Health Care

by: James Lowrance

Patients who are diagnosed with hypothyroidism and are being treated for it with hormone replace therapy, can sometimes have other imbalances that hinder the effectiveness of the treatment. Things such as adrenal hormones being low, ferritin/iron, Vitamin B-12 etc…, can cause thyroid hormone treatment, to be less effective in patients with imbalances of these and is why thorough blood and saliva testing of all levels may need to be done, to find any problems that prevent the treatment from working as well.

That is a phenomena, that happens commonly to thyroid patients who start hormone therapy but some people in the medical field act as if they don't know this happens and some people attribute it just to your body adjusting to the meds.

Mild to moderate symptoms from adjusting, should be expected but severe reactions, especially ones that last for weeks and longer, in my opinion, can mean you have other hormone imbalances or chemical imbalances (like low ferritin, cortisol etc...) needing addressed and if they are not, the thyroid hormone will just serve to intensify the imbalance. For example; even the thyroid med makers have notations on their medication-inserts, websites etc..., that states "untreated adrenal cortical (cortisol) insufficiency, can worsen after beginning thyroid hormone therapy". This just means that it too needs addressed in order not to create an even more severe imbalance. I don't believe when patients have a bad reaction to their thyroid med, that they necessarily have CFS or Fibro but it can mean they have a degree of hypoadrenalism/adrenal fatigue (sub-clinical) or some other hormone or chemical imbalance that also needs corrected. For some patients, it can even be something like a B-12 deficiency (pernicious anemia).

My Endo only concluded CFS in me for example, through a combination of tests, symptoms/manifestations and a process of elimination. I not only had consistently low cortical but also an unreliable TSH, in correlation with my thyroid hormone levels, constantly swollen lymph nodes, an EBV (virus) count that was 10 times the upper normal cut off, etc.........

I feel for most thyroid patients, they are experiencing a more easily correctible problem, like adrenal fatigue or low ferritin, low B-12 etc..., rather than it always being co-occurring CFS but I also believe if the problem is severe and ongoing, they need to consider all possibilities.

Sometimes we need to get blood chemicals tested, B-12 levels, adrenal hormones, sex hormones etc..., tested, to zero in on what a problem might be, if thyroid treatment is not relieving severe symptoms. Mild to moderate symptoms commonly happen to thyroid patients but ones as severe as those of CFS/Fibro, definitely need investigated, otherwise it affects the patient's quality of life.

When you go through a Dr. Office or Hospital Lab, to get tested for “adrenal fatigue", they seldom ever check for anything other than true "adrenal insufficiency" because most simply do not believe in the existence of "adrenal fatigue", which is a sub-clinical form and much more common. If they want to rule out adrenal insufficiency, they usually do so with what's called an "ACTH Stimulation Test" and if this test reveals that your adrenal glands still respond to stimulation by the ACTH hormone, they believe this rules out any low adrenal problem. The fact is however, that very few people with adrenal fatigue, will fail the ACTH Stimulation Test but they still have adrenals that are not functioning normal and need to take supplements to correct it.

Tests that can reveal adrenal fatigue, are both blood cortisol and saliva cortisol tests, that are taken at several times during a 24 hour period. Another adrenal hormone; "DHEA", can also be tested because it and especially cortisol, are the major adrenal hormones.

If you hear saliva tests are not as accurate as blood, this has been proven repeatedly by research, not be true. Saliva tests, are as accurate as blood, for testing the "free levels" of the hormones and have been used in US Gov., hormone studies and are also recognized by major Insurance companies including Blue Shield, as accurate tests for hormones.

There are companies that offer these tests on the web but many Pharmacies also offer these.

When thyroid hormone replacement therapy does not seem to be working as it should, these other possibilities should also be considered and tested for.

source:searchwarp.com