Welcome to Thyroid Problems.
The intent of this site is to try to collect together some of the information available about Thyroid problems and to have an easy way to find the info related to each of the relevant areas, as well as to summarise what I have learnt about each topic.
There is a wealth of information available on the internet and sometimes it can be too overwhelming to be able to make sense of it, so I built this site to try to bring together the information I find.
Background
In the first few days of 2017 I had half my Thyroid removed as it had an 80mm tumor in it. I had known about it for about 6 years, having previously had it scanned by ultrasound, and was told it was just a cyst, and it was fine as long as didn’t cause me any problems.
After a general check-up at the end of 2016 I was sent to have it rescanned and a biopsy taken, after which the Endocrinologist recommended removal of half my thyroid.
Looking at Options
After having half the thyroid removed and looking at my ongoing treatment I have seen that thyroid problems are very common but also very seldom properly diagnosed by most of the medical profession.
I also found that whenever Thyroid is mentioned, people start saying, “my sister has a thyroid problem” or “I had my thyroid out years ago” etc. It seems thyroid problems affect a large proportion of the population, and there is a lot of variability in success.
It has also become obvious that many don’t know that their thyroid is causing a problem, but perhaps they have problems with weight control or body temperature regulation or sleep or countless other issues that have never been properly diagnosed.
Check the Symptoms Matrix or check the Symptoms Menu to see if you recognise a poorly functioning Thyroid in yourself.
If you do, you should see your GP and get the appropriate blood tests performed.
We are what we absorb.
The one thing I have learnt is that a poorly performing thyroid is an indicator that your body is not working properly, and a major cause of systems not working properly comes from what we eat and absorb from our environment.
The thyroid regulates just about every system in the body, and every cell in the body has receptors for thyroid hormones. So if the thyroid is not working properly (or not being instructed correctly) then many other systems will likely not be working properly, and in turn, through the feedback mechanisms from those systems, the thyroid will continue to receive incorrect instructions and continue to incorrectly instruct the other systems, it’s a vicious circle.
The thyroid and many other systems are disrupted by three main things:
Deficiency – not enough vitamins and minerals being absorbed by the body, mainly through the gut, for the thyroid to work properly.
It particularly needs Iodine, Selenium, Magnesium. Zinc and Iron.
Another common deficiency is Vitamin D, which can easily be remedied by daily exposure to sunshine.
A shortage of any of these means the thyroid can’t produce the hormones required to regulate other systems, giving the impression of a poorly performing thyroid, when in fact it is working fine but lacks the fuel (minerals) to work fully.
Inflammation – somewhere in the body there is inflammation/ infection, particularly from the gut from the foods we eat, such as gluten, caseine in dairy products, and sugar.
In some, this inflammation may be caused by “Leaky Gut“.
Inflammation may also come from injury, I have had a bad back for years, which gets inflamed frequently. Even sitting for extended periods can set it off.
Inflammation may also come from toxins in our bodies, such as
chlorine or fluoride from water (drinking and washing), and toothpaste,
heavy metals, including mercury from dental filings, and in personal care products such as aluminium in deoderants, and who knows what in makeup,
pesticides in the food we eat and drink, especially coffee, and
chemicals we come in contact with such as cleaning fluids, including anti-bacterial soaps, and BPA leaching from plastics.
Inflammation / infection causes antibodies to be produced by the immune system, which in turn can result in an auto-immune response, where the body starts attacking its own organs because it is producing antibodies to attack something that is causing the inflammation, which looks the same or similar to the cells that the organs are made from.
Stress. Stress in all forms causes the body to slow down or shut down many systems, such as the digestive system, that are not needed for a “Fight or Flight” response, and increase those that are needed, such as blood pressure.
Stress causes Cortisol to circulate in the body so that every cell that might be needed is put on standby, but more importantly, it prevents the digestive system from absorbing the nutrients that the body needs, creating deficiencies if the stress is for extended periods.
Food nutrients
The Daily Mineral Requirements matrix breaks down the mineral content of some basic foods that are required to ensure the thyroid, and therefore other systems, are able to work correctly.
The matrix is focused on Iodine, Selenium, Magnesium. Zinc and Iron. Other nutrient requirements are generally provided by the same foods that provide these five.