Dr. Stengler sees a great many individuals every year with thyroid problems-- so many that he and a lot of other doctors believe that thyroid disorders are epidemic in our country. Reasons for the rise: Environmental toxins, side effects from pharmaceutical drugs and stress. The thyroid gland, a butterfly-shaped organ in the front of the neck, produces several hormones that regulate the metabolism of every cell in the body.
Low thyroid activity, known as hypothyroidism, is the most prevalent disorder of the thyroid. Approximately 10 million Americans are diagnosed with it-- but Dr. Stengler approximates that 30 million have the disorder, including those that don't know it. Could you-- or your physician-- not know you have an underactive thyroid?
Symptoms such as fatigue ... cold hands and feet ... gaining weight for no reason ... dry skin and/or hair loss ... or depression all can be the result of a busy, stressful lifestyle-- or they can be signs of low thyroid activity. Some patients have several symptoms, while others have none at all. My typical hypothyroid patient is a woman in her late 40s or early 50s, but low thyroid activity can affect anyone at any age.
The most common cause of hypothyroidism is Hashimoto's thyroiditis, an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks the thyroid gland, resulting in thyroid inflammation and underproduction of thyroid hormones. Low thyroid activity is five to 10 times more common in women than in men. Individuals with this disorder appear to have a genetic predisposition to it, although there are other possible causes, such as imbalances of other hormones (particularly insulin resistance seen with diabetes), food allergies (such as to gluten) and stress. Less common causes are failure of the pituitary gland or a pituitary tumor.
A lot of doctors, including both traditional and holistic, fail to properly diagnose low thyroid activity. Often, they run just one standard blood test-- the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) test-- which provides a general indication of thyroid activity but misses all of the subtleties of thyroid function. What to do: Have a holistic physician run a complete thyroid test panel, which includes an assessment of free T3 and free T4, the main thyroid hormones, and also tests for thyroid antibodies.
If your free T3 and/or free T4 levels are low, your physician will see that you have a low thyroid disorder. But what complicates the matter is that many individuals' free T3 and free T4 levels are on the low side of the "normal" range. Many traditional physicians consider this low side of normal to be appropriate, but we believe that the standard for "normal" is too low. Example: The "normal" range for free T3, which is the most active thyroid hormone, is 230 picograms per deciliter (pg/dL) to 420 pg/dL. If someone's test shows 240 pg/dL, many doctors will declare that this is acceptable. we find, however, that when we have our patients' T3 levels closer to the mid-range-- to 320 pg/dL or higher-- they feel much better.
The same goes for free T4. The "normal" range is 0.8 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL) to 1.8 ng/dL. We find that if a patient's test reveals that his free T4 is 0.9 ng/dL, he will feel much better if we can get the free T4 level to 1.2 ng/dL or higher.
Also remember: Your tests will identify whether you have a normal free T4 level along with either a low or low-normal free T3 level. Here's why you want to know: Your body should convert T4 to T3. But if your TSH and T4 levels are normal, while your T3 level is low or low-normal, you're most likely having trouble converting T4 to T3. That means you need supplemental T3 or need help converting T4 to T3. Since there is so much under-diagnosed low thyroid in the general population, we believe that patients are greatly helped when they know the intricacies of these test results.
The majority of conventional doctors prescribe only synthetic T4 to patients with hypothyroidism. That's because this hormone (sold as Synthroid, Levoxyl and Levothroid) has been the most heavily marketed. In our practice, We've found that synthetic T4 by itself does not work very well. If a person isn't effectively converting T4 to T3, prescribing more T4 does not make a lot of sense.
We prescribe natural, bioidentical (chemically identical to hormones made naturally by the body) thyroid hormone replacement therapy, such as Armour Thyroid, Nature-Thyroid Westhroid, which are made from desiccated pig thyroid. (These are safe for everyone except individuals who are allergic to pork.) These provide T3 and T4. Another good option is compounded Bioidentical T4 and T3 (which has no animal source).
Side effects are uncommon.
For all our patients with low thyroid activity, we suggest several nutrients to help the body make more of its own thyroid hormones. They are safe for everyone.
For further information about Dr. Stengler’s practice and his clinic in Encinitas, California, please visit our website at MarkStengler.com or give us a call at (760) 274-2377.
