An introduction To Thyroid Dysfunction

Welcome!  I'd like to thank you for taking the time to visit this blog.  If you are suffering with a thyroid disorder, I believe that you will find the information on this blog to be very helpful.  My goal is to give you, the thyroid sufferer, insight into how the thyroid works, why it malfunctions, and why the traditional medical approach fails so many people.  I am going to explain to you how functional medicine practitioners, such as myself, support patients with thyroid conditions.  And I'm going to tell you THE KEY up front:  You don't just have a problem with your thyroid.  You have a sick, broke down, malfunctioning body and THAT is what is causing your thyroid to malfunction.

So, with that...let's get started...

More than 20 million Americans are affected by thyroid disorders. That's 1 in 13 people, and there are millions more who have undiagnosed thyroid problems.

Why are these numbers so high? And why do so many people who are affected by thyroid disorders still have the same symptoms even while taking medication? Well, after extensive research and study into thyroid disorders, it became very evident to me how poorly diagnosed and supported thyroid conditions are. The truth is that the thyroid is one of the most misunderstood and mismanaged areas in all of medicine.

Why is that?  There is an saying that "when you are a hammer, all you see are nails".  Most doctors look at the thyroid gland as an independent structure and disregard the "cross talk" and dependence that it has with the rest of the body.  *Remember:  You don't just have a problem with your thyroid. You have a sick, broke down, malfunctioning body and THAT is what is causing your thyroid to malfunction. *


You see, there is a complicated web of physiological and neurological pathways that cause your body to work properly. Everything is connected...everything matters. Every cell i your body has thyroid receptors and depends upon thyroid hormones to function properly. Also, your thyroid is not a "stand alone" gland. Your hormones, digestion, blood sugar, adrenal function, nervous system...all these things (and more) have a relationship with your thyroid gland.  Malfunction of any of these areas can affect your thyroid.  And vice versa...malfunction of the thyroid will affect all these areas as well.  This is what we are going to discuss throughout this blog.

For today, lets have a discussion about how the thyroid works. (keep in mind that this is a vastly oversimplified explanation for the purposes of this blog).

It all starts in the brain.  

The hypothalamus releases Thyrotropin Releasing Hormone (TRH) which stimulates the pituitary gland to release Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH).  TSH then activates an enzyme in the thyroid gland called Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO), to attach iodine molecules to thyroglobulins. 

This activity leads to the production of the 2 primary thyroid hormones: Thyroxine (T4) and Triidothyronine (T3). 93% of what is produced is T4 and only 7% is T3.  Why is this important? Because T4 is inactive. It cannot be used by the body unless it is converted into T3. 

Since T4 needs to be converted to T3, these hormones are released into the blood stream attached to a protein called Thyroid Binding Globulin (TBG). TBG carries the thyroid hormones all over the body. Most of it goes to the liver, and the rest to the gut and other tissues.

Remember how we said that T4 has to be converted to T3? Much of this conversion (about 60%) takes place in the liver. Another 20% of the conversion occurs in the gut, and the other 20% in other peripheral tissues throughout the body. This is important because you can have a conversion problem due to malfunctioning of these tissues, and it can cause you to have thyroid symptoms.

Once this conversion takes place, we call this "Active T3". The active T3 goes back into the blood stream as free T3 (FT3_, because now it is not bound to the TBG transporter. Then FT3 travels in the blood stream until it attaches to a cell’s thyroid receptor (remember, every cell has thyroid receptors)...which brings it inside the cell, where it creates interactions with DNA in the cell nucleus influencing cell metabolism. This hormone interaction with the cell is the key to healthy thyroid function.

That may be a lot to digest right now, but as I add to this blog, you may want to use the above information as a reference.

So, what happens when this system breaks down? Well, depending on what type of malfunction you have, you will become symptomatic.  You will have symptoms of hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, or both.

Hypothyroidism is a condition where the body lacks sufficient thyroid hormones. Since the main purpose of the thyroid is to "run the body's metabolism", it is logical that people with this condition will have symptoms associated with a slow metabolism

Symptoms of hypothyroidism:
- Feeling fatigued, tired, sluggish
- Cold feet and/or hands
- Requiring excessive amounts of sleep to function
- Gaining weight easily or having difficulty losing weight
- Difficult or infrequent bowel movements
- Depression
- Lack of motivation
- Morning headaches that wear off as the day progresses
- Thinning hair or excessive hair falling out
- Dryness of the skin and/or scalp
- Mental sluggishness

Hyperthyroidism is the term to describe an over production of thyroid hormones. This condition is less common, but it can precede a slowing down of the thyroid.

Symptoms of hyperthyroidism:
- Heart palpitations
- Inward trembling
- Increased pulse, even at rest
- Being nervous/emotional
- Insomnia
- Night sweats
- Difficulty gaining weight

It is very common for people to have symptoms of both hypo- and hyperthyroidism. If that is the case, you may have an auto-immune attack on your thyroid, such as Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. As a matter of fact, by some estimates, autoimmunity accounts for up to 90% of hypothyroidism cases. This is a major problem because autoimmunity is NOT a thyroid problem. It is an immune system problem, and simply giving a patient thyroid hormones is doing to do very little to help the individual. This is where an overall functional approach is important.

At this point, we briefly discussed how the thyroid works and what happens when it malfunctions.  Check back in several days for my next post:

"Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms Even Though I'm On Medication And My Labs Are Normal?"

Dr. Daniel Boggs

www.wvthyroidrelief.com

drb@drdanboggs.com

To schedule a consultation, or to attend one of our free Thyroid Workshops, call (304) 255-4325.