Facts About Thyroid Medications

Facts About Thyroid Medications in Greenville SC

Are you struggling with low thyroid symptoms that don’t seem to improve no matter what type of medical care you’ve tried? It may be hair loss, weight gain, extreme fatigue, depression, or a combination of these or other symptoms. Unfortunately, these are issues low thyroid patients may face for months or even years after seeking medical care in hopes of resolving them.

What’s going on? Why does it seem like the thyroid medication you take as prescribed isn’t working?

To start, consider the goal of replacing thyroid hormone in the first place. It seems to make sense that if your thyroid is damaged or functioning improperly, you’ll benefit from medication that helps make sufficient levels of thyroid hormone available to your body’s cells. You should feel better when those levels are reached and proper function can occur. Yet, this isn’t the case. You may not feel better at all. You may feel slightly better, or you may even feel worse, despite the fact that according to lab results, your therapy has been “successful.”

The vast majority of people who have low thyroid also have the autoimmune disease known as Hashimoto’s. Hashimoto’s care and support requires a different approach, because the root cause of the symptoms is much more than “low thyroid.” An autoimmune response can wreak havoc on multiple organs and systems throughout the body, including the thyroid. One reason is inflammation. Inflammation occurs when the body’s immune system reacts to a trigger. Inflammation can cause a wide range of very discomforting symptoms, including headaches, muscle pain, joint pain, hives, extreme fatigue, an inability to lose weight and much more.

Inflammation disrupts thyroid function and metabolism in many ways. One potential effect is a decrease in the sensitivity and the number of thyroid hormone receptors within the body’s cells. If the cells cannot absorb thyroid hormone, it won’t be utilized–regardless of how much thyroid medication you take.

The problem with most therapy that patients receive for low thyroid relates to its goals. It fails to address the root cause of the patient’s symptoms and ignores the autoimmune disease Hashimoto’s, if it is present. The goal is not to reduce inflammation, or to identify what is triggering the autoimmune response in the first place. A dysfunctional thyroid typically has multiple causes, and adjusting TSH levels through medication will not address all of them.

TSH levels are not an indication of how a patient feels, or of what is going on in the many organs and systems throughout the body that may be involved in low thyroid or Hashimoto’s disease. This is why you may take medication and fail to feel better. What’s needed is a comprehensive approach and therapy that supports your overall health. This is the type of care you’ll receive by working with a functional wellness practitioner.

Functional wellness care focuses on causes of health problems and long term solutions. The types of therapies that are utilized involve very minimal risk to patients; they are natural as well as effective. Addressing lifestyle factors that are impacting your low thyroid or autoimmune condition can be a very effective way to begin to heal, recover and feel better. Interventions and modifications that involve diet, nutrition, stress reduction, sleep and much more reflect a balanced approach to improving your health that is likely to yield real, measurable results.

Schedule your thyroid consultation today and learn how we may be able to help your thyroid symptoms.