Thyroid Blog
Natural Remedies For Healing Your Thyroid - Can Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture Help?
The thyroid. A gland you may know well or perhaps not at all. Whichever way, I am here to explain what the thyroid does, how Chinese Medicine sees the thyroid, and what you can do to help your thyroid so you can feel like yourself again.
What is the Thyroid and What Does it Do?
Let’s start at the top and chat about the thyroid. This little butterfly shaped gland is located at the base of your neck and it is a part of a feedback system with the hypothalamus and pituitary glands, both of which are found in your brain. I know you’re not here for a science lesson, so I will keep this short and simple. Your hypothalamus produces TRH (thyroid-release hormone) which makes your pituitary release TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone). TSH is one of the 3 main hormones tested via a blood test to see how your thyroid is doing. TSH stimulates your thyroid to produce a few hormones, the two main ones being T3 (triiodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxine).
So what do the thyroid hormones do? A lot! A major role they play is in your body’s metabolism. What exactly is your metabolism you may ask? Metabolism is the functioning of your body to keep it doing what it needs to be doing to make you feel well and healthy. Your thyroid hormones help to break down nutrients from your food as well as heal and repair your body, they regulate your heart rate, your body temperature, and your digestive system and play a part in keeping your bones healthy as well as helping the liver breakdown other hormones that need to be excreted. Sleep and brain function are influenced by these hormones, as are other chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin (your happy feelings), which I think is just so important, because feeling off physically is one thing, but to also feeling off mentally is no good.
Testing for a Thyroid Condition
When you get your bloods done with your GP, they normally just test your TSH levels. If your TSH levels in your bloods are high, that can possibly mean that your thyroid is not being stimulated enough to produce T3 and T4 which can indicate that it is slowing down, or is under active. Whereas if the TSH levels in your blood are low, it may mean that your thyroid is being over stimulated, producing too much T3 and T4, which can indicate that is is going too fast, or is overactive.
Ok, so I am going to get a little controversial here. When you get your thyroid tested, usually a GP will only test your TSH and will not bother with T3, T4, or anti-bodies UNLESS your TSH levels come back well outside the range. What is the range? Typically it is 0.4 - 5.0 mU/L. But let me tell you, once my TSH levels went up to 3.8 mU/L and I was feeling it. I knew there was something up with my body, however I was ‘within range’ (or ‘fine’ like so many doctors say) so it couldn’t have been my thyroid…come on. Look, don’t get me wrong, GPs are great and their ranges help keep people alive. But I don’t want to just be alive, scraping through, feeling sub-par. I want to be thriving, feeling my best, and preventing an illness from turning into something long lasting! So I would say you would want your TSH between 0.5 - 2.0. Yeah, big difference between ideal and normal ranges. And if you are outside of this range, either end, then it would be good to advocate for yourself to get your T3 and T4 tested as well as antibodies to check that everything is actually fine! If your GP won’t help, then maybe it is time to see an integrative doctor.
What are the Signs and Symptoms of a Thyroid Condition?
So what are we looking for that might indicate your thyroid is playing up? Let me break it down between the 2 types of thyroid issues:
Hypothyroidism - Under active Thyroid
Fatigue
Drowsiness
Sluggishness
Unexplained weight gain
Feeling cold and sensitivity to the cold
Dry hair
Dry skin
Hair loss
Brittle nails
Constipation
Swelling around the base of the neck
Irritability and mood swings
Low sex drive
Slow heart rate
High levels of cholesterol while eating a healthy diet
Hyperthyroidism - Overactive Thyroid
Feeling warm and warm to touch
Intolerance to heat
Excess sweating
Excess hunger
Fatigue
Restlessness
Nervousness
Anxiety and panic attacks
Fast heart rate
Palpitations
Difficulty falling asleep
Insomnia
Puffy eyes or protruding eyes
Unexplained weight loss
Diarrhoea
Hair loss
Tremors
If you have ticked a lot of these signs and symptoms, it is time to get some blood work done. Especially if you have ticked a lot for an overactive thyroid. When the thyroid is overactive, it is a lot more urgent than if it is under active. So PLEASE head to your GP if you think you need to!
Chinese Medicine and Your Thyroid
Ok, science lesson is done. Now to dive into Chinese Medicine philosophy, let’s go! Ps. if you don’t understand the lingo, don’t stress, the Chinese Medicine system is large and can be complicated, however, it is just another way to look at the body to help it harmonise and heal. So don’t too caught up on the language!
In Chinese Medicine, the thyroid is not one of the main 12 organs. There isn’t even a thyroid channel. So how do I treat a thyroid condition?
With an under active thyroid it is typically a deficiency of Qi (pronounced chee), Blood energy, or Yang energy. If you are new to Qi, to keep it simplified it can be described as your vital energy. When your Qi, Blood, and Yang are low, you feel tired, you lack the circulation you need to keep yourself warm, you suffer from brain fog, and everything slows down a whole lot - including your metabolism….ah ha!
With an overactive thyroid it is usually seen as a deficiency in Yin energy, or Blood stasis, or Qi stagnation. Now when Qi and Blood are stuck, they cause a little pile up in your body, causing Heat to become a major symptom, hence the getting hot and sweaty. Yin is an interesting one. Yin helps us sleep as it is stronger at night time, Yin also keeps us calm and cool. So when Yin is deficient, all this horrible Heat starts to form and it affects our mood, our sleep, and how calm we usually are.
And how do I work out which one you have? If you have been diagnosed with either an under active or overactive thyroid, I would start there. I can also read blood test results, so I can use them too. Then I use a pretty extensive intake form to help me get a better understanding of how your thyroid is affecting you. I use Chinese Medicine pulse taking techniques and tongue reading analysis to help me solidify my diagnosis and then I treat you with the proper acupuncture, Chinese herbs, supplements, and diet and lifestyle advice. I would make you an easy to follow treatment plan which would explain the amount of treatments needed as well as the frequency of treatments, as that depends on the individual in front of me. Remember, acupuncture is a natural and holistic medicine and change takes time, especially if you have been suffering for a while. And that’s ok. I am here to help you through that!
What You Can Do Before Your Appointment to Help Your Thyroid
Let’s start you off on some changes you can make right now to help your thyroid:
Decrease the amount of alcohol you are drinking especially if it is daily. Alcohol has been shown to directly affect thyroid function via damage to the actual cells of the thyroid.
Incorporate medium intensity exercise 2-3 times a week. Medium intensity would look like a light to medium weight lifting program, reformer pilates, power walking, bike riding. You don’t have to do high intensity, but you do need a little more than say a walk around the block or slow flow yoga (which are beneficial for other reasons!).
Clean out your bathroom, kitchen, and laundry cupboards of endocrine blocking chemicals. These chemicals can disrupt your hormones in so many ways and they are in EVERYTHING. Using body care and cleaning products that are full of synthetic fragrances - and yes that even means perfumes, candles, and other room smelly things - can be causing havoc with your hormones. BPAs are usually found in plastic products so avoid using plastic as much as you can or at least take your food out of containers and re-heat on a ceramic plate instead.
I will create more individualised diet plans once I have a better understanding of the Chinese Medicine diagnosis as diet has such a large impact on our hormones, no matter how well your body is producing them!
Want Help with Your Thyroid Naturally?
Come get yourself booked in. Let’s meet and let me help you work out a way to incorporate Chinese Medicine into your busy life in a simple and straightforward way. This is what I love to do! Make people feel like themselves again!
Stay warm
x Dr Alice Morgan