid Glandular plus nutritional and herbal

support which can be very helpful.

2. For my favorite (and free) thyroid newsletter, sign up at

Shomon's website. You'll be glad you did!

Ready to become a thyroid expert? Let's go!......

http://tinyurl.com/6lclmu