Dr. Erika Schwartz Discusses the Low Thyroid Epidemic

[paizley11]

So nice to hear a doctor address the ranges that leave so many undiagnosed and suffering from this. Why can't more doctors be like her!

[DJMartin68]

Good video, but unfortunately the advise is somewhat inaccurate in some cases. My wife has been struggling for close to 20 years with thyroid problems and in spite of taking synthroid her thyroid hormone has not reached balance. She also has MS and in an effort to treat her MS she started taking liquid vitamin D2 (D3 did not work). Now, suddenly, her thyroid hormone bounced back to the point where it was too high and she had to reduce her synthroid. Synthetic hormones are not always the answer.

[SandraLondon63]

Well, it is not as simple as this. I was diagnosed as borderline hypothyroid, and was given thyroxine but this caused problems in my heart, even though I am young, it caused irregular heart beat and arrythmia and I had to stop it immediately. I now take Kelp as a from of iodine. Also I was feeling tired all the time, but I was later found to suffer from B12 Deficiency.

[heyjenknee]

I have just figured out that I have a low thyroid. I was researching what to take and found the best solution seemed to be IODORAL in tab form for me, plus taking selenium to help absorb it. Now here's the thing (today is march 15,2011) , people are buying it like crazy because it helps protect you from Radioactive particles in the air.

[Emerald007007]

I have just been diagnosed with an underactive Thyroid and I am on medication. Can I take Iodine from the health food shop?

[heyjenknee]

@Emerald007007 It's too weak in the stores,  you need Iodoral, 5 milligrams iodine/7.5 milligrams iodide. Research it for correct dosage,etc.

[freddy692000]

Is there any way to stimulate the thyroid to work properly again from changing your lifestyle,nutrition,exersice routine?

[BabiiSugaful]

great video!

[Heather3289]

If you have Hashimotos, they tell you not to eat Iodine, because it will increase the antibody reaction. Are you saying go ahead, take the Iodine? Wow, if it was that simple, I should have done it already. I weigh about 128 kilos. All my blood tests look ok except TSH .059 TPO 333 Creatine 111.1 What is the worst thing to happen if I take the Iodine? I have been diagnosed for ten years, and probably had it longer.

[cqr80]

Don't Brazil nuts have a higher iodine content? Also, I have heard that fluoride leaches iodine out of the thyroid, which is why I discontinued use of fluoridated toothpaste a few years ago.

[Blaqbeauty65]

But what do you do if you do not have insurance to get the thyroid medicine? What can be used ?

[spanishaustralian]

yes this dr is fantastic we love you.

[jacksonhansonjackson]

I love you, Dr. Erika.

[BlastBeatDolly]

I've been on Synthroid for 8 months now, and I'm gaining weight!!! I weigh more then ever before, can someone please help me understand why? Should I stop taking Synthroid? I'm Hypo

[spanishaustralian]

@BlastBeatDolly youre gaining weight is that the only symptom ? you know you can gain weight even if youre not hypo there are plenty of fat people out there because they eat lot of processed foods. but if you have many hypo symptoms and the weight gaining is a recent problem then my guess is you need to up the dose high enough till all the symptoms disapear. shifting doses can but not always feel a little weird but it passes and the persistance is very rewarding.

[MsTruNorth]

This is the most common sense I've seen on YouTube--or in most media sources--about thyroid disease. This woman should visit medical schools and lecture to medical students. They typically receive only 2 to 3 hours' instruction on the thyroid, even at the most prestigious medical schools. Also many medical students are not taught to introduce hormone replacement in increments, rather than the full replacement dose all at once. A patient's re-action to the sudden full dose causes undiagnosis,

[010steveo]

great video!thank you Dr.

[nam701]

Thanks for your post, I'm just learning more and more about this. For the supplement you talked about, is it better to take 1 pill of 50 mgs or 3 to 4 pills of 12.5 mgs throughout the day if you have major hypothyroidism?

[newton2013]

How do I find a doctor who will treat me with t3? I got as far as using armour, but my body and mind are not happy. Doc only pays attention to TSH. I got online tests done on my own,

showed free t4 and t3 at bottom of 'range'. Cortisol tests showed me my cortisol levels are freaking out. I cannot find a doctor who recognizes any of the information I have found... Where do I find wise doctors?

[MsTruNorth]

@newton2013 Explain to your doctor that many labs took samples from any blood that came to their labs not designated as belonging to a thyroid patients, and from that set the lab reference ranges for "normal TSH, T4 and T3. In recent years medical journals have noted that many people undiagnosed with active thyroid disease were in the samplings that set the ranges for "normal".

[spanishaustralian]

@newton2013 dont worry about cortisol just push the t4 high and the t3 will follow. for me i had to go a bit over the t4 range or further to bring the t3 up to its top half of its range. and i didnt feel any good until the t3 was pushed into that range. but i have tried to push t3 alone and it didnt feel as good. the t4 pushing is what did the trick. and the brain fog is always the very last symptom to go away. it took 5 - 6 months.

[newton2013]

@spanishaustralian Thanks for your input! I additionally just found (via lab tests) that I was running strikingly low on Zinc and Copper.... Here's to better health!

[spanishaustralian]

@newton2013 i too was preoccupied with vitamins and minerals and found zinc and copper deficiencies did the fiffer treatments, mega vitamins, injected vitamins, strick cave man low carb diets SCDiets, gluten free, starvation diets but no matter what i did i never saw results untill i pushed the t4 up to suppress my tsh to zero. in the end it was 100% the thyroid which gave me the relief i needed. i wasted so, so many years chasing causes when all i needed was to suppress the tsh.

[spanishaustralian]

@spanishaustralian something the drs forbid. and i wonder how many millions of people are living out there sub optimal all there lives never knowing this. a tsh of zero feels great and normal. wonderful.

[izzo70]

@spanishaustralian I've been supressing my thyroid for years against all doctors advice. my symptoms were se bad i had to or i couldnt work. Still this is not great.

[spanishaustralian]

@izzo70 how high in dose did you go? greater than 200mcgrams ? was it t4 or something else ?

[wbkzaldana]

I was recently diagnosed with hypothyroid and placecd on synthroid. after a month i asked to swtich to amour, a natural version. now i am having very bad acne and and dry skin. i have been on armour for 1 month and it is progressevily getting worse. how can i correct this. im 26 and have always had mild acne but this is way worse. pls help.

[MsTruNorth]

@wbkzaldana My advisory about Armour is that it is a ixed-ratio hormone replacement, i.e., it assumes that a fixed ratio of T4 to T3 is perfect for you. One size does not fit all. A wise course is probably to work with your doctor on fiding a combination of T4 and T3 that makes you feel optimally well. If you are in menopause or have had any ovarian problem, you will not convert T4 to T3 efficiently. Consider a T3-only regimen in that instance. God's speed.

[spanishaustralian]

@wbkzaldana just push the t4 to as high as you can handle and sit there. i didnt feel normal untill my tsh was zero and i sat there for 6 months. tsh 1 felt like shit to me. i needed zero. you may as well. it ends up t4 over the range and t3 at the top of the range. good luck.

[izzo70]

thyroid hormones suck in any form - armour, synthroid, levoxyl, levothroid, eltroxin cytomel. None of them work well and only relieve partial symtpoms and usually create additional problems. I hate thyroid disease, its a death sentence.

[spanishaustralian]

@izzo70 push the t4 up as high as u can bear. dont go hyper just go max u can handle. or else yes its a death sentence thats the truth. tsh to be zero.

[ChicPolarBear]

I suffered for 7 yrs. with all the symptoms of hypothyroidism..but because my lab work was "normal", I did not get treatment until my thyroid stopped functioning altogether! I have noticed some improvement after 6 weeks on Synthroid, although my hair feels dry and straw-like. I have since done more research, and am convinced that combination therapy is better than T4 alone. I am going to see about adding T3, and take evening primrose oil supplement to improve the problem with my hair.

[kekedj214]

I think I have it but my doctors are saying Im in the range. My tsh last checked was 3.34. Im just at the border line so my dic wont diagnose. I have heart palpatation headaches, etc.

[spanishaustralian]

@kekedj214 when i was tsh 3.3 i felt like rubbish.

[heatherboo74]

thank you for this video, eveyr thing that you said I feel and after 50lbs taking on still my drs are still twiddleing there tumbs any info is helpful thanks

[estrella563]

my dr. told me i had 2take da pills 4thyroid all my life:/ i was only 8&now im 16 &ive gotten used 2it..but now my neck looks swollen...&im not overweight but it get rly hard 2loose pounds.

[mike199018]

i went 2 c the doctor last monday..he took my blood to do the test,,he think i got thyroid problem..i lose a lot of hair now and it really sucks coz all my siblings have thick hair and im losing my hair everyday!!!!i should die on my birthday,,GOD heal me PLEASE!!!!!!!!wats wrong with my fuckin body!!!!

[spanishaustralian]

@mike199018 hows it going now ? its been 8 months.

[gledalac1979]

just use coconut oil for thyroid

[Rockfordal]

I've been loosing hair on random spots for a few years, and have had anxiety and alot of mental fog. ive started taking sea salt for iodine, and recommended food for h.pylori (garlic, cranb..). I might feel a little better alreay. Im also going to try to remove chloride and chloramine from my water that i drink and shower with, since ive heard they also "indirectly" can affect the iodine levels in the water or body and hurt the thyroid. I have a strong belief that i can get rid of my problems.

[ilikeyoutub07]

im 18 and i have thyroid problems i think.. lower part of my throat is swollen and i feel pressure inside my throat.. feels like a lump. . also I feel really tired alot.. and sleepy.. and sometimes i feel cold for no reason. I started working out..once i workout i feel really bad and supertired after. im so scared.. :(

[JoshTucker9151]

@ilikeyoutub07

You have a goiter just get Iodine

[PinonRelle]

i feel exactly like that.but i am losing weight and my doc thinks its my thyroid?Anyways i can ix my thyroid so i can gain a lil weight back?

[illtattoo]

god i wish we had doctors like her in the uk our doctors dont help at all and it is so undertreated here, the only option i have is to take levothyroxine cuz thats all thats available my life is shit n i would rather be dead tbh i had a over active thyroid to begin with and that was bad and the doctors fucked me up and stopped my throid from working altogether

[JoshTucker9151]

Levothyroxine is used to treat hypothyroid (under active thyroid) not Hyperthyroid. I'm medicated on levothyroxine because of hashimoto's thyroiditis

[PlatnumEyez]

I have it and it sucks. I took a thyroid test at my doctor's and it showed up "Normal".

[JoshTucker9151]

@PlatnumEyez

If your TSH levels are okay and you don't have hashimoto's in your blood either than you don't have it............

[PlatnumEyez]

I do have it....I took several other tests and it showed up as underactive. I also have adrenal fatigue which goes hand in hand.

[JoshTucker9151]

@PlatnumEyez

For hashimoto's thyroiditis (which causes hypothyroid) there is only one thing you need tested which can be tested by blood. Because antibodies use the blood for transport in your body all they have to do is test for hashimoto's in your blood. If you don't have hashimoto's then other methods will be needed to test it, though most people with hypothyroid got it as a result from hashimoto's

[JoshTucker9151]

@PlatnumEyez

As for adrenal fatigue that's a completely different disorder, though it may have similar and almost exact symptoms it doesn't have any similar causes to hypothyroid, and definitely in the case of hashimoto's thyroiditis

[naaabbey]

thx for this coz i got it. was really helpfull

[mkrp4]

It is all true, however the excessive iodine in the diet trigges Hashimoto's thyroiditis.