Is your thyroid hormone working correctly? No matter what the tests show, you know how well your thyroid hormone is working by the way you feel.
It's amazing with the advancements in medical technology that the best determining factor for whether you're producing enough thyroid hormone is your testimonial. The problem is, not all doctors rely on what you say as part of their diagnosis. In fact, some doctors will discredit your statement due to the results of a single blood test.
Your thyroid produces the hormone thyroxine -- or T4, but this is just the beginning. Your body then converts T4 to a more active hormone called T3 -- or triiodothyronine. The conversion process occurs throughout your body -- in your liver, intestines and kidney.
Confusion occurs with the testing process.
Your doctor will most likely run a very common thyroid test referred to as TSH. Sometimes, this is the only test performed. The fact is, TSH is not even a thyroid hormone it's a pituitary hormone. Your pituitary gland releases TSH to tell your thyroid to produce more T4. The pituitary gland knows when to do this because of a feedback loop - it reads how much T4 is in the blood. When T4 is low, TSH goes up telling your thyroid to release more T4.
Something the TSH test doesn't measure is whether or not your body is converting T4 to T3 efficiently. As a result, your blood test may look normal but you still feel bad because you have low levels of T3, the active thyroid hormone. In this case, there is nothing wrong with your thyroid, but you still feel terrible and drained, even though your blood tests are normal.
Do you see the problem?
Thyroid hormone fuels your whole body and is present in every cell. It is your body's gasoline, running all of your systems. Since your thyroid hormone is present everywhere in your body, when it malfunctions due to hypothyroidism, it causes you to have so many different symptoms: weight gain, fatigue, constipation, depression, low libido, heavy menstruation, aches/pains, dry skin, brittle nails, hair loss, etc.
Another reason for some of the confusion is that blood tests don't measure the amount of thyroid hormone inside of your cell. Blood tests show the amount of hormone in your blood, but this is not where all the action takes place. Unfortunately, there's no test to measure the amount of thyroid hormone inside of your cells.
However, your doctor can run a T3 test and determine if you have a conversion problem by looking at the TSH, T4, and T3 hormone levels.
The problem is, most physicians don't look at the whole picture and order a complete thyroid panel.
If you have thyroid symptoms, I encourage you to demand to have your physician run an entire thyroid panel so you know where your body is breaking down.
Thyroid hormone is the most important hormone in the body; without it your body will not function. If your body has low levels of thyroid hormone, you will have symptoms of hypothyroidism.
The bottom line is, if you have low levels of thyroid hormone, you have to find out why. If you and your doctor don't know where the problem is, or why it exists, you won't be able to find a lasting solution.
Warm regards,
Dr. Kevin Dobrzynski DN
It's amazing with the advancements in medical technology that the best determining factor for whether you're producing enough thyroid hormone is your testimonial. The problem is, not all doctors rely on what you say as part of their diagnosis. In fact, some doctors will discredit your statement due to the results of a single blood test.
Your thyroid produces the hormone thyroxine -- or T4, but this is just the beginning. Your body then converts T4 to a more active hormone called T3 -- or triiodothyronine. The conversion process occurs throughout your body -- in your liver, intestines and kidney.
Confusion occurs with the testing process.
Your doctor will most likely run a very common thyroid test referred to as TSH. Sometimes, this is the only test performed. The fact is, TSH is not even a thyroid hormone it's a pituitary hormone. Your pituitary gland releases TSH to tell your thyroid to produce more T4. The pituitary gland knows when to do this because of a feedback loop - it reads how much T4 is in the blood. When T4 is low, TSH goes up telling your thyroid to release more T4.
Something the TSH test doesn't measure is whether or not your body is converting T4 to T3 efficiently. As a result, your blood test may look normal but you still feel bad because you have low levels of T3, the active thyroid hormone. In this case, there is nothing wrong with your thyroid, but you still feel terrible and drained, even though your blood tests are normal.
Do you see the problem?
Thyroid hormone fuels your whole body and is present in every cell. It is your body's gasoline, running all of your systems. Since your thyroid hormone is present everywhere in your body, when it malfunctions due to hypothyroidism, it causes you to have so many different symptoms: weight gain, fatigue, constipation, depression, low libido, heavy menstruation, aches/pains, dry skin, brittle nails, hair loss, etc.
Another reason for some of the confusion is that blood tests don't measure the amount of thyroid hormone inside of your cell. Blood tests show the amount of hormone in your blood, but this is not where all the action takes place. Unfortunately, there's no test to measure the amount of thyroid hormone inside of your cells.
However, your doctor can run a T3 test and determine if you have a conversion problem by looking at the TSH, T4, and T3 hormone levels.
The problem is, most physicians don't look at the whole picture and order a complete thyroid panel.
If you have thyroid symptoms, I encourage you to demand to have your physician run an entire thyroid panel so you know where your body is breaking down.
Thyroid hormone is the most important hormone in the body; without it your body will not function. If your body has low levels of thyroid hormone, you will have symptoms of hypothyroidism.
The bottom line is, if you have low levels of thyroid hormone, you have to find out why. If you and your doctor don't know where the problem is, or why it exists, you won't be able to find a lasting solution.
Warm regards,
Dr. Kevin Dobrzynski DN
About the Author:
Get Free Coaching Videos on Hypothyroid Symptoms at www.TheHypothyroidDiet.com where you can find out all about the hypothyroidism diet and what it can do for you.
