Thyroid issues with normal laboratory tests is hypothyroidism, autoimmune or tomb thyroid?

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In my West Los Angeles Thyroid Institute I get hundreds of patients that are frustrated with the way they feel. They feel they have been held hostage by poor healthcare and bad diagnosis. When I explain to them about functional medicine they get very excited. One of the most common patient types I get to work with are the hypothyroid cases. Many of these patients have been diagnosed with Hashimoto's Hypothyroidism and given medication for a problem without knowing why they have it in the first place. I find it frustrating that patients have such limited options and so little information provided to them.

By using specific blood tests such as a thyroid panel (which may include any or all depending on individual need) TSH, Free T3, Free T4, Thyroid antibodies-TGB & TPO, reverse T3, Total T4, Free Thyroxine Index and a resin T3 uptake), a complete metabolic panel, a lipid panel, a CBC (with auto differential), and a UA.

Another important test is to see if you have an autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disease is when your immune system attacks a particular area of the body. I recommend testing for specific thyroid antibodies to determine if you suffer from an autoimmune thyroid.

An antibody is a protein marker. The body's immune system produces antibodies in response to unwanted material like molds, virus, bacteria, and parasites. These substances are labeled antigens. Antibodies can be produced when the body has a reaction to a food it is sensitive to or comes in contact with a harmful chemical. Antibodies can mistakenly be produced against a bodies own healthy tissue when the immune system becomes confused. The antibody marks the tissue for removal and signals the immune response. This is the cause of autoimmune reactions. I like to check for gluten antibodies, myelin (fatty sheath around the nerves) antibodies, cerebellar (back part of the brain controlling balance, coordinated movement, and spinal muscles) antibodies. Testing your adrenal glands via an Adrenal Stress Index or ASI is critical as many thyroid sufferers also suffer from adrenal problems. Have you ever been checked for any of the above antibodies or had an ASI? The common answer patients give me is "no I have not". Finally, I insist on testing the patient for inflammation in their system by testing homocysteine levels and C-Reaction protein.

Think of these tests as pieces of a puzzle. If I was to give you 10 pieces to a 100 piece puzzle you would not be able to put it together. This is what happens when people only get a TSH and T4 test from the lab for their thyroid symptoms. You can't piece it all together without all the tests.

I often get the question "Dr. Beckingham why do I still have symptoms when my tests are normal?" the quick answer is lab ranges are so general that they miss the true functional range. I use the example of a test that says if you are in between the numbers 1 and 10 you are "normal". What if you are a 9.5 on that test? The lab range would say you are fine but in reality you would be within a hairs width away from being sick. You would have symptoms at this level even though your test was fine. This is why I use functional ranges that are more targeted to a patient's health. I enter your blood work into our Functional Blood Chemistry Analysis computer database to determine where the patient sits functionally. Remember, no two thyroid patients are alike so not all thyroid patients should ever be treated alike. Based on your personal blood chemistry, your doctor can determine which products will help you the most.

If someone recommends nutritional supplements and the recommendations are not based on the patient's current blood work, they are doing the patient a huge disservice. You need to do an analysis of the patient's specific condition via their blood chemistry in order to make nutritional recommendations.

In healthy people, the thyroid makes just the right amounts of two hormones, T4 and T3, which have important actions throughout the body. These hormones regulate many aspects of our metabolism, eventually affecting how many calories we burn, how warm we feel, and how much we weigh. In short, the thyroid "runs" our metabolism. These hormones also have direct effects on most organs, including the heart which beats faster and harder under the influence of thyroid hormones. Essentially all cells in the body will respond to increases in thyroid hormone with an increase in the rate at which they conduct their business. More technically most cells in the body have thyroid receptor sites that act like a key hole with the thyroid hormone acting as the key. It is possible to have this key hole blocked by other hormones that are in overabundance in the body.

Before we go any further, let's cover the 3 primary types of thyroid conditions: #1: Hypothyroidism,#2: Hyperthyroidism or Grave's, and #3: Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.

Symptoms of Hypothyroidism #1: Fatigue, tired, or sluggish #2: Cold feet and/or hands #3: Require excessive amounts of sleep to function #4: Gain weight easily #5: Have difficult or infrequent bowel movements #6: Are you depressed #7: Lack of motivation #8: Morning headaches that wear off as the day progresses #9: Thinning hair or excessive hair falling out #10: Dryness of the skin and/or scalp #11: Mental sluggishness Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the body lacks sufficient thyroid hormone.Since the main purpose of thyroid hormone is to "run the body's metabolism", it is understandable that people with this condition will have symptoms associated with a slow metabolism. Over five million Americans have this common medical condition.

Symptoms of Hyperthyroidism (aka. Graves Disease) #1: Heart palpitations #2: Inward trembling #3: Increased pulse even at rest #4: Nervous and emotional #5: Insomnia #6: Night sweats #7: Difficulty gaining weight Hyperthyroidism is the medical term to describe the signs and symptoms associated with an over production of thyroid hormone.

Hashimoto's Thyroiditis Hashimoto's Thyroiditis is a condition in which the body's immune system attacks the thyroid gland, Hashimoto's is classified as an auto-immune disorder. It is diagnosed by checking the patient for thyroid antibodies (TPO & TGB) and gluten antibodies. Patients suffering from Hashimoto's Thyroiditis will experience symptoms of Hypothyroidism and Hyperthyroidism, meaning that they will experience some or all of the above symptoms. Generally speaking this condition is not a thyroid problem but an auto-immune expression problem. The thyroid gland is a victim of the body and its overactive immune system.

Some forms of treatment for Hashimoto's have been to remove the thyroid gland all together, radiation to kill the thyroid, or to give the patient steroids. This would be great if the thyroid was the problem. You have to focus on why the immune system has gone off kilter in the first place. If the immune issues are not uncovered the system will just move on to attack and destroy other systems of the body. Examples of this are Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, Diabetes, and Rheumatoid Arthritis. So it is very important to uncover what is driving the auto immune cascade to prevent further damage.

Since the thyroid gland controls the body's metabolism, it can affect all of the systems of the body such as the gut, liver, gall bladder, hormones, cholesterol, brain via neurotransmitters, adrenal glands, and heart. This explains why thyroid patients have such a wide range of symptoms.

I hope this information helps to clear up the thyroid mystery for some people and why they still have thyroid symptoms even when they are on medication and have normal lab tests. I am always eager to talk to people about whatever condition they think they have or have been told they have.

Dr. Ian Beckingham DC specializes in helping patients suffering from chronic conditions such as hypothyroid, Hashimoto's, fibromyalgia, diabetes, vertigo, insomnia, autism, Asperger's syndrome, ADD/ADHD, chronic pain, and other autoimmune conditions. Dr. Ian Beckingham has two chronic condition centers in Glendale and West Los Angeles. He enjoys talking about all health issues and speaks often. To schedule a free consultation, sign up for a workshop, get more information on Dr. Beckingham, his clinics, or to receive free information go to http://WestLAThyroidDoctor.com/ or http://DrBeckingham.com/ His email is DrBeckingham@gmail.com

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Connecting brain thyroid-why Hypothyroid and autoimmune biggest problem is the brain degeneration

By Dr. Jan Beckingham d.c. Dr Ian Beckingham d.c.
Level: basic

Dr. Jan Beckingham specializes in helping patients suffering from chronic diseases such as thyroid disorders, fibromyalgia, dizziness/vertigo, insomnia, autism, Asperger's Syndrome, add/ADHD, chronic pain, and ...

People come to my thyroid Institute Los Angeles West each day with symptoms suggestive of hypothyroid condition. It shocks me that these patients have very little understanding of thyroid brain. People think of low energy, thinning hair and weight gain as the primary drawbacks of hypothyroidism. One very common symptom is brain fog, it's those people who say that "Dr. Beckingham, I can't remember things like where my keys, why I can't concentrate, I forget people's names." I have to train these people that weight and energy issues are valid, but my real concern is a component of neuroendocrine function low thyroid and blood sugar. Another story question of blood sugar. I want to focus on brain and nervous system now.

Clearly demonstrated that thyroid hormones exhibit very powerful Microglia, modulating properties. Microglia are a type of glial cells, which resident macrophages of brain and spinal cord and serve as the first and the main form of active immune defence of the central nervous system (CNS). Microglia make up 20% of the total population of glial cells inside and spinal cord. Each neuron in the brain can be approximately 10 of glial cells to work with it. Mostly Microglia kill bad stuff that shouldn't be in the brain. Some studies go to imply that excessive microglial reactions in the brain, associated with lesions of neurodegenerative diseases. So brain degeneration is associated with an excessive immune response in the brain.

Give patients easy to understand example pimple. A pimple on the body by bacteria and oil present cause significant immune response. Pimple is inflamed, red and tender to the touch. The same principle applies most immune response. Both immune response in the brain causes inflammation in the brain tissue. This is inflammation that causes damage. Clearly the brain slows brain inflammation by blocking nerve conductivity (communication) so the brain fog. Microglia reaction causes inflammation during long periods causes brain damage.

If help thyroid hormones to regulate the brain's immune response and save it to test what would happen if your thyroid gland is not functioning properly, the brain degeneration! Thyroid hormones are shown for promoting Neurogenesis (growth of new cells), dendretic/axonal growth (message end pieces of nerve fibres), myelinnation (isolation nerve) and synaptogenisis (building communication centers of the brain). Thyroid hormones help receiving serotonin, which in turn activates the frontal cortex. So low thyroid can cause depression, lack of motivation, bowell issues and poor coordination. How many thyroid patients we've seen this presentation?

As we dig deeper, it was shown that hormones T3 (active thyroid hormone) is working hand in hand with acetylcholine and low T3 leads poor brain function causing brain degeneration in particular cerebellum (Center of balance, fear/pleasure response, monitoring posture, coordination). So bad cerebellum function equals poor movement with balance problems. On top of that stuff in the lives of patients, they are not accustomed to enjoy more, I see this in my clinic all the time.

Low thyroid function hurts memory by slowing the hippocampus by damage function of glutamate receptor activity, which also causes low dopamine levels. If you have low dopamine you are likely to get Parkinson's disease. When I see my Parkinson's patient they were because they were diagnosed too late. Parkinson's for me a functionally speaking has 8 stages with no. 1 being loss of smell loss # 2 movement proper gut, right up to # 8 shaking body. True, the text of the book diagnosis until phase 8, extremity shaking. My goal is to catch it early and modulate Parkisonian reaction before too much damage. It's a whole other story.

Worst of all, the brain neurotransmitters mentioned earlier; Dopamine serotonin and acetylcholine all play a role in the thyroid gland. This creates a vicious circle. Bad thyroid gland causes bad brain, which in turn causes worse goiter. That is why just giving patients thyroid hormones, without full laboratory processing and brain assessments is borderline negligent practices. Remember, most thyroid problems, primarily, and autoimmune thyroid is just the victim of an attack the body.

To find out if you have an autoimmune disease I insist on antibody testing on all my chronic condition of the patients. An antibody is a protein. In the body, the immune system produces antibodies in response to the unwanted material like mold, viruses, bacteria and parasites. These substances are marked as antigens. Antibodies can be produced when the body has a reaction to eating it is or comes into contact with harmful chemicals. Antibodies can be produced by mistake against bodies own healthy tissues when the immune system becomes confused. Antibody marks fabrics for deletion and signals the immune response. This is the cause of autoimmune reactions. I would check gluten antibodies, antibody myelin (fatty sheath around nerve), cerebellar (back of the brain controls balance, coordinated movement and spinal muscles) antibodies. more examples of this may be antibodies to skin tissue, often referred to as psoriasis, thyroid antibodies to tissue, known as autoimmune disease or antibody to nerve cells conductive coatings, known as multiple sclerosis.

In sum, we have a focus on the whole patient not one system we must look at the entire symptom presentation, we will have to do a full lab testing groups, including antibodies and we must do a full evaluation of the neurotransmitter. Educate our patients and give them control without controlling them.

Dr. Jan Beckingham DC specializes in helping patients with chronic diseases, such as hypothyroid, Hashimoto, fibromyalgia, diabetes, dizziness, insomnia, Parkinson's disease, lupus, MS, autism, Asperger syndrome, add/ADHD, chronic pain and other autoimmune conditions. Dr. Jan Beckingham has two chronic condition in Glendale and West Los Angeles. He enjoys talking about all the health issues and often said. To schedule a free consultation, register for the webinar, find out more about Dr. Beckingham, clinic, or get free information, visit http://WestLAThyroidDoctor.com/or http://DrBeckingham.com/his email is DrBeckingham@gmail.com

Article source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr._Ian_Beckingham_D.C.

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Article submitted by: 12 January 2011.

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