One of the most common causes of depression and anxiety is undiagnosed thyroid problems. Yet, many people are unaware of this as they have had “thyroid” testing done. There are several reasons why your Doctor may be telling you that your thyroid is normal – when it may not be. But first, this article is for people experiencing any of the following symptoms:
- Depresion
- Anxiety
- Fatigue
- Brain fog
- Agitation
- Insomnia or excessive sleeping
- Aches and pains
- Neurological symptoms
Thyroid problems cause a wide-range of symptoms because the hormone is needed to help cells with basic functions. Your thyroid may be the cause of your symptoms even if your Doctor’s test has shown up normal. As a first screen, most doctors will only test Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH). This is an indirect measure of thyroid function, in fact it only tells us whether the pituitary in the brain is asking the thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormone. Additionally, the ranges for TSH are so wide and there is no continuum, so that many people who fall just 0.1 points short could be considered “normal”.
Thyroid function, however, is much more complicated. Not only do we need to look at what the TSH is doing, but we also need to consider what the gland itself is doing as well as the receptors on the body cells where the hormone is needed. This requires much more complicated testing.
Autoimmune thyroid problems are on the rise and are not always picked up by a simple TSH test. In the case of autoimmune thyroid problems, something in the gland is signaling the immune system to come and destroy the tissue - usually it is the presence of a harmful component such as bromide – the body flags the tissue as problematic and the immune system comes in and destroys it.
There are many reasons for this including environmental toxins, stress as well as gluten intolerance.
Research has shown a strong overlap between the thyroid condition called Hashimoto’s and Celiac disease – these groups often have high levels of thyroid antibodies which results in anxiety, panic and depression.
This also explains the finding that most people with thyroid antibodies respond really well to a gluten-free diet. In fact, one study exposed a group of patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) to a gluten provocation. Within 24 hours, participants started recording symptoms of depression even if they did not have gut symptoms. For these individuals the protein crossovers result in thyroid destruction when eating gluten containing foods.
It is in some cases possible to eliminate Hashimoto’s through gluten elimination.
What to ask your doctor for when you have any of these symptoms:
- TSH – this level should optimally fall in the range of 1-2 even though the guidelines from your doctor would consider a TSH of up to 4 normal.
- Free T3/Free T4 tells us what the gland is making
- Thyroid antibodies – tells us whether the immune system is damaging the thyroid
- Reverse T3 – this one is critical. It can tell us whether your thyroid hormones in a form that is useable to the body. This one is also important in people who have been placed on thyroid treatment by their doctors but do not feel any improvement.
Most importantly, don’t be pushed into taking anti-depressants. Anti-depressants are like the trash bins for whatever we don’t understand. There are no blood tests or scans that can diagnose depression and so many people get placed unnecessarily on these medications which only mask a real underlying issue. Once the person tries to come off anti-depressants the symptoms return – not because the person is deficient in anti-depressants but because the original problem has not been resolved.
If your doctor cannot, or is unwilling to run those tests, there are private laboratories who will run full thyroid function tests for under £100 – well worth the investment! The Centre for Holistic Health in Edinburgh also offers thyroid function testing, for more information, click here.
Charmaine Shepherd is an Acupuncturist, Director of the Centre for Holistic Health and Author of Is it all in your mind? 10 Steps to Resolving the Underlying Causes of Anxiety and Depression. Available on Kindle!
Charmaine has a sensitive and holistic approach to health-care. She is dedicated to helping individuals take control of their own health. "I believe in supporting the innate healing ability of the body through the use of natural remedies, nutrition and lifestyle,” Charmaine Shepherd.
No comments:
Post a Comment