The Adrenal/Thyroid Connection

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Nelson Vergel

Founder, ExcelMale.com
Mary Shomon: How is proper adrenal function related to a thyroid problem?

Drs. Shames: A major connection exists between low thyroid and low adrenal. Low adrenal, also called adrenal insufficiency, can actually cause someone's thyroid problem to be much worse than it would be otherwise. Correction of low adrenal is similar to correction of low thyroid. You merely take a pill that contains some of the hormone you are lacking. In the case of low thyroid, you obviously take thyroid hormone. In the case of low adrenal, you simply take some adrenal hormone. Chapter 7 in Thyroid Power assures you that doing so, when appropriate, is not only safe and effective, but it can change your life for the better.

Cortisol is in the category of medicines called steroids, a class of body substances that derive their name from the fact that they are built upon the structure of the common cholesterol molecule. Both health practitioners and the lay public have great concern about the safety of taking oral steroids. We would like to address this issue directly by making a distinction between high-dose steroid therapy and low-dose adrenal supplementation.

What we are talking about is the use of small amounts of natural adrenal hormone (hydrocortisone) to bring slightly low adrenal function up to its proper normal daily range. This is in stark contrast to the high doses of powerful synthetic adrenal hormones commonly used to treat severe health problems, or to assist in building muscles.

Mary Shomon: Why is it important for low thyroid people to know the levels of their adrenal hormones?

Drs. Shames: Adrenal insufficiency symptoms include: weakness, lack of libido, allergies, dark circles under the eyes, muscle and joint pain, dizziness, low blood pressure, low blood sugar, food and salt cravings, poor sleep, dry skin, cystic breasts, lines of dark pigment in nails, difficulty recuperating from stresses like colds or jet lag, no stamina for confrontation, tendency to startle easily, lowered immune function, anxiety, depression, and premature aging. Some of these symptoms are similar to those of low thyroid.

If low-thyroid people with these symptoms are put on thyroid hormone alone, they sometimes respond negatively. These people may have coexistent, but hidden, low adrenal. If they take thyroid hormone by itself, the resultant increased metabolism may accelerate the low adrenal problem.

The addition of thyroid hormone in this situation unmasks the also disturbing low adrenal situation. The proper approach in this case is to treat the patient with thyroid and adrenal support simultaneously.

Adrenal insufficiency, especially when unmasked by the addition of thyroid hormone, is unpleasant and uncomfortable. To compound the problem, the doctor and patient then may wrongly assume that thyroid replacement has been a mistake. A tremendous opportunity for better health has now been missed.

While uncomfortable, this dilemma can become a diagnostic tool. The doctor could then gradually add thyroid and adrenal hormone together, with the patient eventually taking optimal levels of both. This careful attention and delicate calibration are demanding on the practitioner and patient. Nevertheless, we have seen patient after patient dramatically improve with such dedication.

Also, interactions between your hormones are sometimes as important as the direct action of the hormone itself. Some adrenal hormones assist in the conversion of T-4 to T-3, and perhaps assist in the final effect of T-3 on the tissues. Some scientists believe that even the entrance of thyroid hormone into our cells is under the influence of adrenal hormones. Thus, if your adrenal level is low enough, you might do well to take both adrenal and thyroid hormone together.

http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/shamesadrenal.htm
 
Defy Medical TRT clinic doctor

Nelson Vergel

Founder, ExcelMale.com
The most commonly used tests of thyroid hormone levels (note that I use the term level rather than function because the two are not always equal) are the T4 (or total T4), T3-uptake, FTI (also called the T7 or Free Thyroxine Index), and total T3 (sometimes called the T3-by-RIA). These tests are also unreliable because they do not reflect the hormone level that is actually available for action. Only the free T4 and free T3 are available to act on the cells. The total T4 and total T3 (as is most commonly measured) is a mixture of protein-bound T4 and T3 (and therefore not available to the cells) and the free T4 and T3. A large percentage of patients have low levels of the free T4 and free T3 even when all the other more commonly used tests are normal. Complicating the problem is the fact that these symptoms may present themselves while all the usual blood tests (TSH, FI, Total T3, etc) appear to be normal. When patients with Free T4 and Free T3 hormone levels below normal with or without an elevated TSH are given appropriate therapy, many report a tremendous improvement in the symptoms classically associated with hypothyroidism. Even when the labwork does not indicate low thyroid levels, many patients appear to fit the profile for low thyroid action. In fact, many of the best thyroidologists use the response to therapy as the major determinant of whether or not the patient was in fact hypothyroid. The diagnosis was confirmed by the response to the proper therapy. Even many of the most prestigious textbooks validate this approach.

http://www.drkaslow.com/html/thyroid.html
 
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