A traumatic brain injury is a serious medical condition with side effects that can worsen quickly if not addressed immediately. If you witness someone sustain a TBI, it’s crucial to take note of the circumstances of the injury for first responders and doctors to properly treat the injury. Take note of how the injury occurred, whether the person lost consciousness, and how much force the impact had on the brain.
Even seemingly mild TBI can cause long-term dysfunction to brain cells, but the problems of hormone dysfunction may only be seen many decades later with symptoms of fatigue, poor concentration, “brain fog,” insomnia, poor motivation, anxiety, weight gain, depression, or memory problems. Such symptoms are often just attributed to getting old, stress, or a lack of exercise. The symptoms are often mistreated with antidepressants or sleep meds or can even be misdiagnosed as age-related mental decline.
The endocrine system is responsible for releasing hormones that control growth, sexual development, and how your body uses and stores energy or metabolism; every cell in our body depends on thyroid hormones for regulation and metabolism. The thyroid gland is controlled by the pituitary which is overseen by the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus produces thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), which signals to the pituitary to produce thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). Since both the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland are in the brain, repeated force trauma to the head inevitably causes damage to both areas resulting in thyroid dysfunction.
When thyroid levels drop the pituitary gland produces TSH which stimulates the thyroid gland to produce more thyroid hormones (T4 and T3). Doctors are taught to look for an elevation of TSH as an indicator of low thyroid, as the brain is trying to stimulate the thyroid gland to produce more thyroid hormone. With TBI, however, the TSH does not elevate in response to low or low-normal thyroid hormones so the thyroid deficiency remains undetected and untreated.
TBI can further cause problems with the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands are located on top of the kidneys. The outer part of the gland is referred to as the adrenal cortex and is responsible for producing hormones vital to life, such as cortisol. Cortisol helps regulate the metabolism and the body’s response to stress. When a body is under intense stress, such as with TBI, rather than T4 converting to active T3, it actually converts to reverse T3 or reverse triiodothyronine which is an inactive hormone. It is normal for the body to have a certain level of rT3, however, when an abundant amount is being produced as a reaction to stress, then cellular or tissue hypothyroidism is often the result.
In addition to multi-hormone replacement therapy, amino acid IV therapy is a treatment therapy that can effectively address the damage caused by TBI. The IV therapy consists of amino acids (the natural building block of protein) combined with vitamins and nutrients is administered intravenously in order to flood the brain, restoring neurotransmitters, manufacturing new neurotransmitters and receptors which promotes healing of the damaged area of the brain and allows for increased cellular energy production. Neurotransmitters work together to balance brain activity. Therefore, amino-acid IV therapy naturally leads to hormonal balance and proper thyroid functioning by allowing neurochemical balance.
If you are suffering from fatigue, poor concentration, insomnia, weight gain, depression, or memory problems, speak to a Holtorf Medical Group team member today.
