Thyroid disorder Part II – Get a proper diagnose

Sarah Campeau    Thyroid Conditions    

Diagnosing a Thyroid condition is not as easy as most physicians would like us to think. Unfortunately modern practices strongly lean towards diagnosing through blood results rather than symptoms. This is even more evident in determining if a patient suffers from an underactive thyroid.

TSH levels alone are the usual standard used to judge the thyroid health, which inevitable has led to thousands of undiagnosed patients that are forced to live with unbearable symptoms that inevitably lead to real systemic conditions. A small bit of curious information; the TSH lab test was first introduced back in 1973, and this was when the “normal” range was established.

The first you need to realize before getting tested is that Lab tests alone will not diagnose you. There is a range of symptoms that combined with blood work, a Cortisol saliva test, and a Barnes Basel test will get you a more accurate portrait of the actual condition of your thyroid.

The symptoms are endless, but here are the most typical complaints of patients suffering from an underactive thyroid:

• Hair thinning and hair loss
• Mental fogginess
• Slow Heart beat
• Dry/Pale Skin
• Hair thinning and Hair loss
• Intolerance to heat and cold
• Frequent constipation
• Depression

Most common symptoms reported by patients suffering from an overactive thyroid

• Hair thinning and Hair Loss
• feeling nervous, irritable or emotional
• tremor (shaking)
• Sleeping disorders
• Intolerance to heat and sweating more than usual
• Losing weight despite having an increased appetite (although around one in 10 people will gain weight)
• Feeling tired
• Muscle weakness
• Increased heart rate or palpitations
• Infrequent periods or problems getting pregnant
• Frequent bowel movements or diarrhea
• shortness of breath, especially when exercising
• loss of hair or finer hair than usual
• swelling of your thyroid gland
• swollen/red eyes, or double vision

Unfortunately the list of symptoms for both pathologies goes on.

A lot of Hair loss patients who complain that nothing seems to work for them, are actually suffering from an undiagnosed Thyroid condition. The moment the root of the problem is “attacked” the hair loss decreases, and in many cases stops completely.

One needs to understand that when the body is in crises, non-essential functions start to shut down, Hair growth is one of those functions. This is the case for most of the autoimmune disorders, causing havoc and chaos through the entire body disguising the root of the problem with other symptoms.

So what are the steps to get a proper evaluation of your thyroid?

• Identify your symptoms
• Check if your thyroid Enlarged:
• Check for Nodules around your thyroid
• Perform the Barnes Basel Test
• Get a SSH Cortisol / DHEA Saliva Test done
• Consult the right physicians, most importantly an endocrinologist that does not solely rely on the TSH levels to make a diagnosis.

On our next topic we will discuss treatments, why thyroxine is not the way to go and all of the alternative treatments available to patients.

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