Coronavirus info and listener question answered

I have been struggling with hypothyroidism for many years.  I have gone from my Dr doing nothing to finally seeing my numbers change and starting me on a low dose of levothyroxine 50 mcg.  I gradually moved up to 175mcg and was still  suffering symptoms.  I changed to a new Dr and she listened to my symptoms more than my numbers and switched me to Armour thyroid. I seen a slight improvement for a while but now I seem to be slumping again.

What do you think the chances are that I have Hashimoto’s Disease?

Also do you think. Gluten free diet would help?  I feel as though I have been on my knees begging for help and no one is listening to me.  I am currently taking 120 Armour thyroid

Thank you for any advice you can give me

Nannette

Hi Nannette, 

I think that slumping your are feeling is due to your adrenals not being in balance. This is generally called HPA  Axis dysfunction and it is a big player in regulation of your immune system, your energy, mood and more. The package insert for your medication probably says not to treat thyroid if there is an underlying adrenal disease (usually addisons disease where your adrenals just don’t put out the hormones). Conventional medicine doesn’t really recognize HPA axis dysfunction as a real thing so it won’t be listed in your medications package insert either but it seems to affect the ability of a lot of people to feel well when they are put on their medication. 

Here are some signs that you might be dealing with some kind of HPA Axis or adrenal dysfunction: 

You tend to be a night person

You can’t fall asleep

You can’t get going in the morning

You feel “keyed” up and have trouble calming down

You have higher or low blood pressure

You get a headache after exercising

You don’t tolerate caffeine

You clench or grind your teeth

You have chronic low back pain that gets worse with fatigue

You get dizzy after standing up too quickly

You don’t hold chiropractic adjustments

You crave salt, sweat easily

You have chronic fatigue

You yawn in the afternoon or get an afternoon headache

You tend towards shin splints if you were to exercise

You need sunglasses outside even if its not sunny

These are coming straight from my Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire. If you have any number of these symptoms you are likely dealing with adrenals. 

As far as the chances you are dealing with Hashimoto’s- well the statistics I have read on this are that about 90% of hypothyroidism in the US is autoimmune related. If your doctor won’t test your antibodies (sometimes it is frowned upon) then you can decide if you want to just assume you have it. The care you receive from your doctor won’t change if you do have it. They will still just give you your thyroid meds and check your numbers once a year if you are stable. Having antibodies or not doesn’t change the way I help my clients either- I always recommend a gluten free, dairy free diet for all thyroid clients and then depending on how their assessment comes out as well as their history we make decisions about how to proceed from there as far as bringing the body back in to balance. 

Some other things to think about are: 

1. How is your digestion? Do you have good eliminations? 

2. How is your blood sugar regulation? This ties in with adrenal health. 

3. Are you deficient in vitamins, minerals or fatty acids?

4. Are you sleeping?

5. How is your stress?

How long have you been on Armour? It can take 6-8 weeks for things to normalize when you are finding a dose of medication. Also, consider that it is the medication and not you that is the problem. There are other formulations out there. Other brands you can try but you might want to start with some diet changes and see if that helps you feel better. Go gluten free and dairy free for sure. I would start with these diet changes and see how you feel. Maybe you are not getting enough T3 or not converting from T4 to T3? 

You also need to consider gut health as much of the conversion from T4 to T3 happens in the gut and some in the liver and then in other tissues in small amounts. This is a whole body approach because all of those systems that may not be optimal are going to affect the thyroid and be affected by the thyroid. I hope that helps. 

That is it for today. Please stay safe and healthy and wash those hands. 

If you are struggling with autoimmune disease and would like some help navigating how to get your health back, go to my website and book an appointment for a quick 15 minute zoom or phone call to see if we are a good fit. You can also email me at stephanie@outofthewoodsnutrition.com  

Have a question for me? Fill out the contact form on my website with PODCAST as the subject or write me at helpforhashimotos.com

I’m not podcasting next week but will be back with lots of great information in the coming weeks as I start up my GI imbalances course. I’m so excited to share what I learn with you about keeping your gut healthy.