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What are the top symptoms of thyroid dysfunction?
Fatigue
Weight gain
Thinning hair
Edema
Hyper-somnolence
Constipation
If you present to a doctor complaining of any of these problems, chances are you'll get your TSH tested.
If your TSH is elevated, chances are you'll be put on thyroid hormone replacement for the rest of your life.
Most of you would rather NOT be on medications for the rest of your life.
Yet millions of Americans are given the diagnosis of hypothyroidism or low thyroid function every year, and told they are going to be on medication for it indefinitely.
I think this is dead wrong, and I'd like to explain why.
I base these conclusions on the findings of the thyroid program that Jim Laird and I ran this past February. It was a resounding success. Register here to learn more, to find out about our upcoming thyroid webinar (where we'll share even more of what we learned), and to get early-bird access (with a special discount) to our thyroid course and coaching program.
Here are the five myths:
If your TSH is high, you have thyroid problems.
Blood hormone levels are an accurate reflection of thyroid function.
Low thyroid hormone is responsible for declining energy and vitality as we age.
Iodine can damage the thyroid, so don’t take it.
The solution to thyroid dysfunction is complicated, convoluted dosing regimens that require compounded medications and brand-name medications.
I’ve found the opposite of the above to be the case in my practice. So here are the 5 thyroid realities I’d like to share with you to dispel these myths.
Myth #1: If your TSH is high, you have thyroid problems.
Reality: Most elevated TSH levels have nothing to do with thyroid dysfunction.
When I was in residency, it was commonly known that any patient with acute stress (i.e. all hospitalized or acutely ill patients) can have an elevated TSH that is entirely related to that acute event.
Too many people under extreme stress present to their doctor with fatigue. The doctor orders a TSH and sees that it is elevated. They start the patient on a low dose of thyroid hormone. They recheck the TSH several weeks later and it's normal. The doctor and patient conclude that the treatment was effective.
Questions they never ask that they should ask:
Does the patient eat enough protein to create thyroid hormone?
Is the patient under excessive stress that might disrupt their hormones?
Is the patient getting enough sunlight to have optimal thyroid hormone levels?
Is the patient getting enough vitamins and minerals to have optimal thyroid function?
Is the patient's sleep deep enough and long enough for them to be making optimal levels of hormones?
The reality is that I get patients in my practice and clients in my coaching programs to feel better, just by changing their diets and lifestyles.
No thyroid hormone required.
Do most patient who take thyroid hormone actually have hypothyroidism?
I honestly doubt it.
I think they have dysfunctional lifestyles and inadequate nutrition.
Myth #2: Blood hormone levels are an accurate reflection of thyroid function.
Reality: Thyroid function isn't just about thyroid hormone levels.
You will see a LOT out there on what "optimal" thyroid hormone levels are.
The problem with defining "optimal" levels of hormones is that what you get in the blood (where we measure thyroid hormone levels) doesn't tell the whole story.
To understand why so many people who are taking hormones are getting such mediocre results, you have to keep in mind how hormones work.
Hormones are signaling molecules. They are like light switches. They only work if there is 1) power in the grid, 2) intact wiring, and 3) working lightbulbs in lamps or lighting fixtures. You could break each of these down further if you wanted to.
Hormones turn on different metabolic pathways. They only achieve their maximal effect when those pathways have the micronutrients, macronutrients, and energetic components necessary for their function. For example, when you increase thyroid hormone levels, you increase your basal metabolic rate. Do you have the vitamins, minerals, and raw caloric fuel necessary to meet the needs this will impose? Your mitochondria have to be in proper working order and their enzymes and electron-transport chain components have to be in proper alignment (which is an energetic phenomenon!) for energy to be generated.
Is this why so many patients feel WORSE in certain ways on MORE thyroid hormone? (The same could be asked of any hormone, for the record.) I strongly suspect that this is the case.
Nutrition is the foundation of life. Modern lifestyles and environmental pollutants rob us of nutrients, while modern food is much less nutrient dense than it was historically. This is a recipe for nutritional deficiency.
What is the body's logical response to micronutrient deficiencies?
Do you think maybe - just maybe - the body down-regulates hormones and metabolic pathways in a nutrient-deficient state to conserve those nutrients, so it doesn't run out?
You bet it does. That's triage theory, and it's been written about by luminaries like Linus Pauling and Bruce Ames.
This is why I see symptoms that have been attributed to hormonal deficiencies and imbalances resolve once we treat the nutritional deficiencies that are associated with them.
Myth #3: Low thyroid hormone is responsible for declining energy and vitality as we age.
Reality: Menopause and andropause are responsible for most of the symptoms attributed to low thyroid hormone levels.
In menopause, the first hormone to drop out is progesterone. Progesterone helps women sleep, relax, and feel at peace with the world. When progesterone drops out, the simplest thing a woman can do to calm down her brain and improve her sleep is to load up on carbs.
One of the first things I'll recommend to women if they complain of waking up at 2 or 3 am in the morning regularly is resistant starches at dinner. Between 30 and 50 grams of carbohydrates will typically knock out these symptoms.
Women will naturally gain weight as they use carbohydrates to compensate for declining progesterone levels. I believe this is one of the reasons women wind up gaining weight in their 30's and 40's, when progesterone first starts to decline.
Menopause is when a woman's estrogen and progesterone both decline rapidly. The last hormones to go after menopause are testosterone and DHEA. These are the most important for metabolism and body composition. These hormones decline year after year until there are virtually none left.
The process of andropause, or decline in testosterone levels in men, is generally a gradual process. Men lose their muscle mass, they lose their enthusiasm and energy for life, and one year after another they turn into little, old men.
As women get further and further from menopause and as men go through andropause, the main changes they see are the same:
Poor sleep quality
Brittle, thin, dull, and weak hair, skin, and nails
Loss of muscle mass
Weight gain around the abdomen and in the thighs and buttocks
Declining mental clarity
Declining short term memory
All of this can be blamed on thyroid hormone.
This is a major mistake that many, many patients and doctors make.
The truth is that as we get older, thyroid hormone is likely less and less to blame, and deterioration in other hormone systems are responsible for our declining vitality and deteriorating looks.
This is, by the way, why I see an incredibly strong trend in the data I am collecting on LifeWave patches toward better and better results in older patients. If you've tried LifeWave patches and want to share you experience with me, please do so here. Good or bad, I love reading about how these patches are working for people.
The reviews from people over 50 have been overwhelmingly positive.
Why do I think LifeWave patches work? The X39 and X49 patches, which are the two that I generally recommend people start with, put copper to work in AHK and GHK-Cu peptides. (Learn more about X39 here.) These peptides increase stem cell activity. Stem cell activity declines as we age, which is why I think I see this disproportionate response in older people.
The other people who have left a lot of positive reviews are people with neurological issues. I had a trio of reviews one weekend from three women who see major improvements in multiple sclerosis flares in one of their family members.
My friend Renita Brannan and I put together a great video on this topic recently - you can watch it here:
Back to hormones.
This is why I offer bioidentical hormone replacement for men and women in my practice. We are running out of in-person appointment dates for the rest of the year - you can apply to become a patient here.
Myth #4: Iodine can damage the thyroid, so don’t take it.
Reality: Iodine supplements do not damage the thyroid gland.
I've been using high-dose iodine now for at least six months and getting GREAT results with thyroid patients. One of my patients, who was on a low dose of thyroid hormone, actually added high-dose iodine and immediately stopped her thyroid hormone. I'm not telling you to do that - become a patient and we can talk about whether this is right for you.
I've never had such happy patients in my life as my patients on high-dose iodine. If you want to find out how I use it in my practice, that's behind the paywall here at my Substack (look up “iodine” with the search function). One of the perks of premium membership is access to my proprietary protocols, plus how-to videos on my favorite recipes and remedies. You also get access to a weekly 30-minute Q&A with me on Mondays after my Monday Masterclass.
The only problem with iodine is that it's sometimes too effective. This is why the protocol is behind the paywall - I have had patients experience side effects from it (side effects that almost immediately resolved on cessation) and I don't want that to happen to you.
So what does iodine do?
First, iodine displaces fluoride and bromide in the body. This causes you to push fluoride and bromide out of cells, into the bloodstream. You'll see bromide and fluoride increase in the urine (see my interview with Dr. Brownstein for more on this), which shows us that the body is eliminating it from your body.
As this happens, the fluoride and bromide cause what I call the "iodine detox flu." As these chemicals come out of the body, the symptoms they cause often get worse.
What are the toxic effects of fluoride and bromide?
Anxiety
Insomnia
Poor sleep
Thyroid dysfunction
Fatigue
Brain fog
Acne
Sound familiar?
You can get bromide and fluoride from practically everything in our society. Drinks, breads, tap water, drugs, and more.
I'm convinced that the "toxic" effects of iodine are actually the result of these toxic elements being purged from the system.
The symptoms stop once patients have been on a high enough dose for a long enough period of time.
I love iodine. I've been taking 50 mg daily for months now, and I'll be showing and telling my labs next week, the 28th, for my Monday Masterclass. Set a notification her:
Dr. Brownstein has been using high-dose iodine for years in his practice, in thousands of patients, and we're not the only ones. None of us are having trouble with side effects, so long as patients aren't too aggressive with the dosing and reduce the dose if they do see side effects.
Myth #5: You need a complicated thyroid hormone regimen.
Reality: The solution isn’t complicated thyroid dosing regimens.
I can't tell you how many people I've seen on complicated, even dangerous, dosing regimens of thyroid hormone. They hate feeling like they are dependent upon the pharmacy and upon having their pills just to get through the day.
The reality is that most complicated thyroid dosing regimens are only "necessary" because other pieces of the puzzle haven't been put together.
The solution to this isn't a complicated thyroid regimen - it's a holistic solution to why you're sick. That's why we created a thyroid course, where we walk you through how to be healthy, plus give you the tools to do it. This is critical. This is the only way you can transition people to simple thyroid dosing regimens.
After working with me in a coaching program, it's rare for people to actually need a complicated dosing regimen. Over time, I focus on trying to reduce the dose of thyroid hormone that people need as much as possible, which is incredibly gratifying.
If you want to see the testimonials from our thyroid course, sign up for the webinar here. You'll get more information on what Jim and I found running the program and how you can join the program that's starting in September. Sign up now if you want the early-bird special.
Until next time, be well,
Dr. Stillman
Excellent post . You obviously understand the thyroid far better than most endocrinologists .Denis ( one n) Wilson , MD talks about temperature being a much better Indicator of the active T3 intracellularly than any of the bloodwork. I believe you mentioned this up above in terms of the blood work. You have the ability to help so many people were the bloodwork my peer normal but they really need some help especially nutritionally congratulations.
Great peice Doctor , can i ask would you reccomend DHEA supplimentation for a ver active 46 year old and shouldni be worried about trumping my own bodies ability to produce testosterone, thanks for everything you do andbyou have a growing army behind you ❤️