By Dr. Lou Briegel
“Blood tests are normal but… I feel awful” is a sentiment I hear almost daily. In fact, when it comes to thyroid compromise, some of the sickest people I come in contact with are told they’re “normal” by their standard laboratory tests.
“According to your blood work, the protocol is working and your thyroid hormone levels are ideal.”
Here’s the twist. Despite a “normal” blood test, symptoms continue, and even worsen. Hair loss, fatigue, mood shifts, and weight loss resistance still plague a great many who are given a “clean bill of health.”
I’m not referring to the critically ill in hospital beds. I’m referring to an absurdly high percentage of Americans, those who are maintaining some sense of a normal life, but are functioning on a few cylinders, chronically burdened by bothersome, at times debilitating, symptoms. In fact, 66 million Americans wrestle with chronic disease including hypothyroidism, hypertension, and diabetes, with numbers climbing.
Thyroid issues commonly start to afflict women over 35, and even younger today. It starts with a sense of sluggishness, and escalates to a myriad of classic thyroid symptoms including weight gain, debilitating fatigue, hot flashes and hair loss.
The first step most will take is to challenge the symptoms by attempting small dietary changes and exercise, followed by mass-marketed boxed programs or worse yet calorie restrictive diets. As most efforts fail to bear fruit, a visit to the doctor is the inevitable next step. The doctor runs “labs,” an irregular TSH or T4 level is met with recommendation of the standard thyroid protocols, and the hurting client is sent home with a strategy that will try managing blood values to align with the “gold standard” numbers. The frustration magnifies when a return visit to the doctor is greeted with the classic saying, “Your numbers are in the normal range, good job, all is well.” But you are left wondering why you are still not feeling well, you may question slightly, or even directly address the doctor with no real answers…
“But Doc… I still can’t get out of bed in the morning, I still find myself in a brain fog, I still can’t lose weight, I’m fatigued at work and at home, my hair is falling out, and also I still have…”
So, the next step, and perhaps the most crippling, is to wrestle with acceptance. “That’s just me now and I have to live with it.” Or tell yourself, “I must have bad luck or bad genes.”
DON’T JUST LIVE WITH IT… change it, and live with the vibrant energy you were born into!
In my experience, exploring hundreds of client histories, the common thread that runs through virtually every type of health challenge is a failure to discover “the source.” For example, the thyroid gland is part of a complex system, the endocrine system, digestive system, and limbic system.
It follows that if the source is discovered, and effectively supported, betterment can be the expected outcome.
In searching for the source, it’s important to examine the most recent science. The digestive system has been revealed to be far more of a player in endocrine disruption than most suspect. Other research shows toxins like mercury and hormone mimics as a potential culprit or source. Shifts to “eating better” simply aren’t enough. Many of my clients and colleagues have connected to a new overriding belief. The theory they uphold with certainty is, “the best way to ‘support’ a systemically induced thyroid problem is to find ‘the cause’ and support the body’s natural ability to remove it.”
The comprehensive plan I’ve learned to employ and teach, along with a community of highly educated health practitioners, combines “Designed Nutrition,” considering individual needs and a science-based detoxification support program that reduces stress load and supports the body to function as intended. Anyone suffering from symptoms despite “normal” blood work owes it to him or herself to pursue the road less travelled, a road that can lead to health, happiness, and restoration.
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(770) 366-7724