Natural Treatments for an Underactive Thyroid

Hello and welcome to Natural Treatments for an Under-active Thyroid

Here at JADa Therapy I want to share what I have learned from my research into under-active thyroid condition so that I can show you how you can help to treat yourself and enhance your own life.

Disclaimer

I am not medically trained and I am not a scientist. I have done a lot of research over the years since I started living with a thyroid conditions and was amazed to find out that I did not need to have the radiation treatment that I had.

The radiation treatment only traded one thyroid condition for another. I was first diagnosed with overactive thyroid and after the treatment I then had under-active thyroid condition.

Only to find out during my research that it is easier to control an under-active thyroid, medically.

So I am sharing the methods that I use to help to reduce my synthetic medication. My goal is to totally come off this medication by getting it reduced a little at a time until it cannot be reduced anymore and I am totally off them.

Then I would have reached my ultimate goal of healing my thyroid. YAY.

Popular Prescribed Medication

Did you know that Levothyroxine is the 3rd most popular drug in the UK and the most prescribed in the US.

In the UK alone the number of prescriptions has risen from 2.8 million in the 1998 to 19 million in 2007 and 29 million in 2014.

This means the cost per day has increased from less than £5,000 to more than £40,000.

I got this information from the British Thyroid Association and find it really interesting that they have put this information together with the cost rather than the cure. Just putting it out there.

Symptoms of an Underactive Thyroid

The Symptoms of an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) are very similar to other conditions and can at times be confused with another condition.

When I was first diagnosed my doctor at the time told me that I was suffering from depression. When I tried to tell him that I was not depressed, He dismissed what I had told him. I refused to take the anti-depressants he tried to prescribe to me.

It took about 18 months to get a doctor to actually listen to me and send me to get more tests and then they informed me that they were sorry, when the tests came back that I had an overactive thyroid. Go figure.

My thyroid became underactive after getting treatment. You could say that I just trading one for the other.

Symptoms are Similar to Other Conditions

This is because symptoms usually develop slowly and you may not actually realise that you have a condition for several years.

Also you may only have some of these symptoms.

Common symptoms include:

Tiredness
Weight gain
Depression
Constipation
Being sensitive to cold
Muscle cramps
Dry and scaly skin
Muscle aches and weakness
Slow movements and thoughts
Dry brittle hair and nails
Loss of libido (sex drive)
Irregular periods and or heavy periods
Pain, numbness and a tingling sensation in the hands and fingers (carpal tunnel syndrome)

Elderly people with an underactive thyroid may develop memory problems and or depression.

Children may experience slower growth and development

Teenagers may start puberty earlier

If you have any of these symptoms and you are concerned, see you GP and or medical advisor and ask to be tested for underactive thyroid.

If an Underactive Thyroid isn’t Treated

Underactive Thyroid condition is normally diagnosed before the condition becomes more serious. But I have included the

more serious symptoms below.

Later Symptoms of an Underactive Thyroid

Anaemia
Hearing loss
A slow heart rate
A puffy looking face
A low pitched and hoarse voice
Thinned or partly missing eyebrows

Complications of an Underactive Thyroid

When you have an under active thyroid, you can develop several complications is it is not treated.

Heart Problems

Cardiovascular disease is increased if you have untreated under active thyroid condition.

This is due to the fact that you now have low levels of the hormone thyroxine in your system and this can lead to an increased level of cholesterol in your blood.

High Cholesterol

High cholesterol can cause fatty deposits to build up in your arteries, which will restrict the blood flow around your body and to your heart.

If you develop chest pains before or during your treatment you should contact your doctor.

Goitre

A goitre is an abnormal swelling of the thyroid gland that causes a lump to form in the front of the throat.

Goitres can develop in people with an under-active thyroid, when the body attempts to stimulate the thyroid to produce more thyroid hormones.

Pregnancy Complications with an Under-active Thyroid

If you are pregnant and you have an untreated under-active thyroid the risks include:

Birth defects
Bleeding after the birth of your baby
Anaemia in the mother
Pre-eclampsia – which can cause high blood pressure and fluid retention in the mother and the growth problems in the baby
An under-active thyroid in the baby
Problems with the baby’s physical and mental development
Premature birth or a low birth-weight
Stillbirth or miscarriage

These problems can usually be avoided with treatment under the guidance of a specialist in hormone disorders (an endocrinologist). Therefore, tell your GP / medical advisor that you have an under-active thyroid and you are pregnant and or trying to get pregnant.

Myxoedema Coma

In very rare cases, a severe under-active thyroid may lead to a life threatening condition called myxoedema coma.

This is where the thyroid levels become very low that you can become confused, drowsy and hypothermia.

Having this condition is serious and will require emergency treatment in hospital.

Natural Treatments for an Under-active Thyroid

You can start to treat your thyroid naturally by drinking herbal teas that will help to encourage your thyroid to function more productively.

By drinking teas such as Nettle tea, Ashwagandha tea.

these are great to get started with and are easy to get hold of.

You do not need to take both, you can choose one to get started with.

Also please stop drinking tap water, this is really not good for any thyroid function let alone an under-active one.

I have added links to articles that go a little deeper into dangers of drinking tap water, which I suggest you take a look at, because this will give you a better understanding into what is actually in our drinking tap water.

It may sound simple when I say to start by drinking herbal teas such as Nettle tea but you will be surprised at this little change.

You will notice by the way you will start to feel after drinking for a while.

I am a great believer in adding things one at a time so that you can feel the change of that one thing.

Rather than throwing a load of things and you don’t know which one is working for you or how it makes you feel.

How long do you have to drink it? I hear you say.

Well this is a lifestyle change and if you are serious about treating your under-active thyroid, you will get busy drinking this herbal tea.

You can start with once a day, say in the mornings and then go on to twice a day.

Nettle tea does not really taste of anything in my opinion.

You can add honey if you choose.

How Do I Drink Nettle Tea?

I drink my nettle tea cold or room temperature, just like I would drink water.

I do not add anything to it, because has I mentioned earlier, it does not really taste of anything. It is definitely not a bad taste. But try it for yourself and see how you go with it.

I have been drinking nettle tea for a while now and will continue to keep it in my staples.

Well that is it for this article.

I hope that you have found this helpful.

My aim is to build aware on the symptom and also to let you know that you can start healing your thyroid naturally.

You can take a look at the articles that I have listed below.

Nettle Tea and the Health Benefits (Thyroid Health)

Ashwagandha Root Tea and the Health Benefits

Arsenic in Tap Water

Herbal Tea List

Facts About Fluoride in Our tap Water

Alkaline Herbal medicine: Reverse Disease and Heal

Benefits of Bladderwrack for the Thyroid