The labs that check and focus on the thyroid function include TSH, T3 and T4 hormones. Without checking all three hormones, a full assessment of your thyroid can not be made. Once all three of these thyroid hormone levels are known and combined with your individual symptoms, the process to determine if you have thyroid disease can begin. If you find out your thyroid is underactive, also called hypothyroidism, thyroid replacement therapy can begin. If your thyroid is overactive, you have hyperthyroidism, and other testing may be needed to determine the cause and best treatment strategies.

I still have symptoms of fatigue, low energy, inability to lose weight, and my mood is not where I would like it to be. My hair is coming out and my skin feels dry, especially when I feel cold. If you fall into this category, the answer to this question is “possibly.” If your thyroid labs come back in the normal range, that usually means that your symptoms are likely coming from something else.

However, normal thyroid labs do not completely exclude your thyroid hormones as a cause of your concerns. Symptoms of fatigue, low energy, inability to lose weight, and mood changes, dry skin, and cold intolerance can occur early in thyroid disease before lab levels of hormones have had time to change. In addition, the ability to precisely test for thyroid function of active hormone at the cell level where it matters most is very limited. Thus, discussing your individual situation with a medical professional familiar with thyroid optimization like an internal medicine physician or endocrinologist is key to knowing if your thyroid is part of what is causing your symptoms.

There are two types of thyroid hormone in our body: T3 and T4. T3 hormone is much more active in the cell to increase metabolism and energy production in our body. T4 hormone is much less active in the cell to increase metabolism and energy. However, our thyroid can only tell our cells to produce T4 hormone, not the T3 hormone. It is the individual cells that are required to take the T4 hormone and convert it to the much more active T3 hormone. This is what improves the energy and metabolism of each cell and organ. This frequently leads to more energy, improved memory, possible weight loss and better feeling of mood and well being.

There are many different options of thyroid hormone replacement on the market. Some are synthetic, others come from animal products like pigs (porcine) and are called desiccated thyroid hormone. The advantages of desiccated thyroid hormones is that these products allow you and your physician to optimize both T4 and T3 hormones. Synthetic thyroid hormone typically only provides one hormone, T4 which can limit its effectiveness to improve symptoms in certain situations. This is why not everyone feels better or 100% when taking just T4 thyroid hormones like Synthroid.

Currently the most widely prescribed thyroid replacement therapies are T4 hormones like Synthroid and its generics. This does not mean it is the best thyroid hormone for every individual. Synthroid and its generics are strictly a T4 only thyroid replacement strategy. This means it relies on each cell’s ability to turn it into the more active T3 hormone to produce the symptom relieving changes. If your cell just needs a wake up call to produce more thyroid hormone this is great. But sometimes the cell has trouble making the T3 hormone from T4 and thus one of the most commonly prescribed thyroid hormones does not fully improve symptoms. This is where T3 replacement hormone can be helpful to improve those unwanted symptoms of fatigue, depressed mood and inability to lose weight.

Desiccated thyroid medications give you both T3 and T4 thyroid hormones in one capsule. This is advantageous as it is T3 is the actual hormone that improves your symptoms of depression, slow thinking, weight gain, loss of energy, hair loss, dry skin, constipation, and feeling cold. But since it has T4 combined with the T3, your body is less likely to get over-stimulated while taking it as long as your levels are monitored by an internal medicine or endocrinologist.

Do you want more energy? At Viva Med we look at the whole patient, not just lab results. Thyroid optimization is combining a thorough disease work up to come up with a diagnosis based on your individual symptoms and lab results. If you have thyroid disease we then discuss the likelihood of the thyroid’s role in your symptoms. We will come up with an individualized approach to optimize your thyroid hormones and your symptoms. Once our plan is implemented, and you begin your individualized thyroid hormone plan, we follow up and at set intervals to determine how you feel and how your labs have changed. If needed, changes are made to better optimize results, and your path to more energy, mental clarity, improved mood, and better metabolism becomes easier. Real weight loss becomes a possibility again.

The risk of not addressing or optimizing your thyroid could lead to fatigue, poor energy, weight gain, constipation, slow thinking and confusion. Rarely in severe cases even coma and death. The benefits of properly optimizing your thyroid include more energy, better mood, improved chances of weight loss, and better mental clarity. Not to mention better hair and skin!

At Viva Med our internal medicine specialist will develop a plan to properly listen, diagnose, and detect thyroid dysfunction. Our thyroid optimization plan includes all your office visits, labs, nursing visits and discussion with an emphasis on safely improving your thyroid related symptoms. We will work with you to achieve your energy, mood, and weight loss goals. You don’t have to visit an endocrinologist in Greenville NC just to get specialized thyroid care, as Viva Med specializes in thyroid optimization and thyroid replacement therapy for men and women!