The Truth About Thyroid Deficiency

Ann S., a 43 year old mother of three, came to me at the point of exacerbation for help losing weight. Although she was eating a low calorie, high protein diet with fruits and vegetables and was exercising 6 days each week for at least one hour per day of cardio and weights she was unable to shed those last 15 lbs. she had been carrying around since the birth of her last child 5 years ago.

Talking with her I learned she slept 8-10 hours each night yet awake feeling tired and had great difficulty getting going in the mornings. She noted she often felt puffy mornings but attributed that to allergies, perhaps to her pillow. Coffee fueled her for the morning's activities and helped lift her mild depression and improve her ability to concentrate at work. Fortunately, by the afternoon she noted more energy and felt a little sharper.

Ann always wore a sweater even in early summer months as she was always cold, particularly her hands and feet. Her skin was dry and her hair brittle and thin. Because of this she had seen her doctor who checked her thyroid gland but had told her she was "fine".

I have seen many patients who suspect they have a thyroid problem but when tested appear to have normal thyroid function. The problem is in the reliance on a test result and ignoring the patient's complaints. Although Ann's tests came back normal, all that means is that her results were within the range of results obtained by 95% of the population (which includes a lot of people with thyroid deficiency); it does not mean that her thyroid is functioning adequately for her individual needs.

I started Ann on a small dose of Armour thyroid and gradually increased the dose over the next few weeks. Armour thyroid is a combination of T4 (the form in which the body makes thyroid hormone but is less active) and T3 (the final, active form of thyroid hormone). I prefer this form of thyroid supplementation because many people do not convert their T4 to T3 efficiently and therefore do not do as well on Synthroid which is pure T4. I find Armour thyroid is well tolerated by most patients. Within a month Ann noted her skin and hair had come back to life, her morning puffiness was improved and she now awoke feeling refreshed and much brighter. Additionally, her thinking was clearer and she was no longer always cold. Most significantly for her, Ann was able to lose 12 lbs. even though her busy schedule had prevented her from working out as much as she had previously been doing. On follow up testing Ann's blood tests were still within the normal range but this time in the upper half.