Symptoms include fatigue, depression, weight gain or difficulty losing weight, low body temperature, constipation, muscle and joint aches, PMS, loss of sex drive and dry skin to name just a few. These are all symptoms of low thyroid hormone, yet people with these symptoms are often told their thyroid labs are “normal”. In truth, often only one thyroid parameter is checked, the TSH or thyroid stimulating hormone; the theory being this hormone will be elevated if thyroid hormone is low. In fact, TSH is a very poor marker of thyroid status for a variety of reasons.
Under conditions of physiologic or psychological stress, aging, inflammation, obesity, dieting, and numerous other conditions the pituitary behaves differently than all other tissues in the body resulting in a cellular and tissue lack of thyroid hormone, but normal TSH levels. Because thyroid hormone is required for normal metabolism in every cell and tissue of the body, decreased intracellular levels result in many symptoms. There are several names for this condition; Wilson’s thyroid syndrome, Wilson’s temperature syndrome, functional hypothyroidism, thyroid uptake deficiency, reverse T3 dominance, thyroid resistance syndrome, thyroid system dysfunction or thyroid conversion disorder.
The good news is that this condition can be diagnosed with the appropriate labwork and physical exam, and there is a well-studied, well-documented treatment protocol to re-set the thyroid gland so that someone suffering from this condition can return to a normal state of health and get relief from these devastating symptoms. Dr. Lisa Hogan at Youthologie Aesthetic & Anti-Aging Medicine is certified to provide this treatment protocol.