The Case:
- Sally is 41 year old mom working part time.
- She was experiencing extreme fatigue, needing naps to get through the day and unable to find the energy to do anything.
- She thought it might be a thyroid issue because it runs in her family but her doctor said her levels were in the normal range.
The Investigation
When fatigue is a symptom, the thyroid is often involved. I wasn’t about to take that possibility off the table.
According to the American Thyroid Association, an estimated 20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disease. But, it is more prevalent in women. One in eight women will develop a thyroid condition in their lifetime.
I invited Dr. Justin Marchegiani to join me in discussing Sally’s case. He is a virtual functional medicine doctor and the author of the Thyroid Reset. He knows all too well that the typical tests done in traditional medicine don’t tell the whole thyroid story.
We spend the first part of our discussion explaining exactly how the thyroid works, it’s connection to the brain (the hypothalamus), the pituitary gland, the adrenal glands, and how that all affect metabolism. Which is why symptoms can vary widely. Most will experience fatigue as Sally did, while others may also experience feeling cold all the time, hair loss, moodiness, depression, and/or constipation.
A Normal TSH Doesn’t Mean the Thyroid is Functioning Properly.
Dr. J explained that the TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) range that is considered normal by traditional medicine doesn’t tell the whole story. There are too many other factors at play in how the thyroid gland actually functions. It’s important to look at how the connected systems are functioning too.
Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis May be the Cause
Studies have found that the antibody associated with Hashimoto’s disease is much more common than previously thought and may be the cause of hypothyroidism even at a subclinical level. This was something I knew I needed to test Sally for.
