Sponsored by Life's Medicine
Written by Dr. Isabel Lopez, M.D., P.A.
How many of you have been to your doctor absolutely convincedbrthat you are having symptoms consistent with an under active thyroid? You havebrfatigue, weight issues, difficulty concentrating, memory problems, hairbrthinning, dry skin and an indifference to life among other symptoms. How could it not be your thyroid? You get your blood checked and your doctorbrtells you “it's not your thyroid the numberbris within normal range.” You leave there feeling completely hopeless. “I must just be getting old”,bryou tell yourself. Well guessbrwhat? It could definitely be yourbrthyroid!! What most primary care doctorsbrdo not realize is that the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologistsbr(AACE) has narrowed the parameters of the normal range and now patients whobrresults looked normal before now are considered hypothyroid.
Now stay with me here because it does get a little confusing. Whenbrwe check patients for thyroid disease we do not check the thyroid directly. Instead,brwe check the levels of a hormone called Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) thatbris produced by the pituitary gland in the brain. Your TSH stimulates yourbrthyroid to make thyroid hormones. When the levels of your thyroid hormones arebrnormal your TSH will be normal or low. brYou feel good, energetic, keep your weight and cholesterol down easilybrand have great brain function because good levels of the thyroid hormones helpbryou feel great and give you a sense of well being. When, on the other hand,bryour thyroid hormones are low your TSH will be high. Your brain senses the low levels andbrincreases TSH levels to try to stimulate your thyroid to make more thyroidbrhormones. So (stay with me here), whenbrwe diagnose patients with low thyroid, it is because the TSH result came backbrhigh. That range of normal use to be 0.5brto 5.3. You had to have a TSH above thatbrto be considered low thyroid. In Januarybr2002 the AACE narrowed those parameters to 0.3 to 3.0. If you had your thyroid checked before andbryour TSH was over 3.0 it would have been considered normal. When, in fact bybrthe new standard, you would be considered abnormal.
The problem is that most primary care doctors are not aware ofbrthese new standards and the labs are still using the old parameters to flagbrabnormal labs. Often times if the lab isbrnot flagged abnormal it is not looked at. brFor those of you already on thyroid replacement hormone you may be ablebrto up your medication. If say your TSHbrwas 4.0 you could get you medication increased. brMaximizing your thyroid medication (getting your TSH less than 3) willbrmaximize your sense of well being and make it easier for you to maintain abrhealthy weight. It is such a wonderful thing to diagnose and treat patients forbra low thyroid, we see it all of the time at the clinic as most patients with abrlow thyroid also have weight issues. Not all patients with weight issues have abrthyroid problem but most patients with thyroid problem struggle with theirbrweight.
Whether we increase their current medication (because the TSH isbrabove 3.0) or start them on it, they most always feel so much better within 10brdays. So now what do you do?
If you are feeling symptoms consistent with a low thyroid,brwhether you are already on thyroid medication or not, go see you primary doctor.brAsk your doctor to check your thyroid and ask them to go to the AACE websitebrwhere the new parameters for the normal range are outlined. Even better print it up yourself and bring itbrto them. Remember that you are your ownbrbest advocate. Knowledge is power. Most doctors are so busy trying to keep theirbrheads above water. Between seeingbrpatients, referrals and dealing with insurance rejections it leaves little timebrto keep up with reading. Help them helpbryou.
Take charge of your health, be pro-active and start taking stepsbrto feel better. Stop telling yourself you are just getting old. Nothing will change if you don't makebrchanges. You can dream about it, thinkbron it, study it and breathe it but until you take action on it, you will neverbrown it!
About Life's Medicine
Dr. Isabel Lopez earned a BS in Biology from St. Mary's University in 1989 and her medical degree from Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, in 1994. After completing her residency at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, she began her family practice career with Baylor Hospital, Irving. While treating patients at her clinic, she developed a true passion for educating her patients on the importance of a healthy diet. She has served as a medical director for a weight-loss clinic in Southlake and while there, was able to study the co-morbid conditions that can facilitate weight gain, prevent weight-loss and negatively affect the quality of life.
Now opening her own clinic Life's Medicine, she hopes to continue her passion for helping her patients live life to the fullest. Life's Medicine offers an integrated and holistic approach to diagnosing and treating high blood pressure, hypothyroidism, polycystic ovarian disease, insulin resistance, diabetes, depression, insomnia, decreased sex drive and other conditions. Dr. Lopez takes the human being and their concerns into account, collaborating with her patients in decisions to treat based not solely on lab results but on a variety of factors, at the core of which is how the patient actually feels. The mission and true passion at Life's Medicine is to improve the quality of life!