Thyroid and Adrenal Insufficiency

Thyroid and adrenal insufficiency is one of the main reasons behind low metabolic energy which can cause a wide variety of symptoms such as the following:

1. General: low body temperature,coldness, fatigue, weight gain(sometime loss)
2. Brain: depression, anxiety, memory issues, lack of focus and sleep issues
3. Immune system: Frequent infections or allergies
4. Musculosketal: fatigue, muscle or joint pains, headaches
5. Sexual: menstrual disorders, infertility, loss of libido
6. Vascular: Blood pressure issues(low or high)
7. Gastrointestinal: constipation, gas, bloating
8. Skin: dry skin or acne
9. Hair: hair change-loss, brittle or coarse

The thyroid gland makes T4 which converts to T3 or rT3(reverse T3). T3 is the energy hormone which affects ATP. Many doctors don’t do a complete set of testing for thyroid function. We look at Ft3, Ft4,TSH, rT3, thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin. We don’t just look at what is in range–we look at optimal ranges for these hormones.

The adrenal gland located on the top of each kidney helps the body deal with stress. The stress can be either internal such as illness or natural changes-menopause or can be external stress such as pesticides. The adrenal gland when is is not functioning properly will create symptoms very similar to hypothyroidism.

The adrenals and the thyroid gland speak to on another and influence each other-among other organs such as the pancreas and the sex hormones. One also has to look at gastrointestinal health-leaky gut for example. Candida is one of many reasons for leaky gut. Candida will all effect the adrenals and thyroid gland.

At our office in a very simplified explanation, we practice functional medicine, we try to find the causes of the adrenal/thyroid dysfunction.