Some 20 million Americans are affected by thyroid disorders - that’s 1 in 13 people! And more than half of those people are unaware they have a thyroid problem because it frequently goes undiagnosed…until it gets severe.

According to the National Women’s Health Information Center, 1 in 8 women will experience a thyroid disorder during their lifetime. The reason why this fact may surprise you is because you’ve probably never heard it explained to you…that’s because most doctors are only vaguely familiar with thyroid disorders.

Many patients with hypothyroidism suffer from a long list of musculoskeletal complaints, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, autoimmune joint diseases (arthritis or joint degeneration), poor recovery from muscle injury, inflammation, headaches, back pain caused by obesity, and other issues that lead them to seek the care of a chiropractor.

Dr. Natalie Lawrence at Integrative Healthcare of Atlanta can help support you in your quest for better thyroid health and balance.

• Fatigue, tired, or sluggish?
• Cold feet and/or hands?
• Do you require excessive amounts of sleep to function?
• Do you gain weight easily?
• Do you have difficult or infrequent bowel movements?
• Are you depressed? Do you suffer from depression?
• Lack of motivation?
• Do you suffer from morning headaches that wear off as the day progresses?
• Do you suffer from thinning hair or excessive hair falling out?
• Do you suffer from dryness of the skin and/or scalp?
• Do you suffer from mental sluggishness?

• Do you suffer from heart palpitations?
• Do you suffer from inward trembling?
• Do you have an increased pulse even at rest?
• Are you nervous and emotional?
• Do you suffer from insomnia?
• Do you suffer from night sweats?
• Do you have difficulty gaining weight?

Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis is an autoimmune disorder in which the patient’s immune system attacks the thyroid. Patient’s that suffer from Hashimoto’s experience some or all of the above symptoms from Hypothyroidism and Hyperthyroidism.

Let’s talk about the thyroid gland a bit…..

The thyroid “runs” our metabolism—it is the “gas pedal” of the body.

Thyroid hormones have direct effects on most organs, including the heart which beats faster and harder under the influence of increased thyroid hormones (this is why heart problems can often accompany chronic thyroid problems in women, and perhaps why heart problems are more common in women under the age of 50).

T3 is the more biologically active hormone (it’s more important for cellular function), and in fact most of T4 (80%) is converted to T3 in the body’s peripheral tissues. So T4 is just a precursor for the more active hormone, T3.

One of the problems in some thyroid disorders is that you may have trouble converting T4 to T3 in your tissues (have you been checked for this?). This can create a deficiency of T3, disrupting the body’s ability to properly regulate metabolism…leading to specific symptoms.

There are some clinicians that are treating thyroid conditions with iodine. I do not recommend iodine in the treatment of thyroid conditions. According to Dr. Datis Kharriazian, author of the book, Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms?, using iodine to treat thyroid conditions is akin to throwing gasoline on a fire.