THYROID TREATMENT
The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the front of the neck. The same gland produces and secretes many hormones into the bloodstream and has a great influence on many aspects of the human body, including metabolism.
Thyroid Hormones
Thyroid Hormones is a trade name of a drug containing the inactive ingredient only levothyroxine.
Levothyroxine is a synthetic hormone that is a substitute for the natural hormone thyroxine produced by the thyroid gland.
Main uses of Thyroid Hormones
Treatment of hypothyroidism: a condition in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroxine.
Prevention of recurrence of goiter: enlargement of the thyroid gland.
Thyroid cancer treatment: after thyroidectomy surgery or radiation therapy.
Treatment of other conditions: such as inflammation of the thyroid gland (thyroiditis)
Does the problem with Thyroid Hormones depend on the manufacturer?
The manufacturer needs to pick what to fill the tablet with to give it weight to bring the 50 or 100 micrograms of T4 hormone into the stomach. The formula of the filler varies from company to company. In some people, one formula may not be absorbed well causing problems.
Thyroid Hormones is an inactive T4 thyroid hormone. Sometimes, the active T3 hormone needs to be given by itself or in combination with Thyroid Hormones.
Since most people who have a thyroid problem are women who have a hormonal imbalance, it is very important to treat these hormones and reduce the pressure on the thyroid gland.
Since most problems with the thyroid glands are autoimmune (the immune system mistakenly reacts against healthy cells and tissues and as a result also damages healthy tissue cells), the immune system needs to be evaluated and improved.
From time to time the manufacturers change the formula of the filler with good intentions but a percent of people have trouble absorbing the new formula and that throws them out of balance in many ways
besides the thyroid hormones.
Do you use Thyroid Hormones?
People with hypothyroidism are divided into two categories:
Beginners – those who have just started treating the gland. People taking the drug for less than six months.
Veteran users – those who have been taking thyroid medication for more than six months.
If you take the medicine (Thyroid Hormones for example) for more than 6 months, chances are that your thyroid gland will no longer function on its own. People who are under medical supervision can slowly lower the dose until they stop taking the drug, but this requires a very healthy diet, food supplements and making sure that the other hormones in the body are at optimal levels.
If you are in the beginner category, then there is a good chance that you might not need any thyroid medication at all if you fix the causes of your thyroid disorder. Remove the stresses and the thyroid can work well as it did before all of the stresses against it.
Common cause of thyroid problems are an imbalance between estrogen and progesterone, poor functioning of the adrenal gland due to physical or mental stress, and digestive problems including parasites, worms, fungi, viruses, bacteria, sensitivity to gluten, or other foods, lack of enzymes to break down food or other infections.
Again – if these problems are solved then many times it can be seen that the thyroid gland returns to normal activity.
Veteran users of Thyroid Hormones?
If you are in the veteran user category, most likely you have used the original Thyroid Hormones formula and felt good. Then the manufacturer of Thyroid Hormones changed the ingredients of the filler, which may have caused you to not feel well, maybe because the medicine is not absorbed as well in your body due to the change of ingredients.
So what are your options when the gland is unbalanced and you don't feel well with the new Thyroid Hormones?
Thyroid Hormones is a brand name, it actually contains the T4 hormone, one of the options is to simply take T4 from another company such as the German company or the American company Synthroid, or ask the pharmacy to make a pharmaceutical preparation of T4 with a filler that will make the medicine absorb in the body in a better way.
But there are other possibilities - alternative medicines to Thyroid Hormones
There is a medicine for the gland which contains both T4 and T 3 taken from animals, a medicine known as Natural Desiccated Thyroid. Armour Thyroid has been sold for more than 6 decades with high satisfaction from people who took it, but when the company changed the formula of the filler, people around the world started to feel bad. Since then, other companies have started using thyroid drugs made from animals and they seem to work properly.
It should be noted that medical experts do not know the reason why one thyroid medication works for one person but not for another.
But this is what we see in our offices.
Many people are unable to get back to feeling well, even when the blood tests come back normal. The other hormones need to be checked and brought back into balance, many of the patients who have done this, report that they feel better than they have ever felt.
In order to achieve and reach this state, my patients send 4 saliva samples taken at different times during the day to a laboratory in the United States, which gives an accurate picture of the state of hormones in your body and according to the results we can determine the most suitable treatment for your body, thus returning the hormones to their normal state.
We believe from his experience that only through a comprehensive diagnosis of the state of hormones in the body, it will be possible to return the gland to a normal state.
If you aren’t feeling well, consider the Bio Identical Approach.
We will assess your female hormones. To be sure they help the thyroid glands and not the other way around.
We will evaluate the adrenal hormones that function hand in hand together with the thyroid glands. If your adrenal glands are tired, thyroid function will also be affected, and thyroid medicine will be less effective.
We will assess your immune system
My patients have the option of purchasing the original T4 medicine ca lled Synthroid (not generic), or getting T4 hormone privately made at pharmacies in Israel.
The health of the body depends on the health of the thyroid glands and the health of the thyroid glands depends on the health of the body.
It is important to conduct blood tests regularly to make sure that the dose of Thyroid Hormones is suitable for you.
?What is hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism is the name given for the condition that the thyroid
does not produce enough thyroid hormones. This is the most common thyroid illness.
We believe that you have quite a few questions – we are here to sort things out for you regarding thyroid activity.
When we talk about hypothyroidism we are talking about an endocrine disorder whose source is found in thyroid stimulating hormone. We learn that the source of the disorder in the thyroid gland often originates in the pituitary gland and/or the hypothalamus. We learn that under-activity of the thyroid gland causes a wide range of disorders including: sensitivities, irregular menstruation, constipation, sensitivity to cold, damage to the digestive system, metabolism, etc.
When we treat the thyroid gland, we will want to treat them holistically in order to stabilize the hormones as much as possible and return the situation to normal.
?Hypothyroidism - What are the causes
Over the years we have met many patients who wondered what the reasons could be for troubling thyroid activity. In fact, we see a wide variety of causes for the thyroid gland. Our recommendation is to go to a doctor who specializes in the field, who will gather information about your situation and give you an individual and adapted answer for you. But at the same time, we have put together several reasons for you:
Congenital underactivity
Often hypothyroidism can be congenital. There are people who are born without a thyroid gland and/or cases where they are born with a thyroid gland that is not in its normal place – which directly affects its function. In the 1970s, a medical reform began, during which it was decided that every baby born in Israel would undergo a thyroid test at the age of one day to detect such a condition.
Damage to different areas of the brain
Another reason for hypothyroidism can be as a result of damage to different areas of the brain – for example: the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus. These are not considered a direct injury to the gland but a secondary injury and are part of a larger treatment.
Medicines
There are many medicines given for a variety of medical diseases that damage the thyroid causing it to be either hypothyroid or hyperthyroid.
Inflammation
Inflammation is also part of the reason why we see hypothyroidism. Inflammation is often related to an autoimmune condition where the body makes antibodies attacking and destroying the thyroid gland.
This condition where there is an under-active thyroid and an autoimmune condition at the same time is called Hashimoto thyroiditis. This is considered the most common reason in Israel.
The treatment for an overactive thyroid can cause hypothyroidism.
Since conventional medicine sometimes needs to remove the thyroid through surgery or destroy it from infusing radioactive iodine, their treatment causes the person to not have a thyroid at all and then treatment for hypothyroidism. Sometimes the thyroid is shocked when part of it is removed because of a nodule or cancer and the rest of the thyroid does not work anymore causing a hypothyroid condition that needs treatment.
Beside all these reasons, there are still many more causes of hypothyroidism.
What are the characteristics of the disease?
When we talk about signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism we see a wide variety of characteristics, these depend on the degree of lack of the thyroid gland and most of them also develop slowly and even over several years. People suffering from hypothyroidism will initially have difficulty noticing the symptoms, but as time goes by, they start to feel them more and more. We learn that the disease is more characteristic of women than men.
Among the various symptoms we see:
- Headaches
- Sensitivities to cold
- Change in bowel
- Movement and constipation
- Problems related to the stomach and/or metabolism
- Tiredness
- Weakness
- Swollen face
- High cholesterol
- Weight gain
- General weakness
- Muscle spasms
- Hoarse voice
- Depression
- Menstrual bleeding
- Brittle hair
- Irregularity of the cycle
These are just some of the symptoms. If hypothyroidism is not treated properly, the situation may worsen and lead to the appearance of many symptoms.
?How long does the thyroid issue last
In practice, hypothyroidism is considered a chronic condition that lasts throughout the patient’s life. But at the same time there are individual cases in which the hypoactivity is temporary, a good example is a situation in which the thyroid gland is caused by subacute inflammation, for example after childbirth. This will pass after several weeks and/or months.
If holistic evaluation and treatment is done before a person starts medicine or at least before they have taken medicine for 6 months, there is a good chance that the person could either get off of their thyroid medicine or maybe never even have to start taking thyroid medicine.
?How is hypothyroidism diagnosed
Diagnosing hypothyroidism should be done professionally by a doctor. The diagnosis is usually made by a special blood test to check the levels of hormones in the thyroid gland. Sometimes the thyroid is detected in routine blood tests but not always. Therefore, in cases where the patient complains of one of the symptoms mentioned above, specialized blood tests are done and checking other signs in the body, like the deep tendon reflexes.
The blood tests show the hormones that affect the functioning of the thyroid gland – T3, T4. In situations of hypothyroidism we see that hormone levels are usually low.
The importance of working with a medical doctor who has a holistic approach.
The thyroid gland dominates many broad aspects of our lives. Hypothyroidism directly affects our quality of life. Therefore, in cases of the thyroid gland, we would like to contact a doctor who has a lot of experience in the holistic approach to the thyroid gland. He will order tests and send you to specialists if needed.
How can the thyroid gland be treated today?
Today, the thyroid gland can be treated with a wide variety of drugs and treatments. Treatment with levothyroxine is considered the most common but there are other options too. The treatment is tailored to the patient and his needs.
How long does thyroiditis last?
The duration of thyroid inflammation can vary depending on the type of inflammation.
Here are some common types of thyroiditis and their typical duration:
Acute thyroiditis: This type of inflammation develops quickly and causes severe symptoms such as high fever, neck pain, difficulty breathing and confusion. Acute thyroiditis is usually treated with steroids and anti-inflammatory drugs, and may last several days to weeks.
Subacute thyroiditis: This type of inflammation develops more slowly and causes less severe symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, weight loss and thyroid swelling. Subacute thyroiditis may last several months to a year.
Chronic thyroiditis: This type of inflammation lasts a long time and can cause damage to the thyroid gland. Chronic thyroiditis may last for many years and even be lifelong.
It is important to note: the duration of thyroid inflammation can vary depending on the person and other factors such as age, gender and general health.
The treatment of thyroiditis depends on the type of inflammation and its severity.
Possible treatments include:
Medicines: anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids, thyroid hormone drugs
Surgery: In rare cases, surgery may be needed to remove the thyroid gland.
If you are concerned that you have thyroid inflammation, it is important to see your doctor as soon as possible.
Hypothyroidism symptoms Common symptoms include:
- tiredness
- weight gain
- sensitivity to cold
- dry skin
- hair Loss
- constipation
- depression
- difficulty concentrating
- muscle and joint pain
- irregularity of the
- menstrual cycle
- swelling of the face and neck (goiter)
Thyroid problems
The two most common thyroid problems are:
Hypothyroidism: A condition in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormones.
Hyperthyroidism: A condition in which the thyroid gland produces too much thyroid hormone.
What is hypothyroidism?
Hypothyroidism, also known as hypothyroidism, is a medical condition in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormones. Thyroid hormones are essential for normal metabolism, growth and development. As a result, hypothyroidism can cause a variety of symptoms and health problems.
The most common causes of hypothyroidism:
Hashimoto disease: an autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to attack the thyroid
Radioactive iodine therapy: This therapy is often used to treat an overactive thyroid gland(hyperthyroidism). In some cases, it can damage the thyroid gland and cause hypothyroidism.
Surgery to remove the thyroid gland: This surgery is often performed to treat thyroid cancer or other tumors. Removal of the thyroid gland can cause hypothyroidism.
Thyroiditis: Inflammation of the thyroid gland may temporarily interfere with its ability to produce thyroid hormones.
Certain medications: Certain medications, such as lithium and amiodarone, can affect thyroid hormone production and cause hypothyroidism.
Iodine deficiency: Iodine is an essential mineral for the production of thyroid hormones. A lack of iodine in the diet can cause hypothyroidism, especially in children.
Congenital hypothyroidism: This condition occurs in babies who are born without a thyroid gland or with a thyroid gland that does not function properly.
What should not be eaten ?
Hypothyroidism can be affected by diet. While there is no specific diet that can cure the condition, there are foods that can worsen or relieve symptoms. Here are some guidelines on what to avoid:
Foods rich in iodine: While iodine is essential for thyroid function, an excess of it can worsen hypothyroidism, especially if the cause is Hashimoto thyroiditis. Foods such as seaweed and a large amount of iodized salt should be avoided.
Processed foods: These foods can contain a lot of fat, sugar, and salt, which can worsen symptoms like weight gain and fatigue.
Raw cruciferous vegetables: Vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale and many others from the cruciferous family can interfere with iodine absorption when eaten in large quantities raw.
Cooking the vegetables reduces this effect.
Soy and soy products: Soy can interfere with the absorption of thyroid hormone in the body. People with hypothyroidism should avoid consuming large amounts of soy and soy products.
Foods rich in gluten: In some cases, hypothyroidism is associated with autoimmune diseases such as celiac disease. People with gluten sensitivity should avoid gluten-rich foods.
Sugar: Sugar can worsen fatigue and affect energy levels, so it is recommended to reduce sugar consumption.
Of course, it is important to consult a doctor or dietitian regarding the most suitable diet for your specific situation and make sure that you are getting all the nutrients and vitamins necessary for the proper functioning of the body.
Oats and hypothyroidism
Oats can be part of a healthy diet even for people with hypothyroidism. It is rich in dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals that can contribute to general health and a feeling of satiety.
However, there are a few things to note:
Dietary fiber: consuming high amounts of dietary fiber can affect the absorption of thyroid medications, such as levothyroxine. Therefore, if you are taking medication to treat hypothyroidism, it is recommended to take the medication on an empty stomach and wait at least 30-60 minutes before eating food rich in fiber, such as oats.
Gluten: Oats are naturally gluten-free, but you should check that the purchased product is labeled as gluten-free (due to the possibility of gluten contamination during processing), especially if you have gluten sensitivity or celiac disease, which is sometimes associated with hypothyroidism (Hashimoto).
Nutritional balance: Make sure that oatmeal consumption is part of a balanced diet that includes various sources of protein, healthy fats and vegetables.
Chia seeds hypothyroidism
Chia seeds are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, dietary fiber, protein, and a variety of vitamins and minerals. They can be part of a healthy diet, even for people with hypothyroidism.
However, there are a few things to consider:
High fiber content: As with oats, chia seeds are also rich in dietary fiber. Fiber can affect the absorption of thyroid medication, so it is advisable to take the medication on an empty stomach and wait at least 30-60 minutes before eating food rich in fiber. Omega-3 fatty acids: Omega-3 fatty acids found in chia seeds can help reduce inflammation in the body, which can be beneficial for people with autoimmune conditions like Hashimoto
Nutritional balance: It is important to incorporate chia seeds as part of a balanced diet that includes additional sources of protein, healthy fats and vegetables.
Water consumption: Chia seeds absorb a lot of water and can expand in the stomach, so it is recommended to drink a lot of water when consuming them.
Overall, chia seeds can be a healthy addition to the diet of people with hypothyroidism. It’s always good to consult a doctor or clinical dietitian about adapting a personal diet to your specific health condition.
Hypothyroidism – Essential Symptoms
- Physiological functions
- Emotional mental functions
- Cognitive mental functions
- Pain in joints and muscles (regardless of physical activity)
- Poor motivation to depressive tendency
- Lack of concentration
- Constant cold hands and feet, numbness and loss of sensation.
- Difficulty in falling asleep
- Memory difficulties
- Feelings of anxiety
- Learning difficulties in young people
- Water retention, swelling in the face, legs, hands
- Overly sensitive to the environment
- Extreme irritability and impatience
- Headaches
- Irregular heart rate and breathing
- Loss of desire
- Menstrual irregularities, before and after the period
- Skin dryness, and fungi (eczema)
- Hair loss
- Constipation
It is worth noting and reminding that the onset of symptoms is gradual and varies from patient to patient, as well as that sometimes only part of the symptoms will appear.
Hormonal effects on hypo/hyperthyroidism
Most people who have thyroid problems have the hormonal imbalance of too much estrogen compared to the amount of progesterone. That imbalance can be the trigger for hypo or hyperthyroidism. Also, hormones that can increase estrogen like DHEA can be the deciding factor. Constipation may cause the estrogen to stay too long in the body and elevate the estrogen. A fatty liver that works less well can also increase estrogen levels causing thyroid disease.
Symptoms of hypothyroidism/hyperthyroidism
Often, these symptoms are misdiagnosed as general age-related symptoms. People may experience fatigue, heaviness, hyperactivity, depression, feeling cold, cold hands and feet, rapid heartbeat, obesity or weight loss, hair loss, nail sensitivity, dry or oily skin, and constipation.
When blood tests do not show the thyroid involvement that you thought, you still might be correct. Dr Yaffa feels that the ideal level for TSH is below 2. Even if it is below 2, that might mean there is enough thyroid hormone in the blood but not the tissues, so come into the office and Dr Yaffa will check your reflex with the Thyro Flex machine.
Nutrition and hypo/hyperthyroidism
Hypofunction/hyperfunction of the thyroid gland is also affected by our food, even when we eat mostly fruits and vegetables, it is not rich enough in minerals as it was in the past, because farmers no longer enrich the soil where the crops grow. There is a better chance of gaining proper thyroid nutrition when eating organic vegetables and fruits and including seaweed in our diet.
Functions of the thyroid gland:
The thyroid gland controls the frequency of energy use in the body, the production of proteins, and controls the sensitivity of the body to other hormones found in the body.
The thyroid gland also: increases or decreases the energy in the body, increases or decreases the burning of fats, controls weight loss, increases the heart rate, affects the appetite, helps the intestines to work efficiently, helps the menstrual cycle to be in order, maintains the health of the hair, the health of the nails and skin.
The thyroid also helps with good sleep and is also related to mental health.
Have you received thyroid treatment and still not satisfied?
Suffering from mood swings and insomnia, ready for combined alternative and conventional treatment?
We have over 30 years of experience in menopause and thyroid.
Call our clinic now at 072-2422022
