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ABOUT CONSTITUTIONAL MEDICINE
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Thyroid problems affect a great many people but are often mistaken for another health problem or missed altogether so the first step is knowing if you really do have a problem with your thyroid. People who have over-active thyroid glands have much more obvious disturbances to their health and tend to be picked up by conventional medicine reasonably quickly, this is talked about in the section titled over-active thyroid near the end. What is far more common, and what we must be careful not to miss, is an under-active thyroid which, so long as we know it actually is a problem, can usually be effectively treated with some natural medicines as described in detail further below.
The main issue with thyroid health that goes undiagnosed for many people is the under-active side of the spectrum. An underactive thyroid is called the 'great imitator' in medicine because it causes problems that can easily be attributed to some other issue. The following questionnaire gives a quick reference to the kinds of symptoms that can be caused by an underactive thyroid. If you would say 'yes' to many of the following questions then you should carefully review the numbers on any lab tests you have had on your thyroid and possibly take the second step of doing the basal body temperature test, as described further below.
Blood tests for thyroid disease are helpful when things have become badly out of balance but they often fail to pick up people who are at the early stages of an underactive thyroid. The other issue with blood tests is that the range of normal is considered by most modern clinicians to be too lenient in allowing the range of the TSH to be as high as 4.5 or 5. Most clinicians who work in this area agree that any TSH level over 2.5 or even 2 can be a sign that the thyroid is already becoming under-active. TSH stands for thyroid stimulating hormone and it is actually a hormone produced by the pituitary gland in the brain to stimulate thyroid activity -- the higher it is the more the body is trying to boost up the thyroid. For a study that shows how common health problems are associated with TSH levels that are well within the normal range (less than 4.5) but are higher than 2.5 see here The basal body temperature test uses our temperature whilst at rest and it is regarded as a more sensitive indicator for when the thyroid is becoming underactive. Most people will have a resting temperature of around 36.5 degrees Celsius (97.7 Fahrenheit) if taken by mouth but when someone has an underactive thyroid this level commonly drops to below 36 Celsius (96.8 Fahrenheit) The basal temperature test is not perfect either as some people simply have a lower metabolic rate than others, nevertheless it still performs a valuable role in narrowing down the range of possibilities as few people who have an underactive thyroid test in the normal range of temperature. Details about how to do the test are here
If we have sufficient evidence from a) lots of 'yes' answers to that symptom check-list above along with b) lower than normal results in the basal body temperature test and maybe also c) signs for a low thyroid from a laboratory blood test, then the next step is to practice some 'empirical medicine'. This is where you form an opinion, from what evidence you can obtain, as to what may be the cause of a problem and then proceed to use a treatment that should be effective for that problem. If the patient gets better you know you were right, if they don't then you have to go back to reconsider your hypotheses. There are two main reasons people get an underactive thyroid; nutrient deficiencies and exhaustion. The practice of empirical medicine means we treat by giving the key thyroid nutrients and, at the same time, use a tonic approach to remedy the exhaustion. If this is the right approach then the results will soon speak for themselves.
The following dose range can be recommended to use for 3 months before stopping and re-assessing. the lower end of the range is suggested for a smaller or more sensitive person.
In most cases, it can be recommended to only use the nutritional medicines for approximately 3 months before having a break for at least 3 months or longer. These elements will store up in your body, you should not keep taking them without a break or you will run a risk of imbalance or toxicity.
There is a lot of conflicting and crazy advice out on diet but there is also some practical and dependable knowledge about nutrition that will not change with the next fad or fashion. If you would score yourself less than 7 out of 10 for the health of your diet then you need to put some energy into this vital subject, the key points to know are written up here
Exhaustion can certainly be a symptom of low thyroid function but it can also be the cause. Exhaustion, especially from over-work, has been seen as the reason for people to become increasingly depleted in metabolic energy until eventually their thyroid starts to give out. Exhaustion needs a more holistic approach than just taking medicine but it can still always be recommended to let Nature take the first step and one of the best ways to do that is with such great tonic herbs as Panax Ginseng and Withania somnifera. Both these herbs are rather humble looking shrubs but what goes on in their roots has a remarkably complexity that bears further study by anyone who might be planning to use them. Ginseng is written up in detail here and Withania has its own article here
Many people who have an overactive thyroid gland will eventually also swing into having an underactive thyroid and vice versa. Grave's disease or Hashimoto's thyroiditis are, by far, the two most common causes for an overactive thyroid and both are caused by our own immune-system forming antibodies against our own thyroid cells. If this is occurring it can and should be measured by a simple laboratory test called thyroid-antibodies however, you may need to ask for this test to be done as, somewhat inexplicably, it is often left out of the routine blood tests for people with thyroid illness. What goes up, must come down, the overactive thyroid eventually becomes underactive and note that both Graves and Hashimoto's usually end up causing an underactive thyroid as well. What goes up, I have often worked with patients who have an overactive thyroid and, with the use of such herbs as Reishi and Motherwort along with a holistic approach to immune health, we have seen their health and blood levels return to normal. That said, if things have progressed to an advanced level of imbalance, they may still need to use the mainstay of conventional medicine, which is a drug called Carbimazole, to buy us time to get into the deeper levels of helping the immune system get its balance back. Working with immune health can need a deep approach that considers diet, lifestyle and mental health, it is often not so simple as just taking a few pills and hoping everything will be ok. If you have an overactive thyroid then you must work carefully and holistically to prevent ending up with surgery or irradiation on your thyroid gland. Ideally find a good natural health practitioner who is well experienced in this area as mentioned at the beginning of this article. You should also carefully read the detailed over-view on immune health here
Please understand that I cannot personally advise you without seeing you in my clinic. |
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© 2011 R.J.Whelan Ltd