I’ve spent quite a few weeks discussing the thyroid, from symptoms of an imbalance, to what to do when your tests tell you everything is normal but you’re still not feeling like yourself. One in three adults is living with thyroid disease, and many of us may not realize it until the effects on our bodies are catastrophic. In my practice of Blended Medicine -I use both Chinese and Functional medicine to heal your problems.  We work with you to ensure that the root cause is both discovered and resolved. For patients with autoimmune conditions like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, this can be an eye-opening and also life-changing process.

What Is Hashimoto’s?

Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis is not actually a thyroid disease at all. It is an autoimmune condition in which the body treats our healthy cells like invaders, and starts attacking, often leading to hypothyroidism. When your immune system is attacking your thyroid, it isn’t because it wants to harm your thyroid – it is usually trying to fight something that is living in your thyroid. This causes many symptoms, most notably the following:

• Weight gain
• Hair loss and thinning
• Pale skin
• Joint pain
• Depression
• Irregular and/or heavy menstruation in women
• Infertility
• Fatigue
• Constipation
• Cold extremities
• Slowed heart rate
• Dry skin
• Anxiety

Blended Medicine ™ Treatment

Fortunately, Blended Medicine ™ provides other options. Blended medicine is my name for the unique blend of Chinese and Functional medicine that I have been practicing for over 20 years. By assessing all aspects of your lifestyle, I help ensure that everything you do supports you, from the food you eat to the supplements you purchase, to acupuncture treatments to balance your energy. We also look for the root cause of your condition so that we can heal it from where it started. Often – as I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, an infection is at the core of your immune system’s attack on your thyroid.

Managing stress is also incredibly important, as chronic stress increases the fight-or-flight response in the body and triggers inflammation.  I also encourage stress-relieving practices like acupuncture, yoga, meditation, and journaling. Connecting with your faith and keeping a positive attitude throughout treatment will also help you process any added stress to your system. These often-overlooked aspects of our lifestyles compose one of the biggest gaps in modern, conventional health care.

Treating the root cause can allow your thyroid to heal. YES, Healing is possible!! The most important element of this approach is that there is HOPE. No matter how difficult things have been, do not allow yourself to give up on your healing.