Thyroid Optimization and Therapy in Maryland, Virginia, & Washington, DC
Many people want to blame their weight gain on the idea of “low thyroid.” Many physicians only focus on the thyroid as a single issue for weight gain and obesity. If your doctor checks your thyroid levels or only one part of your thyroid function and tells you it is “normal” your doctor may be missing one or more components of what may be contributing to your weight issues. Unfortunately, if a medical provider is looking only at what the lab results say may be in a “normal” range your doctor might be missing out on an underlying thyroid problem or worse, multiple problems that may be contributing to an overall low metabolism. Weight gain is not always the primary issue with patients with “low thyroid.” Underlying improper thyroid function is one of the most misdiagnosed conditions suffered by menopausal women and andropausal men.
The KEY is understanding the thyroid does not work alone in your body. We identify all the surrounding issues that can optimize treatment and response. The Metabolic Code Assessment identifies and educates you on how your thyroid works with other systems in your body to keep you youthful and healthy.
Even when low thyroid is diagnosed, that diagnosis frequently misses critical components, and too often the condition isn’t treated correctly. We see this in many people on thyroid medication. They are not optimally treated or they are noticing a need for an increase dosage of thyroid medication yet worsening of their symptoms. If your thyroid levels are low, you will likely experience numerous unpleasant symptoms, such as fatigue, irritability, mood swings, depression, low libido, insomnia, and weight gain.
The Facts about Thyroid Therapy
Thyroid Is Not an Area of Expertise or Experience for Most Doctors
For the moment, let’s assume that you have an underlying thyroid issue that has been lucky enough to have been diagnosed in some fashion, and that you’re being treated with a thyroid hormone prescription. There is still a very good chance that there are gaps in your diagnosis and in your treatment. Many healthcare practitioners:
- Don’t know that there are multiple thyroid hormones that affect your body in different ways.
- Don’t understand the relationship between these different thyroid hormones or between other hormones in the body.
- Don’t know the difference between thyrotoxicosis, hyperthyroidism, or high dose thyroid replacement (HDT).
- Don’t know that your body can “get used” to synthetic thyroid medication and over time can decrease effectiveness in your body. In order to compensate for the ineffectiveness, they increase your synthetic medication they may even start you on two different thyroid medications. This “escalation of medication” is what you want to avoid. Instead you are looking for an “escalation of effectiveness” with less medication…..right??
- Don’t understand how important this relationship is to proper diagnosis and treatment.
- Don’t know what optimal levels of thyroid hormone actually are, and consequently don’t prescribe enough thyroid medication when it’s needed.
- Don’t know the difference between synthetic and bioidentical thyroid use.
If healthcare practitioners don’t understand what healthy levels of thyroid are, don’t understand the difference between the various thyroid hormones, aren’t testing the right hormones, and aren’t prescribing the right medication in the right dose, their patients aren’t going to respond as well as they should. And worse, if healthcare practitioners don’t understand how the other parts of the endocrine system or how micronutrient issues contribute to thyroid health, then prevention of disease will not be optimized. This discussion is NOT about beating up your doctors, rather it is about how a health care system does not allow doctors the complete education needed to learn all these things. The take home for you is to understand the idea that the thyroid does not work alone in keeping you healthy, and that what the lab results say is “normal” does not always apply to you as an individual.
Method of Treatment
- We always start by checking your thyroid hormones—all the right thyroid hormones.
- Through The Metabolic Code Assessment we take a full inventory of symptoms to see if any of them are consistent with low thyroid or other metabolic issues AND identify other endocrine issues that may contribute to the thyroid problem.
- If treatment is indicated, Dr. Gonzalez prescribes the appropriate thyroid medication that may include both synthetic and/or bioidentical thyroid, the hormones your thyroid makes naturally.
- We retest your thyroid levels to be sure that they remain optimal as your body ages and changes through the years. For most people this will be near the top of what’s considered the normal lab-tested range. Then our doctors make adjustments to dosage accordingly.
- Recommendations will be given for supplements that will help your body to process thyroid hormones efficiently and help you maintain prolonged improved health.
- We provide you a 20 to 30-page color coded report that helps you understand your treatment priorities and tracks your progress.
The interplay between thyroid hormones and your other hormones is too critical to ignore. Better aging means balancing everything—including thyroid. That is the whole point or the Dr. Gonzalez, Atlantis Medical, and a systems biology approach to your long-term health.
