hypothyroidism

Tracking your hypothyroid symptoms and signs

Tracking your signs and symptoms can provide vital information and clues to whether your treatment plan, your medication levels, supplements and even lifestyle changes are effective or not.   Doctors use “symptoms” and “signs” in a very specific way: Symptom: something that you, the patient, feels or complains about. Sign: a specific observation or measurement that […]

The damaged thyroid: when you are diagnosed too late

The (scary) statistics about hypothyroidism [1]: An estimated 20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disease. Women are 5 to 8 times more likely than men to have thyroid problems. One in eight will develop a thyroid disorder during her lifetime. Then, let’s add the following statistics [2]:  In iodine-sufficient regions, autoimmune thyroid disease […]

Enough T4 is not a guarantee for good health

The thyroid gland produces mainly T4 thyroid hormones and a little T3 hormones.  But these two types of hormones play very different roles in your body. First, T4 has very little biological action of any significance, according to Paul Robinson, author of the book Recovering with T3.   T4 is more of a storage hormone, or […]

Patient first, labs second

The next time you visit your doctor, take note of his/her approach.   Are they first eyeballing your lab results, and just telling you the result?  Or is your doctor starting with you – your symptoms, what’s been working and what not? If your doctor just look at your labs as the only input to your […]

100+ Symptoms of Hypothyroidism

Just about every cell in your body needs thyroid hormones to function optimally.  When you are hypothyroid, there is not enough thyroid hormones in your body, and you can experience a wide variety of symptoms.   Here are a list of possible symptoms that I could find, so there could be more symptoms.  Which of these symptoms do […]

A gluten-free diet to improve iron levels

Hypothyroidism and anemia (not having enough healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin to carry oxygen in the body) go hand-in-hand.  Low iron levels could be one of many possible causes for anemia.  One possible cause is that hypothyroidism leads to a deficiency in stomach acid, which may lead to poor iron absorption.  Also, women who […]

How to know if you have an underactive thyroid

You have been struggling with some strange symptoms, like unexplained weight gain (you are definitely not pregnant), feeling very tired all the time, and sleeping for all hours of the day.  Someone then suggested that you have your thyroid tested, or you make an appointment to see your doctor.  It makes sense, so you do […]

15 Anti-Inflammatory Foods I Actually Eat

I recently obtained a copy of Johnny Bowden’s book “The 150 Healthiest Foods On Earth”, and it is a monster-size book of over 700 pages.  As a Hashimoto’s patient who is focused on getting my health back, my diet has been my focus for the last couple of months.  And this book’s title grabbed my […]