Understanding Hypothyroidism from a Functional Medicine Perspective by COEM in Charleston SC

1. Hyperthyroidism
People suffer from hyperthyroidism when their thyroid gland is overactive and produces more thyroid hormone than required by their body. Major symptoms of hyperthyroidism include nervousness, high thyroxine levels, low TSH levels, restlessness, increased sweating, irritability, weight loss, racing heart, anxiety, shaking, trouble sleeping, muscle weakness, thin skin, and brittle hair and nails.

2. Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism is a condition where the thyroid gland is underactive, and so it cannot produce enough thyroid hormones as per the body requirement. The major hypothyroidism symptoms include fatigue, weight gain, increased sensitivity to cold, constipation, memory problems, dry skin, depression, weakness, and slow heart rate.

3. Hashimoto’s Disease
Hashimoto’s thyroiditis strikes a person when their body’s immune system attacks their thyroid gland by mistake and slowly destroys its ability to produce thyroid hormones. Mild cases of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis often show no obvious symptoms. Although, more advanced cases replicate the symptoms of several other conditions such as fatigue, constipation, dry skin, depression, mild weight gain, intolerance to cold, heavy, and irregular menstruation, and an overgrown thyroid or goiter.

4. Graves’ Disease
Graves’ disease is an autoimmune disorder that usually occurs when the body’s immune system attacks the thyroid gland by mistake and causes it to overproduce the thyroid hormone. The symptoms of graves diseases are similar to those of hyperthyroidism. High thyroid levels can cause all your body functions to speed up.

5. Goiter
Goiters are abnormal noncancerous swellings of the thyroid gland. An iodine deficiency usually causes this condition in your diet. A family medical history, pregnancy, usage of certain medications, and radiation exposure can also be other risk factors. Goiters are also more common in women over the age of 40.

6. Thyroid Nodules
Growths forming on or in the thyroid gland are called thyroid nodules. These can be fluid-filled or solid. Most thyroid nodules do not cause any symptoms and are mostly benign. However, a small percentage of these nodules can be cancerous. Additionally, if the nodules become large enough, they can cause neck swelling and goiter, pain, and swallowing and breathing difficulties.

Biologically, inactive thyroid hormone is considered as a reverse T3 (RT3). Owing to this, high levels of reverse T3 can exhibit several hypothyroid symptoms discussed in earlier sections. Some of these include continuous fatigue, constantly feeling cold, hair loss, low blood pressure, heart palpitations, mood swings, etc.

A common treatment for high reverse T3 is placing the patient on a sustained release T3 for two to three months. This negative feedback to the pituitary will slow down the production of T4 and correspondingly slow down the production of rT3 and alleviate the disease symptoms.

The basic principle behind functional medicine is to find and treat the root cause of the illness instead of simply treating the disease symptoms as conventional doctors do. Therefore, the functional medicine approach to hypothyroidism treatment may require dietary changes, adopting new lifestyle strategies, and giving suitable supplementation to support your body.

If you are looking for the best functional medicine doctors who are well experienced in holistic thyroid treatment, then schedule an appointment today or call us to talk with our experts. We serve patients from Charleston, Mt. Pleasant, Summerville, North Charleston SC, Ladson SC, Hanahan SC, James Island SC, John’s Island SC, Daniel Island SC, all of South Carolina, Nationally, and Internationally. Patients routinely fly into Charleston to be evaluated by COEM and to enjoy this beautiful city which is a Condé Nast and Travel and Leisure Top Domestic and International Tourist Destination.