Greenville SC Thyroid Doctor Shares The Connection Between Functional Medicine And Low Thyroid
Functional wellness is a great fit for patients seeking support for low thyroid conditions. This is an alternative type of health care you may seek if you’re not getting great results with conventional medical care. It’s an excellent choice for evaluation if you believe you’re struggling with symptoms of low thyroid, but have been told by one or more practitioners that according to blood work, your thyroid is ‘fine.’ It is also ideal as complimentary care for thyroid patients.
Comprehensive Evaluation
Health care providers in conventional medicine typically rely on only one or perhaps a handful of tests to determine whether or not a patient has a thyroid condition. Unfortunately, these tests are limited in their usefulness in most cases. For example, TSH or thyroid stimulating hormone is measured and levels are compared to a set of ranges considered normal. If your levels fall out of range, the assumption is you have a thyroid problem. TSH, in other words, is used as an indicator of thyroid function.
Problems can arise with this approach to evaluation for several reasons. First, the range considered ‘normal’ is quite broad. A patient may have a thyroid-related condition affecting her health and how she feels, but test results say she is fine according to comparison with broad range normal levels. Testing doesn’t account for or address those who are just outside of normal range. Why wait until TSH levels are ‘abnormal’ to begin therapeutic support that could help you avoid developing a thyroid condition?
A practitioner who is trained in functional wellness evaluates each patient comprehensively and individually. There are many different tests that can be used to evaluate thyroid function and to determine exactly what is causing a patient’s symptoms. There is no guesswork involved in assessment, and no assumption that what is normal for others reflects what is normal or healthy for you.
Natural Therapeutic Support
The typical protocol for low thyroid support in the conventional medical model is to supplement thyroid hormones with medications. If the thyroid is not functioning, the hormones failing to be produced as a result must be replaced. Unfortunately, this approach often fails to help the patient feel better, and may even lead to additional or worsening symptoms in the long run.
Unless the practitioner has a very clear understanding of exactly what is going on in the patient’s body, adding hormones is likely to be extremely disruptive. Does the patient really have a lack of thyroid hormones, or are the hormones present but not being utilized properly? TSH blood tests do not yield this type of insight—the information that should be used to guide any type of hormone replacement.
Instead of guessing that medication is the solution to a patient’s problem, a functional wellness practitioner focuses on helping the body heal and restoring function naturally. There are many options for safe, natural therapeutic support, and the patient’s care is customized as well as targeted to facilitate results that are measurable.
