What makes a “good” thyroid doctor?
When it comes to thyroid management, there is no denying that endocrinologists have more specialized training than primary care physicians.
Any “good” doctor will review your blood work, diagnose your condition, and form a treatment plan with you, no matter how much training or expertise he or she has. This, however, does not always translate into a better outcome.
Today, the training of allopathic physicians requires students to learn a tremendous amount of information, but also subjects them to a very standardized approach to patient care.
Endocrinologists are physicians that have undergone additional training in the diagnosis and treatment of hormone disorders, the glands that produce these hormones, and the systems that link these hormones to each other and to the body as a whole.
My endocrinologist was pigeonholed into prescribing only one medication for me, a medication that was not working. After months of not feeling any improvement, my doctor was not willing to consider a new medication, a new approach, or deviate from his standard practice.
I had a bad experience with my endocrinologist. He wanted to convince me not to change my thyroid medicine to a natural medicine called Armour®. According to him, Levothyroxine was the most suitable drug for my recovery.
He also said,
“You are a smart woman, and you will conclude that this medicine is the best one that we have to take care of your underactive thyroid”.
I sat in the office for much longer than usual, while the doctor tried to convince me that homeopathic remedies were worth nothing.
He ended his monologue with, “You know what you’re doing, but I still do not recommend holistic treatments. I advise you not to do it.” But he couldn’t convince me. After leaving the hospital, I was determined to find my own solutions to my health problems.
I found a holistic doctor who prescribed me the natural medicine Armour® Thyroid, and I followed her advice on vitamins, supplements, diet, and exercise protocols.
My energy levels were up, my brain fog disappeared, and I started to lose weight. My fasting blood glucose went down from 100 to 77. I had amazing results!
When my endocrinologist looked at my test results, he sent me a note saying, “Continue to do whatever you are doing,” and that was the last time I communicated with that endocrinologist.
Is your current doctor encouraging you to get more knowledge on your medical condition? Is he or she willing to review new information you have found, and approach your individual medical care with an open mind?
If you can resolve these issues and begin to feel better, then you and your doctor can try to get off your thyroid medications gradually.
In my opinion, a good doctor should examine all the potential reasons that could be contributing to a health condition, find ways to resolve these problems, and hopefully get you off medications.
The goal is good health, a good life, and freedom from life-long medications, if possible. I think doctors should focus on that.
How to Find a Good Doctor
When it comes to locating a thyroid doctor, it’s well worth the time and effort to do some research and discover the perfect person:
- Use Facebook support groups to find patient references
- Look for doctors who make blog entries or have authored books on the subject
- Look for doctors who have anti-aging, hormone treatment, integrative medicine, and functional medicine credentials
- Watch lectures from doctors specializing in Thyroid disorders on YouTube or other media outlets
- Read books on treating thyroid issues from a holistic perspective
- Visit blogs that give thyroid information revised by MDs and NDs (our articles are being reviewed by MD and NDs)
- If you know of someone that works in healthcare, they see how doctors interact outside of the patients’ rooms, and they often know which doctors are the most open-minded and patient-centric
Is your current doctor interested in your body’s health as a whole, and not just your lab results?
If an endocrinologist refuses to cooperate with you or even listen to your symptoms, you might be better off seeing a holistic doctor or holistically oriented doctor.
What Does a Natural Approach to Thyroid Management Entail?
Functional medicine has lately gained popularity as a method of treating some reversible chronic diseases that are often poorly controlled by conventional medicine. Functional medical doctors focus on the individual and on the root cause of medical conditions.
Instead of masking symptoms with drugs, functional medicine tries to create therapies that work by reversing disease causes and thus freeing a patient from being chronically dependent on medications.
Thyroid hormones, drugs, and physiology are still important to holistic doctors, but they combine this knowledge with holistic therapies, including dietary modifications, exercise, stress reduction, supplement use, good sleep hygiene, and other lifestyle modifications.
Some thyroid diseases have an autoimmune origin, which is a condition that has effects on the body as whole. In these circumstances, the entire person must be examined and healed.
Luckily, I found a medical doctor that specializes in holistic medicine and bioidentical hormones. My journey to wellness started with a new treatment for my thyroid and a protocol to restore and balance my hormones.
My doctor recognized that the thyroid is quite vulnerable to artificial fillers, chemicals, and inorganic products, and she advised me on which compound pharmacies were the best to limit toxic fillers. This holistic approach was key to realizing my health goals.
Most people can tell immediately during a conversation or doctor’s visit if you’re being listened to. Remember, you have a choice. If you’re given a referral for a specialist, you always have the option to find a different doctor that’s best for you.
Ask yourself if you’re ready to take action on your health and find the best doctor for you. It’s your choice.
How does a healthy thyroid work? How can a holistic approach treat thyroid dysfunction?
The hormonal system is a complex network of interdependent molecules, and its dysfunction cannot be evaluated in a black and white fashion.
For example, certain hormone levels, like cortisol, may vary depending on the time of the day, so it is important for doctors to review a single lab result in this context, and not make a hasty diagnosis based on an isolated lab result.
Several steps must occur for thyroid hormones to enact their desired function within the body. At each step, there are other molecules, receptors, and other hormones that all work together to keep thyroid metabolism tightly regulated.
A problem can occur at any of these steps which can lead to a thyroid problem. In treating a thyroid dysfunction, the goal is to optimize all aspects of these activating steps to naturally enhance thyroid function.
According to Dr. Westin Childs, a recognized thyroid expert, the steps for proper thyroid functioning are:
- First, thyroid hormone production by the thyroid gland.
- Second, T4 to T3 conversion (this is the process by which the inactive T4 hormone converts into the active T3 hormone).
- And third, thyroid hormones must latch onto your cells at specific receptors and turn on genetic transcription.
Optimize your Thyroid Function
How can we optimize these steps to optimize your thyroid function?
- Key Nutrients Deficits should be corrected
- Improve Gut Health Your gut may help your body “activate” up to 20% of thyroid hormone. Thyroid hormone helps your stomach produce stomach acid and it also helps your intestinal tract move forward at a normal pace. Normal gut functioning and health are closely tied to normal thyroid functioning.
Many nutrients are required for the body to produce thyroid hormone, and several are also involved in the conversion of T4 to T3. Nutrient deficiencies can induce serious thyroid issues.
Correcting these deficiencies can occur in two ways: through your diet, and through over-the-counter supplements. We’ll take a closer look at these, just read on.
- Balance Reverse T3
Reverse T3 is an anti-thyroid metabolite that your body produces under specific circumstances. Reverse T3 is naturally occurring and acts by directly inhibiting or blocking the actions of free T3. This is not something you want to be out of balance.
When we are combating chronic disease or on a strict diet, T4 converts preferentially into RT3 instead of the bioactive T3 form. RT3 inhibits the action of T3, which can slow down the metabolism of the body and produce other symptoms of hypothyroidism.
For instance:
If you have a chronic infection or suffer from a life-threatening critical illness, your body naturally manipulates reverse T3 levels to transfer energy from normal tissues to tissues or organs that require more energy under stress.
When this happens, reverse T3 levels rise disproportionately, inhibiting the bioactivity of your free thyroid hormone directly. Therefore, optimizing the balance of reverse T3 is essential to maintaining metabolic health.
- Optimize Iron & Ferritin For effective thyroid function, adequate iron levels are essential. Studies have shown that Iron levels have been linked to TSH activity and cellular thyroid function. This means that if you have low iron levels, your thyroid function may be compromised, causing your current symptoms.
Ferritin is a simple blood test that can be ordered as part of routine lab testing to determine the status of iron in your body. Too much iron might cause inflammation, while too little can cause problems with thyroid metabolism.
- Low iron reduces the effectiveness of thyroid medications. Iron is essential for adequate T4 to T3 conversion, and low iron levels correlates with lower T4 to T3 conversion rate. This can lead to symptoms of hypothyroidism.
- Iron is needed for adrenal function. When your adrenals aren’t performing properly, adrenal exhaustion and burnout can occur, which can eventually lead to a poorly functioning thyroid gland.
- Concurrently, iron deficiency can be caused by hypothyroidism itself because the thyroid hormone is essential for iron absorption.
- Liquid Iron may work well for some people suffering from hypothyroidism. Other iron supplement preparations, on the other hand, can aggravate constipation. As a result, using liquid iron to restore iron levels may be preferable.
- Assess liver function
Standard “liver function tests” can be used to assess liver function.
- Improve Adrenal Function and Stress Management
The hormones produced by the adrenals closely influence the health and normal functioning of the thyroid gland. By optimizing your adrenal function, you can enhance your free T3.
Higher levels of cortisol can have an inhibitory effect at the level of the thyroid to produce T4 and T3.
Symptoms that may arise from overactive adrenals and chronic stress are:
- Debilitating exhaustion, even after a good night’s sleep
- “Wired yet exhausted” feeling
- Sugar and salt cravings
- Increased energy at night, but little energy in the morning
Improve Adrenal Function and Stress Management
The good news is that you can take efforts to boost your adrenal function and alleviate these symptoms:
Adrenal supplements contain key substances like adrenal adaptogens and/or formulations with desiccated adrenal tissue. These are supplements that may help your body cope with stress and reduce the negative effects that chronically elevated stress hormones have on your other hormones.
I have an entire article talking specifically about supplements. Please visit it here.
Research has shown these vitamins have also been found to have a favorable effect on cortisol levels.
- Caffeine can act as a stimulant, putting additional strain on your adrenals. If you find yourself relying on caffeine for “energy,” it may be time to reduce your caffeine intake.
- Eat more salt. Salt is necessary for the production of some adrenal hormones and helps to nourish the adrenals.
- Relax with Yoga or Meditation. These stress-relieving activities may help lower cortisol levels and reduce adrenal demand. Alternative therapies like EFT(emotional freedom techniques) can help teach you how to relax and let go of stress.
- Other nutrient deficits might exacerbate adrenal symptoms, so be sure you’re getting enough of everything.
- Check for Iodine Saturation and Concentration
Reduced iodine intake can be due to a nutritional depletion in the soil, a dislike of sea vegetables, and a preference for non-iodized salt. A low iodine diet can cause an iodine deficiency, which could result in lower T3 levels.
It is important to take Iodine supplements after you have confirmed a true iodine deficiency with a 24-hour urine test interpreted with the help of a qualified doctor.
Exercise and Diet
If you are living with hypothyroidism, exercise is probably the last thing on your mind. While taking medicine prescribed by your doctor may be the initial and most effective therapy to reverse hypothyroid symptoms.
Physical activity can also help you feel better and eliminate some of the symptoms that come with hypothyroidism.
I have found that medium-intensity workouts are optimal to support your thyroid health.
Here are a few Medium-intensity workout videos that can help you get started.
Another exercise that I recommend for you is interval training. It isn’t as complicated as you may think, especially if these workouts are modified to be thyroid friendly.
This alternating cycle of short intense intervals followed by a rest period, or a period of mild intensity activity is repeated several times until the exercise is complete.
Interval training not only helps relieve most of the symptoms associated with hypothyroidism, it can also:
- Improve muscle mass.
- Improve cardiovascular health.
- Improve metabolism
- Protect the joints.
Start with short jogging bursts, maybe 10-20 seconds each. Then slowly increase the intensity of these bursts as your body adapts to this new stimulus. If you need to, take a break, and if it hurts, stop. Gradually increase the length and intensity of your higher intensity intervals as you gain confidence.
In this way, you’ll continue to improve your cardiovascular status and muscle mass, while still performing an activity that’s generally easier on your joints than something like long distance running.
Also, typically with this type of exercise protocol, the work-out times are not excessively long, usually no more than 30 minutes. It’s easier to find time to exercise when you only need to find a 20- or 30-minute time slot.
Now let’s Focus more on Dietary Concerns
Can a change in my diet help me lose weight?
The whole idea of offsetting the balance of calories in vs calories out seems so simplistic with regards to weight loss. The problem is that the human body is much more complex than this model accounts for, and too many individuals have tried and failed to achieve long term success by following this advice.
If you add a chronic illness to obesity, say hypertension, type II diabetes, or even some thyroid conditions, then you not only have a hormonal imbalance, you also have some sort of metabolic dysfunction that has been triggered by a chronic hormone imbalance.
I have another article devoted specifically to weight loss in the context of hypothyroidism. Please check it out here.
Also, in the process, you’ve also created some additional hormone imbalances.
If you have hypothyroidism, a diet can help you lose weight, but it’s only a minor component of your overall treatment plan. Keep in mind that there is no one-size-fits-all “Thyroid Diet.”
This is the diet that worked for me. But if you have other medical conditions such as diabetes or hypertension along with hypothyroidism, you may need to make additional adjustments to suit your individual needs.
I used a form of intermittent fasting.
This diet does not specify the kind of foods a person should eat. It only focuses on eating times and creating a limited eating window. There are many protocols to try if you’re interested in starting this eating strategy.
You can read more about it here to find the method that works best for you. Also, check out my weight loss article for more details located here.
Intermittent fasting can help you decide when to eat, but what about what to eat? These are the guidelines I found useful to prevent vitamin deficiencies and optimize my hormone levels.
I strongly suggest the dietary changes listed below, as recommended by Dr. Nicholas Perricone:
- We require all dietary groups, but not those created in a laboratory.
- Pure, fresh (where possible) protein sources include wild fish and other seafood, as well as hormone- and antibiotic-free organic chicken, turkey, and grass-fed meats (cow and lamb).
- Avoid packaged and fast foods that have GMOs, trans fats.
- Focus on fresh fruits and vegetables, preferably organic, for carbs sources.
- Good fats are present in salmon, sardines, and other cold-water fish, as well as extra virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocado, and açai.
These minor adjustments can have a significant influence on your overall health and thyroid function, and they aren’t difficult to implement.
What About Foods to Avoid?
I realized I was destroying myself with what I was eating and drinking one day while watching TV and eating a bag of chips. I could just feel it. I had no idea at the time that my meals and drinks contain harmful additives, pesticides, and chemicals.
Low-quality foods induce inflammation, which has been found to lower T4 to T3 conversion and, as a result, thyroid function. Furthermore, highly inflammatory foods harm your intestinal tract, creating gut dysbiosis and can worsen thyroid dysfunction.
As a rule, I tried to avoid the following foods:
- All processed foods
- Anything with more than three ingredients
- Refined and added sugars – check the label for added sugars or corn syrup
- Grains, pasta, cereals, and breads – These high-insulinogenic foods raise blood sugar levels, promote inflammation, and cause weight gain
- Drinks, even diet sodas, which, due to the incretin action, can increase weight
- Non-organic dairy products to limit exposure to added hormones and naturally occurring lactose (if you have a sensitivity)
- Soy products: non-fermented soy products strongly act as an estrogen hormone in your body, which can lead to multiple hormonal imbalances
- Limit or eliminate alcoholic beverages from your diet (occasionally I would have a small glass of red wine on special occasions)
- Drinking decaf green tea or decaf black tea without sugar in moderation. Coffee should be limited or avoided (according to Dr. Nicholas Perricone, coffee is not good when you want to lose weight)
Finding the right diet for me was a process of trial and error, as well as reading reputable material from books, websites, and naturopathic doctor consultations.
I realized that I need to rethink everything and make small changes to my day-to-day lifestyle. This is the only way to feel enriched and better at every moment.
After much research, I was looking forward to starting my dietary program! And miraculously, it didn’t disappoint me. It worked out and brought me great results!
I followed a combination of Dr. Perricone’s diet, the Mediterranean diet, and I also modified my favorite dishes to fit my rules outlined above.
What can sometimes help is obtaining a food allergy test to see what should be avoided to keep your diet as anti-inflammatory as possible.
It is important to mention that I have 1 cheat day where I eat some foods that I don’t eat regularly like:
- Sushi topped with asparagus, salmon, and hot sauce.
- I have 1 or 2 slices of pizza made with gluten-free flour and loaded with healthy organic vegetables.
- Mexican burrito without the flour tortilla, but instead wrapped in a corn or rice wrapper.
- Some of my favorite modified recipes from Peruvian dishes.
- Chocolate flan made with macadamia and coconut milk and monk fruit (sugar-free).
- Carrot or chocolate cake using oat and macadamia flour with monk fruit.
- A Few pieces of a dark organic chocolate bar (regular or sugar-free).
- Plain Greek yogurt dessert topped with berries, walnuts, and grated dark chocolate.
- My favorite: Chocolate ice cream, made with coconut milk.
Also, for a cheat day, you can eat any food you like (if you are not allergic to it) in moderate amounts for 1 day a week. This is handy when you must go to a dinner party or a restaurant to celebrate with friends or family.
Here are some tips which helped make my thyroid healthier:
- Instead of normal flour, I used oat and nut flour to make bread.
- I’ve replaced cow’s milk with plant-based milk like macadamia or coconut.
- For my daily main meal, I ate a lot of soups made with organic chicken and vegetables (with miracle noodles) or salads with a clean organic protein source.
- Other clean protein sources include wild Alaskan salmon and occasionally grass-fed beef or lamb.
- I was restricting my diet to two meals a day with a modest snack in between (a hand of walnuts or a small green apple).
- Organic broccoli, spinach, cabbage, and cauliflower should be consumed in limited amounts since they interfere with iodine absorption.
- I developed an allergy to almonds and other nuts except macadamia and walnuts. If you’re sensitive to almond milk, then you can replace it with macadamia, coconut, or oatmeal milk.
- To aid with balancing beneficial gut bacteria, I love to eat grass-fed organic Greek yogurt with berries, kombucha and jicama kimchi.
Remember, having a weight problem usually means there’s a hormone imbalance, and as such, if you want to lose weight, diet alone is usually insufficient.
Instead, if your thyroid is problematic, focus on combining thyroid medication management, hormone imbalance correction, reversing dietary deficiencies, and stress management.
This is the diet and dietary rules that I followed. This is what worked for me specifically, but keep in mind there is no such thing as a diet-for-all, and you’ll have to mindfully tailor your strategy based on your personal circumstances.
If you’re currently eating a healthy diet but still struggle to meet your health goals, supplementing could be the next best thing.
How do Thyroid Supplements Work and How can they make you Feel Better?
Iodine, iron, and tyrosine are all required to produce thyroid hormones by your thyroid.
If you are deficient in any one of these nutrients, your body may not be able to create adequate thyroid hormones. If you can’t create enough thyroid hormone then you may hypothyroid symptoms such as weight gain, lethargy, depression, hair loss, and more.
Taking supplements can help you restore crucial substrate deficiencies, allowing your body to create enough thyroid hormones, thus reversing hypothyroid symptoms.
Supplements can aid in the conversion and activation of thyroid hormones in your body.
Thyroid conversion is another way that supplements can support your thyroid hormone system.
The deiodinase enzyme is what your body utilizes to convert T4 to T3. Deiodinase enzymes require selenium as a cofactor for proper functioning. Selenium can be an important supplement to help support this activation step.
Balancing the function of other hormone producing glands can sometimes help restore normal thyroid hormone levels.
The adrenals produce cortisol that can affect the function of other organs. This is true also of the sex hormones. Both hormone systems can affect thyroid hormone levels.
By taking supplements that support healthy cortisol and sex hormone levels, often thyroid hormones can be normalized as well. However, it’s important to keep all systems in balance. Be mindful of what you’re supplementing and why.
Consider Adding Thyroid Supplements to your Treatment Plan
That said, following a healthy diet, utilizing stress management strategies, prioritizing adequate sleep, and working in routine exercise to your life are all just as important as supplementing these nutrients.
Vitamins should be consumed through your diet, although sometimes supplements are needed when diet alone is not enough.
If you want to know which vitamins and supplements help with hypothyroidism, visit this article.
But are you able to have a conversation with your doctor about this? Is your current doctor in favor of taking thyroid supplements?
These thyroid supplements, when used correctly, can help boost thyroid function and alleviate symptoms:
- Vitamin B complex and B12
- Zinc with copper
- Iron
- Magnesium
- Selenium
- Probiotics
- Iodine
If you have hypothyroidism and are looking for a high-quality supplement, look for the following characteristics:
- Thyroid supplements should not contain gluten, dairy, soy, artificial sweeteners, GMOs, artificial colors, or artificial preservatives.
- Thyroid supplements should contain activated and pre-methylated B vitamins.
- Thyroid supplements should contain therapeutic doses of various minerals.
- Your supplements should be made in the United States in a GMP-compliant facility.
Can Supplements Interfere with my Thyroid Medications?
Some can, and that’s why many doctors advise against taking thyroid supplements because they don’t want to risk inhibiting thyroid hormone absorption.
In summary, a supplement should not be used recklessly. It should be taken with a specific goal in mind and when dietary measures are not enough.
What other Measures can we Employ to Optimize our Thyroid Health?
Some additional rules I follow to avoid these chemicals include:
- Stop touching Receipts (they contain high levels of bisphenol A, which is one of the most strongly estrogenic compounds we can encounter in our environment)
- Drink out of glass cups or containers to avoid plastic containers
- Drink filtered water ONLY (any filter is better than no filter). This can eliminate some of the pesticides that leach into our water supply from agriculture
- Avoid consuming anything stored in plastic, to include bottled water. Plastic bottles contain phthalates and other plasticizers that are estrogen mimetic
- Say no to hand-me-down plastic toys
- Eat organic foods and grass-fed meats to further avoid pesticides and added hormones.
- Avoid anything with the word ‘Fragrance’ or ‘Perfume’. The carrier molecules for perfumes are parabens which are endocrine disruptors.
- Check your cosmetics for Chemicals (use the Skin Deep application from EWG) Read more here.
Conclusion
Regrettably, most traditional endocrinologists rely on what they have studied in their standardized university courses to treat thyroid patients.
Unfortunately, many specialists are pigeonholed into a specific approach to patient care, and often, the holistic route is ignored. What is also unfortunate, is that many thyroid specialists might be quite unfamiliar with much of the content in this article.
In my experience, the beginnings of my healing journey occurred when I started to take action for myself, when I started learning about my body and my condition, and when I found the right doctor for me.
I found a doctor that was willing to try different, natural medications, rather than the typical Levothyroxine that was previously prescribed like a broken record.
I found a doctor that was willing to go through a specific diet and exercise plan, taking into consideration all aspects of my life, including emotional and physiologic stresses.
I found a doctor that was willing to delve into my health condition and find the root causes, correcting my hormone imbalances, and finally setting me on a path to wellness.
And finally, I found a doctor that was willing to discuss supplements that would properly support me in my health goals.
All these concerns were addressed by my doctor because she was willing to look at my health and wellbeing as a whole, and not just analyze my thyroid gland as if it was outside my body in a petri dish. My doctor listened to me and educated me, which is something we should always expect from a healthcare provider.
Remember, you have a choice with your doctor. Choose wisely and keep these concepts in mind. If all else fails, begin to educate yourself on what strategies could bring about good health to your life. You’re worth it. Don’t ever settle when it comes to your health.
You might have arrived at this article because you are searching for answers. I hope this article has at least helped get you on the right path to optimal health. There’s plenty more content on this site. I hope you stay a while and explore what we have to offer.
