COMMON SENSE UNIVERSITY

If these reputable medical organizations are saying this about the thyroid…

Web MD “Your thyroid controls your metabolism, which is how your body turns food into energy, and also affects your heart, muscles, bones, and cholesterol”

Mayo Clinic “These hormones circulate in your bloodstream and help regulate your metabolism. They maintain the rate at which your body uses fats and carbohydrates, help control your body temperature, influence your heart rate, and help regulate the production of proteins. Your thyroid gland also produces calcitonin — a hormone that helps regulate the amount of calcium in your blood.”

Medicine Net “The Thyroid regulates the body's metabolism and effects processes, such as growth and other important functions of the body.”

Merck “These hormones act on cells in virtually every body tissue by combining with nuclear receptors and altering expression of a wide range of gene products. Thyroid hormone is required for normal brain and somatic tissue development in the fetus and neonate, and, in people of all ages, regulates protein, carbohydrate, and fat metabolism.”

…Then for the life of me I can’t figure out why the following tests aren’t routinely run, or at least given once, to someone with a thyroid condition.

1.       Comprehensive Metabolic Panel– It has been suggested that people with chronic diseases should get this test done routinely.

2.       Vitamin and mineral levels (not just D, B12 and Iron…ALL) – because of our difficulties with metabolizing. Are our essential nutrients going to each bodily system correctly?

3.       Hormone levels – Who knows…a hormonal imbalance could have caused your problems in the first place.

4.       Stomach Acid Testing – Digestive issues and thyroid disease can go hand in hand.

5.       Bone Density – There is a link between thyroid disease and osteoporosis.

6.       Cardiovascular system tests – The thyroid influences your heart rate.

7.       Parasite testing-These little buggers could have caused all of your problems, as well OR as a result of poor digestion because of a bum thyroid, these parasites could be thriving in your gut as we speak.

 Why those tests? I am using a deductive scientific technique from my studies of Commonsenseology.

You see…when I was first diagnosed, my TSH was off the charts abnormal. I’m sure my thyroid was malfunctioning for many years prior to diagnosis as well. And then after treatment, my body still misbehaved with continued fluctuation of my thyroid lab numbers.

So my question is…If this gland is so important to all bodily functions...what kind of damage has been done since my thyroid decided to quit working?

I am not a doctor. I don’t have any sort of clinical degree, but what I do have is a PhD in common sense. Unfortunately, commonsenseologists can’t legally diagnose or treat…all they can do is just…well… wonder…wonder why so many thyroid sufferers who just can’t seem to get well on any kind of thyroid medication, whether it be natural, generic, brand or a T4/T3 combo.  Perhaps if those other lab tests were performed, irregularities could be discovered and then addressed…optimal health just might be possible. Woo Hoo!

I didn’t mention the obvious “no brainer” tests that should be done on someone with thyroid disease like T3, free's and the reverse's, and even testing for adrenal issues.

So you are probably saying…”Crazy Thyroid Lady, if docs aren’t gonna test ALL the thyroid hormone levels AND other related endocrine issues, what makes you think they will test anything else?  I would say to this, “You’re right”, and this is why I propose that all these uncooperative thyroid-treating doctors, enroll at CSU – Common Sense University. With a Common Sense and Medical degree combined, imagine how much better off we’d be?

Crazy Thyroid Lady

THE THYROID AND THE BRAIN

While doing some research for my book, I stumbled upon an interesting news story regarding thyroid disease. The article was about a murder trial and the defendant’s attorneys argued that a “mismanaged thyroid disease” led to her actions on that fateful day.

Intrigued, I sought after the court transcripts for this once high profile case. A thyroid expert, a psychiatrist traveled from Florida to a small little town in Indiana to testify. His credentials were a mile long.

I was awestruck by this man. His knowledge of thyroid disease was quite impressive. Even though I’m married, the temptation to purchase a plane ticket, go track this man down, fall on one knee and ask for his hand in marriage, was so immense. It is such a rarity to hear from someone with so much knowledge about the thyroid.

Here are some of the terms he used to describe thyroid symptoms that were unfamiliar to me, but his descriptions where oh so familiar:

Hyperthyroid Psychosis – Affects approximately five to ten percent of the U.S. population each year. Changes in a person’s mood occurs prior to psychosis, they feel nervous, jittery, shaky. They feel wound tight, dysphoric. They have a sense of dread, little things set them off and they become increasingly paranoid. The psychosis state varies from person to person. It depends on what is going on with them at the time and how well their nervous system is functioning. Primarily the presentation of hyperthyroid psychosis is either an agitated, manic or schizophrenic-like state. Thoughts are hard to control and reality is somewhat distorted.

Task Performance Impairment – A decreased attention span for those who are hypo or hyper-thyroid. They are easily distractible. They don’t always think clearly, they have trouble planning ahead. Complex tasks get compromised. Things that require sequential thinking is difficult.

Pronounced Stare-Because of the stimulation of the nervous system and changes in the way the eyelids come up, people have a very intense stare that almost looks like they’re boring a hole through you. In some cases, there’s tissue that accumulates behind the eye which causes the eyes to bug out of the head a little bit.

It is amazing to come across an MD who truly understands the intricacies of thyroid diseases. It also amazes me how thyroid disease can affect a person neurologically, yet, some health care professionals understand this and some do not. Every time I go to my Endo, I try to ask as many questions as I can (knowing I’m probably going to get a non-answer)…it is almost like a game, really.

One day I saw my Endo’s physician assistant, so I decided to ask her (thinking I may get a better answer from her), “Why do you think thyroid disease causes neurological dysfunction in some people?” She looked at me as if I had two heads. She had no idea what I was talking about. After a long pause, she answered my question by singling me out, as if I was the only one she had heard of with this issue. When I explained to her that I am not the only one struggling with cognitive deficiencies due to my thyroid disease, that there are in fact thousands of people frustrated because they are being treated for their thyroid disorders and yet they still don’t feel well both mentally and physically. She responded by saying, “Well the research just isn’t there.”

Hmmm, so it looks like I have to wait for a scientific study-plan to be formulated, tests to be done on animals, then the protocol to find humans to participate in case studies, schedule tests/procedures, years of scientific data collected, tabulated, presented and accepted. Ok, so I have to wait for that… and ya just can’t take my (the patient’s) word for it now?…That makes sense.

Crazy Thyroid Lady

Don't forget to get your copy of my thyroid book Wow Your Mom Really is Crazy