There are more than forty thyroid dysfunctions. The medical community divides these dysfunctions into 6 basic models: 1) primary hypothyroidism, 2) hypothyroidism due to the pituitary gland, 3) thyroid conversion, 4) thyroid compared to 5) increased thyroid globulin and 6) resistance to thyroid hormones . This article focuses on the third thyroid conversion.
Thyroid Transformation
As a rule, the thyroid gland converts iodine, found in food, into thyroid hormones. Thyroxin (T4) is the main hormone produced by the thyroid gland, but your body must transform it into triiodothyronine (T3) in order to use it. In some patients, the thyroid gland does not cope with these transformations correctly and effectively.
Multiple factors can cause transcoding in the thyroid gland, but the main reason is the production of reverse T3 instead of T3. Your body cannot use RT3, and RT3 does not return to the T3 form used.
Reverse T3 of the thyroid gland mainly secretes the thyroid hormone T4. Because the hormones produced by the thyroid gland affect the metabolic rate, they affect many parts of your body, including your brain, heart, muscles, and liver. Not surprisingly, many patients with autoimmune disorders of the thyroid gland also have a high level of reverse T3.
What causes a thyroid during conversion?
There are tests that allow you to identify when a person's thyroid is in T4 conversions, but functional medicine is looking for the cause of the ailment.
Many factors can affect thyroid conversion, but I have found that stress plays a major role in most patients. Stress comes in many forms, not just from obvious sources, such as hard work or tensions. Excessive diet, food sensitivity and allergic reactions can also stress the body.
Some patients have bowel syndrome, which allows foreign substances to enter the bloodstream to emphasize the body. Other patient bodies are stressed by heavy metals, pesticides, and food additives.
All forms of stress cause the adrenal glands to produce cortisol. Normally, stress dissipates and cortisol levels return to normal. However, persistent high levels of cortisol inhibit the conversion of T4 to T3 and increase the production of RT3.
How do we detect the problem
A TSH blood test is the most commonly used tool for evaluating thyroid function and / or symptoms of a thyroid disorder. Thyroid hormone stimulates the thyroid gland to make T4 and T3. Although this test may indicate a problem, it does not look at hormonal balance.
Movement of functional medicine for optimal balance of hormones, so the measurement of other factors, such as reverse T3, total absorption of T3, T3 and T4 are also necessary for the diagnosis and treatment of low-level thyroid gland.
The reverse T3 blood test on the thyroid panel determines whether you have a high reverse T3. Elevated RT3 levels may indicate additional problems, even if other values in TSH may be in the normal ranges.
How to treat high reverse t3
A conventional medical model usually causes problems with the thyroid gland with a prescribed T4 in order to return the hormone that stimulates the thyroid gland to normal levels. Some practitioners go beyond the TSH blood test, and when they see low T3 levels, they prescribe more T3 instead.
Unfortunately, none of these treatment methods used in the medical model deal with various thyroid dysfunctions, not to mention the 6 basic samples. However, functional medicine does.
Medical and functional models
The medical model focuses on the name of the condition (diagnosis) and the treatment of the condition with medication or surgery. Functional doctors want to know why a person's thyroid behaves like this. We do not treat the symptoms, because they can have many causes.
For example, I could have 7 patients with an autoimmune thyroid disease, such as Grave syndrome or Hashimoto disease, but with 7 different causes. I mentioned that stress is the main cause of reverse T3, but it can affect the body in various ways.
For example, bacterial dysbacteriosis (imbalance) in the intestine can prevent fat from digesting and cause problems with blood sugar. This causes liver problems, adrenal stress, excess cortisol and elevated levels of RT3. Liver problems can also prevent the conversion of T4 to T3.
As you can see, it is important that we look not only at the results of the TSH blood test. A simple remedy will not eliminate the underlying cause of the dysfunction. We cannot independently examine the interconnected systems inside your body if we want to understand the root cause of the dysfunction.
Medical relationship model for the care of specialists. One looks at the thyroid gland, the other examines the endocrine system, and the other looks at the digestive system. Unfortunately, specialization can blind us by what happens through the body. Specialists focus on one piece of the puzzle, but they can never see the full picture.
Functional model for thyroid disorders
If you have a thyroid condition, it is important that you look at a functional model for care, especially if you have an autoimmune thyroid disorder, such as Hashimoto or Graves. I believe that the medical model works well for diagnosing and treating symptoms, but we also need to work with functional assistance to gain access to the root cause and restore health.
I want to emphasize that problems with the thyroid gland are nothing to play with. If your doctor has prescribed medication, do not stop taking it just because you are reading this article. You will need to work with a trained provider of functional medicine to solve problems related to disruption so that they can help you restore thyroid function before reducing the number of medicines.
In some cases, the thyroid gland cannot fully function and you will need medication. Your functional and medical doctor can work as a team to restore your health. It should not be one way or another, but a strong combination of the two.
