Hashimoto’s
Also: Amazon reviews, recent podcast interviews, and the functional neurology conference (bottom of post) Depression is a common symptom of hypothyroidism, yet many people become frustrated when their thyroid hormone medication does not relieve depression. This is because the effects of hypothyroidism on the brain are more complicated than people realize and thyroid hormone medication…
If you’re managing your Hashimoto’s yet still waiting for your depression to lift and your memory to return, you could be suffering from the beginning of a brain breakdown. Scientists call it accelerated brain degeneration, and it’s critical you know about it. Many symptoms of brain decline overlap with Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism so that patients—and their…
About 90 percent of hypothyroidism cases in the United States are due to Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune disease that attacks and destroys the thyroid gland. It’s important to identify Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism because you then know it is the immune system you must address, although thyroid hormone medication may still be necessary. How to test for Hashimoto’s…
Iodine supplementation has become very popular in recent years, and with good reason. Iodine has been shown to be an effective therapy for such conditions as breast and uterine fibroids, breast cancer, and more. When it comes to Hashimoto’s, however, I oppose the use of iodine as you risk worsening your autoimmune thyroid condition. As…
In the thyroid book I introduced the concepts of TH-1 and TH-2 and their role in autoimmune diseases, such as Hashimoto’s. It turns out another key player in the autoimmune scenario is TH-17, and that we can work with nitric oxide and glutathione (which I wrote about earlier) to tame autoimmune destruction caused by TH-17.…
A new study shows Hashimoto’s patients with symptomless celiac disease (i.e., no digestive complaints) require 49 percent more T4 to achieve the same TSH levels as non-celiac Hashimoto’s patients. After the patients followed a gluten-free diet for 11 months their TSH levels came down with the same T4 requirement as the non-celiac Hashimoto’s patients. Gluten…
Competitive athletes seem unlikely candidates for hypothyroidism, a disease that frequently causes fatigue, depression, and malaise. But some athletes are surprised to learn their dwindling performance and failure to build muscle stems from improperly managed hypothyroidism. The fact that athletes are typically fit and slender makes it easy for doctors to overlook their symptoms. And…
Since the book was published I have received countless emails from women whose thyroid problems began after pregnancy. This is fairly common for a number of reasons: Shifts in immune function during and after pregnancy Shifts in hormone function during and after pregnancy Already existing stressors to the body (blood sugar imbalances, food intolerances, gut…
After a bipolar diagnosis, this patient was prescribed eight different psychotropic medications and received a dozen electroconvulsive treatments. After six months of support for Hashimoto’s, her symptoms resolved and she is now drug-free, with the exception of thyroid hormone medication. Was her bipolar disorder simply misdiagnosed Hashimoto’s? I receive many amazing stories from people around…
“My doctor has been treating my hypothyroidism for five years with little to no effect. I really thought that I was meant to be tired, constipated, cold, and overweight for the rest of my life,” wrote one woman. In the year since the thyroid book was published, we have received thousands of emails from hypothyroid…