Autoimmune Thyroid

There’s a lot of confusion around autoimmune thyroid, because the thyroid hormones can change very quickly in certain environments.

This makes testing tricky, and is also the reason that statistically labs have identified that there is a high number of false negative antibodies test results occurring.

What are these factors?
How can you find out if YOU have it?
What do you need to test?
Check your symptoms BELOW!

Autoimmune thyroiditis

Most people with autoimmune thyroiditis or Hashimoto’s will have a combination of hypo and hyper thyroid symptoms.

For example, a person may suffer from these hypothyroid symptoms:

Fatigue
Cold hands and feet
Hair loss

When their immune system attacks the thyroid gland, thyroid cells are destroyed and released into the bloodstream along with thyroid hormones which may cause signs of hyperactivity such as:

Heart palpitations
Shakiness
Tachycardia
Feeling hot

What Triggers an Attack?

This does vary a bit for different people, but these are the most standard reasons thyroid autoimmune antibodies become overactive:

Stress.
Gluten. From food such as bread, wheat, rye and barley.
Food Intolerances
A Virus – such as a cold or flu

What are possible causes of thyroid autoimmunity?

Family history of autoimmune disease
EBV – Epstein Barr Virus
Toxin load in the thyroid gland, such as aluminum, mercury, or floride.
Not enough dietary nutritional intake of iodine, selenium, zinc, and their need co-factors.
Stress
Smoking

How treat Autoimmune Thyroiditis

Test iodine levels with a 24 hour iodine excretion test and correct Iodine deficiency and to counteract oxidative damage with potent antioxidants.
Avoid gluten and dairy to give the immune system “a break” whilst healing.
Balance the immune system with powerful botanical medicines.
Supplement nutritional cofactors in correct ratios for your symptoms and test results.
Manage stress
If you take medication, work with your doctor and your naturopath.

Thyroid hormones affect EVERY CELL in your body, so if you have been living with a thyroid imbalance for some time, no doubt other issues are building up in your body. Common concomitant illnesses and imbalances we treat are:

Fibromyalgia
Cholesterol issues
Leptin resistance, leading to weight issues
Food intolerances and gut issues
Fatty liver
Fluid retention
Low mood – depression, anxiety and lack of motivation
Obesity
Hypertension

Many of these issues resolve when the thyroid system is working better.

>>> If you need help with your health goals, book a free consult with a Lucy Rose naturopath to find out how we can support you.

Thyroid Testing

A full thyroid panel should cover these factors, then corrective treatment can be given. Please note, GP’s and endocrinologists are not trained in nutritional medicine, therefore can’t offer the same type of treatment as a naturopath. If you have been told your labs are normal by your GP, that means you need someone who can treat suboptimal imbalances with correctional doses of nutrients.

Thyroid must have testing: TSH, fT4, fT3, rT3, Anti-TPO ab., Anti-TG ab., SHBG

To get a complete picture of the thyroid story, other factors to check include; inflammatory markers, methylation status, detoxification status, nutritional testing and cardiovascular risk factors.

Adrenal health and stress hormones generally need to be assessed, but will be recommended on a patient-to-patient basis depending on their health case.

Other tests regularly needed include estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, full blood sugar panel, and food intolerances.

You can find out more about these tests on our official website, or book a call with a thyroid expert and we can answer any questions on the phone.

We offer a FREE 15 minute consultation with a naturopath so you can discuss your symptoms and find out if we can help you finally meet your health goals.

In this call discover: