Today I reveal “Hidden Cause Number 3 Why You Still Have Thyroid Symptoms”, even though your labs look normal…and even though you’re taking thyroid hormones.
The third hidden cause of Low Thyroid Symptoms is high levels of cytokines.
Cytokines are messengers that your immune system uses as part of the inflammation process.
Women that have inflammatory conditions such as arthritis, inflammatory bowel conditions, asthma…or autoimmune conditions like Lupus or RA…usally have high levels of cytokines.
High cytokine levels depress and squash the circuit in your brain that helps you make thyroid hormones.
Cytokines may not squash this circuit so much that your TSH is low according to “normal reference range.” But remember, the lab ranges that are used to measure TSH and T4, are too WIDE. Too forgiving.
In my office, I use a “functional” range. It’s a narrow range. The power of the functional range is that every day I discover “hidden” thyroid dysfunction using this “functional” narrow range.
“How do you know if I have elevated cytokines?”
Well, these cytokines have names like interleukin 2, interleukin 4, tumor necrosis factor alpha. You can easily test for these. These are blood tests. In fact, these are some of the same tests that I do for my Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus and RA patients to find out about exactly how their immune system has become unbalanced.
I do the same deep analysis for the women who have thyroid hormone problems….the women that come in suffering with thyroid symptoms but “mysteriously” their labs are “normal.”
Thousands of women are wandering through life lost, feeling awful, without hope because their thyroid problem is mis-diagnosed and mis-managed.
They feel horrible…they have fatigue, depression, they can’t lose weight. It’s cruel, but they gain weight very rapidly. Ttheir hair is brittle, their nails are brittle, a lot of them are depressed.
But the doctors are telling them, “Well, I just don’t see a reason why you still feel bad. Maybe I’ll up your prescription–or maybe I just need to give you an anti-depressant.”
Giving antidepressants to these women is WRONG.
There are over 24 different ways that your thyroid hormones can go wrong. (24!) And the third way, is when cytokines get high enough to put their foot down on that normal circuit that helps you make thyroid hormones.
The next question that must be is… “What’s causing the inflammation?” At the Center for Low Thyroid Solutions I answer this question using a comprehensive analysis.
I use sophisticated lab tests to investigate:
- Food sensitivities/ intolerance (I use the most sensitive test available)
- Gastrointestinal infections (totally hidden 80% of the time)
- Parasites
- Viral infections
- Vitamin D deficiency (some women have a genetic problem called a Vitamin D Receptor Polymorphism)
What I’m telling you is that you can’t just accept the fact that your doctor says,
“Your labs are normal; you’re taking thyroid hormones; you still feel bad?; I guess maybe you’re just depressed. Try this antidepressant drug.”
Don’t buy that load of junk! Do not settle for a life where you feel horrible.
You have to find the right doctor that knows how to assess comprehensively… and knows about these different factors I just told you about (There all in the scientific literature.).
Here’s the giant roadblock in your way….,a scary large number of doctors don’t read. Even the so-called “number one” endocrinologist in your city– many of them don’t read.
What I do is not their approach. They do not take a functional approach. They’re looking just at the lab ranges and if the lab numbers are okay, you’re okay.
Ridiculous isn’t it? These doctors have forgotten how to think.
Today I’ve shared with you how cytokine elevations can cause low thyroid symptoms. You can test for these with simple but specialized blood tests.
Do NOT settle. You don’t have to suffer.
© 2010 Dr. David Clark