Rosemarie's Baby
Rosemarie was trying, and failing, to get pregnant for several years. Like many fertility clinics, the clinic she and her husband chose did NOT include any thyroid testing as part of Rosemarie's infertility workup. At first, Rosemarie didn't know to ask. Since infertility is rarely covered by insurance, Rosemarie was getting side-effect laden hormone injections, and she and her husband were laying out many thousands of dollars each cycle for assisted reproduction. Every month, the pregnancy test showed "negative." After spending all their savings, with no baby on the way, Rosemarie did some reading, and learned about the thyroid connection to fertility. She was tested, and the doctor found she had an elevated TSH, and high thyroid peroxidase antibodies, indicative of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. She was started on thyroid hormone replacement therapy. Just two months later, Rosemarie was able to get pregnant - no assisted reproduction needed. Nine months later, Rosemarie and her husband welcomed a healthy, normal, beautiful baby girl to the family. Meanwhile, around the country, other couples pour money into fertility clinics, or go through recurrent miscarriages, while the women walk around with elevated TSH levels and antibodies that have never been tested or treated. Now that's frightening!
The Vanishing Waistline
Mark, age 45, was a personal trainer with twenty years experience, and owned his own gym. Mark's routine included his own morning workout - an hour of cardio and weightlifting, followed by one-hour workouts with as many as 6 to 10 clients a day, five days a week. Mark's diet was impeccable - lean proteins, lots of veggies, and he'd long ago given up sugar, gluten and alcohol. Imagine his horror when the usually buff Mark noticed that he was gaining weight, including some belly fat on his usual rock-hard abs! At first, he tried changing his diet, and adding even more exercise to his routine, but the weight kept creeping up. Realizing that he was starting to look flabbier than his clients, Mark visited his GP, who told him he needed to work out more and eat less. Horrified, Mark finally found a doctor with expertise in hormonal medicine. The doctor checked Mark's testosterone and thyroid. It turned out that Mark's testosterone was rock bottom, and he was hypothyroid. A few months on testosterone therapy, and some natural desiccated thyroid treatment, and Mark was back in shape, looking great. Talk about scary!
Invasion of the Body Snatcher
Gabriella, a high-school teacher, knew that some women didn't feel their best during menopause, but at 48, and still having menstrual periods — even if they weren't regular — she was sure she was too young to be menopausal. But there she was, up in front of the classroom, and as many as 20 times a day, she'd feel like the room was suddenly 100 degrees. The sweat would pour off her, and all she wanted was a cold shower and a nap. She wasn't sleeping well at all, waking up throughout the night, unable to get back to sleep, or finding herself soaked from night sweats. Gabriella noticed that she was developing a prominent muffin top, and it made her self-conscious in front of her husband. Not that there were many opportunities — Gabriella's sex drive was almost nonexistent. Gabriella could practically hear the screech of the horror film soundtrack in the background when she took her shower, and saw big wads of her usually thick hair swirling down the drain! Luckily, Gabriella escaped her hormonal house of horrors when she connected with a doctor with expertise in bioidentical hormones, who found that Gabriella was in full-blown perimenopause. A customized formula of bioidentical estrogen and progesterone, as well as some DHEA and iron supplements, were prescribed. A few months later, Gabriella was cool, calm, and collected in the classroom, her love life was sizzling again, and the muffin top and hair horrors were under control!
Don't Be a Hormonal Horror Story!
If you have any of the following symptoms, see a knowledgeable physician who specializes in hormonal, integrative, or anti-aging medicine:
- Fatigue
- Hair loss
- Loss of sex drive
- Weight gain
- Belly fat gain
- Loss of muscle
- Hot flashes
- Night sweats
- Infertility
- Recurrent miscarriage
- Sleep problems
- Stress
- Depression or anxiety
- Salt or carb cravings
- Sensitivity to cold
- Muscle aches/pains
*Real names have been changed
