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According to The American Thyroid Association, 20 million Americans experience various thyroid issues, and 60% of them know nothing about their condition. Thyroid hormone imbalances usually lead to increased fatigue, overweight, depression, and more. Those symptoms are easy to confuse with aging, stress, or other conditions.
Keeping the thyroid gland healthy is crucial for our health as it regulates body metabolism, brain development, bone strength, etc. Luckily, bioidentical thyroid hormone replacement therapy is designed to maintain thyroid hormone content at required levels. In this article, we discuss what is the underactive thyroid gland and how BHRT can normalize its condition.
How does the thyroid gland work?
The thyroid gland is a small piece of follicular tissue situated in a human’s neck. Follicle cells are unique as only they can absorb iodine, the source of thyroid hormones. The thyroid gland produces two hormones out of iodine:
- Thyroxine (T4). T4 serves as a source for triiodothyronine (T3) production. T4 has a longer half-life and makes up 80% of all thyroid hormones. It’s synthesized into T3 in particular organs (liver, pituitary, placenta).
- Triiodothyronine (T3). T3 takes part in almost all physiological processes in our body, from heart rate control to growth and development. The thyroid gland produces 20% of T3.
The thyroid gland doesn’t control T3 and T4 concentrations in the organism. Thyroid hormone balances are managed by the hypothalamus and pituitary gland in our brain. Hypothalamus produces thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), which tells the pituitary gland to produce thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). When there is a lack of thyroxine, TSH tells the thyroid gland to secrete more thyroid hormones.
Hypothyroidism
Low levels of thyroid hormones cause hypothyroidism. The symptoms include tiredness, thermoregulation disruption, upset stomach, weight gain, cardiovascular issues, poor cognitive function, etc. The common reasons for developing hypothyroidism condition are:
- lack of iodine in daily diet,
- inadequate function of the thyroid gland,
- disruption of thyroid hormone stimulation.
Few people notice the symptoms of low thyroid hormone levels as they are easy to confuse with stress, depression, or aging symptoms. It puts one’s health in danger, as extreme forms of hypothyroidism include goiter (enlarged thyroid gland) and myxedema (dermis swelling). Treating those complications usually involves intensive care medicine. The good news is bioidentical thyroid hormone replacement therapy can increase thyroid hormone levels and prevent hypothyroidism.
Bioidentical hormones restore T3 and T4 balance
Most traditional medications prescribed to treat hypothyroidism include only synthetic T4, which isn’t convenient for each patient. Usually, therapists examine TSH levels to identify possible issues with the pituitary gland, and T4 levels to check if the thyroid gland produces enough hormones. But the truth is most T4 hormones are bound with proteins and can’t interact with thyroid hormone receptors.
Little free T4 hormones do most of the work. Besides, some people have poor mechanisms to convert T4 into T3, which can induce hypothyroidism symptoms even if TSH is at the required level. Hormone replacement therapy must provide medications that include both T4 and T3 hormones. Bioidentical thyroid medication can be personalized according to patients’ needs.
Bioidentical thyroid hormone replacement treatment uses T4, T3, and TSH natural hormones in optimal proportion to effectively deal with hypothyroidism. Before the treatment begins, our experts examine your T3, T4, and TSH levels, and discuss your lifestyle and symptoms to develop a personalized treatment plan with an optimal proportion of bioidentical hormones, lifestyle, and nutrition recommendations to improve your health. Each patient is unique, so we put an effort to provide smooth and fast therapy based on patients’ personal needs.
Bioidentical thyroid hormone treatment is also suitable for recovery after thyroid gland surgical removal or radioactive iodine treatment of the overactive thyroid gland. Patients, who have thyroid cancer or its remission, should receive consent to use thyroid hormone medication from their physicians as they are well-versed in their patients’ cases and can advise proper thyroid hormone supplements.
If you experience underactive thyroid gland symptoms or want to receive more information about bioidentical thyroid hormone treatment, contact our experts to find out how to restore thyroid balances.
Wrapping up
Low thyroid hormone levels are hard to recognize because of their common symptoms. Yet hypothyroidism significantly spoils our quality of life and can cause severe conditions such as goiter, myxedema, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, and others.
While traditional thyroid replacement therapy uses only synthetic T4 (levothyroxine), bioidentical thyroid hormone replacement therapy offers personalized combinations of T3, T4, and TSH hormones to efficiently restore thyroid hormones to optimal levels. Considering bioidentical hormones’ origin and dose diversity, they could be a convenient way to treat the thyroid gland for many patients.
Dr. Mill has over thirty years of experience working as a thyroid specialist and hormone expert in a US clinic. He is passionate about developing his knowledge and confirming his practice.