by Dr. David Pollack

Many people take thyroid medications, like levothyroxine, Synthroid, and sometimes supposedly natural bioidentical hormones, like Armour Thyroid and Nature-Throid. Despite taking these medications, which are marketed as normalizing thyroid levels and balancing metabolism, many still feel the same symptoms they did before starting the medication—fatigue, weight gain, brain fog, aches and pains, lack of motivation, and more. These people thought their symptoms would resolve with the medications their doctors advised them to take, so why didn’t the medications work?

Most people that are informed they have a thyroid problem are just told their thyroid has slowed down for some reason. Few get more details than that; some maybe get a cursory mention of a high blood level of TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone), meaning a slow thyroid. The most common type of hypothyroid problem is Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease that accounts for about 70 percent of all hypothyroid issues. Chances are this is the real diagnosis you have if you have hypothyroidism. The hallmark of Hashimoto’s is the autoimmune process, and not the slowing of the thyroid. In fact, there is no slowing of the thyroid; if anything, it’s trying to speed up. I bet that sounds a bit different than what those with the condition thought was happening. I’ll explain it.

Your thyroid produces two hormones: thyroxine (T4) and the forgotten hormone, calcitonin. Guess what? Calcitonin manages calcium. Does anyone have bone loss (osteoporosis), dental issues, or aches and pains? T4 is the weak, inactivated thyroid hormone; it must be converted into triiodothyronine (T3), the active form. To do that, our T4 thyroid hormone jumps on a thyroglobulin (TG) bus. The bus, which is made by the liver, brings the T4 back to the liver. In primarily the liver, the T4 is converted to T3 by TP, or thyroid peroxidase enzyme (also made in the liver). The T3 then gets to boosts our metabolism, and life is good. In Hashimoto’s, however, either our TG bus or TP enzyme, or both, is/are destroyed by our body’s confused and hyperactive immune system. That’s the story. As you see, nowhere do I describe a slow thyroid or any other such myth. What would happen if your thyroid was pumping out T4 because your body is screaming that your metabolism is low, but there are no buses coming to transfer it to the liver? There would be excess T4 sitting in the thyroid but not the blood. What do you think happens if there was a pile of T4 in your thyroid? A vat of T4 would be called a nodule or a cyst. These are the realities of what Hashimoto’s does to the body. In order to truly help heal this situation, we must understand what is happening.

For those interested in reversing and healing Hashimoto’s, a systematic approach of healing all the areas involved is necessary. Healing the gut, restoring and detoxifying the liver, unclogging the lymphatic system, balancing all the hormone systems of the body, and ridding the entire body of inflammation are some of the most important steps in healing Hashimoto’s. Appropriate treatments are necessary, such as acupuncture, dietary modification, and passive detox, to speed up and more deeply heal the body. There are really great and effective strategies to reversing Hashimoto’s and attaining high energy, losing weight naturally, and living life to its fullest.

Source: Dr. David Pollack, of Pollack Wellness Institute (66 Commack Rd., Ste. 204, Commack). For more information, call 631-462-0801 or visit PollackWellness.com.