Hypothyroidism with Dr. Jeffrey James: Rational Wellness Podcast 336

View the Show Notes For This Episode

Dr. Jeffrey James discusses Hypothyroidism with Dr. Ben Weitz.

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Podcast Highlights

3:17  Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is the most common form of low functioning thyroid or hypothyroidism.  Dr. James noted that he has seen hundreds of women suffering with hypothyroidism and most of these women don’t even get tested for Hashimoto’s, since from the perspective of conventional medicine, if the woman has low functioning thyroid/high TSH levels, they will be treated with Synthroid or levothyroxine, which is synthetic thyroid hormone.  If it has an autoimmune origin, it doesn’t change the pharmaceutical outcome.  But if you have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis you have an immune system problem rather than a primary thyroid problem. We need to try to understand what would cause your immune system to dysregulate and want to attack your own body tissues?  Unfortunately, once you have one autoimmune disorder, you’re 50% more likely to develop another one.  Dr. James explained that a lot of women complain that they’re exhausted, they’re putting on weight, they’ve got brain fog, they’re losing their hair, they’re constipated, their skin is dry, they’ve got brain fog, they have this constellation of symptoms, and they’re cold.  When they go to their doctor, out comes the prescription for Synthroid.  Unfortunately a majority of women end up back in their doctor’s office after a few months or a few years and they don’t feel any better.  Their primary MD or endocrinologist then tries to dial in their TSH.  If they are depressed, then they get prescribed an antidepressant like Effexor or Cymbalta. If they have headaches, they get prescribed Imitrex.  If their blood pressure goes up, they are prescribed antihypertensive medications like Lisinopril or Amlopidipine or hydrochlorothiazide.  Dr. James sees a lot of these women who feel like they are not being seen or their complaints are not being addressed by their physician. 

9:10  Functional Medicine practitioners are not simply treating each symptom with a pharmaceutical drug to ameliorate that symptom but are looking at your underlying metabolism, physiology, endocrinology as well as the root causes of the autoimmunity that is often driving these imbalances that can often be corrected with diet and lifestyle changes.  The patient with hypothyroidism could have an underlying GI infection or a biotoxin illness. They could have a genetic susceptibility to not being able to process mycotoxins that are either in their environment or that are in their foods that they’re eating. They could have a Lyme infection. They could have a viral infection or a gut infection, a parasite or a bacterial infection in their gut that’s driving an immunological response.  Any of these things can create a low level inflammatory response that can affect thyroid production, conversion, or uptake, all of which create symptoms that are very similar.  From a Functional Medicine perspective we want to see which way the physiology is tilting and we want to see if their lab values are optimal and not just normal or not. 

11:05  The medical system in our country where once per year you go in for a physical exam with very minimal testing only to look for a pharmaceutical intervention is a failed system. Just look at how poor the health of our country is.  We need to test more widely to see how well our bodies are functioning.   

Dr. Jeffrey James is a Doctor of Chiropractic, a Chiropractic Neurologist, and a Functional Medicine practitioner and his office is LA Functional Neurology.  He has been in private practice in West Los Angeles since 1989.  His website is DrJeffreyJames.com. His office phone is 310-396-3100.

Dr. Ben Weitz is available for Functional Nutrition consultations specializing in Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders like IBS/SIBO and Reflux and also Cardiometabolic Risk Factors like elevated lipids, high blood sugar, and high blood pressure.  Dr. Weitz has also successfully helped many patients with managing their weight and improving their athletic performance, as well as sports chiropractic work by calling his Santa Monica office 310-395-3111. Dr. Weitz is also available for video or phone consultations.