Chiropractor & Functional Medicine Headquarters
Dr. Steve Alukonis DC, DABCO
CONTACT US:
Melbourne Office
401 N Wickham Road Suite U
Don't Use Medication as a Crutch...
Are you relying solely on medication to treat your symptoms? Ask yourself if you really think all of the medication you're taking is actually making your body functional or healthy. Is it really fixing your symptoms? Think about this: If you gave the medication that you're taking to a healthy person, would they remain healthy or would they become sick? They would become sick! ALL medications have side effects.
All you're doing with medications is covering up symptoms. You're also creating unwanted side effects, which in the long run make you worse. I can't tell you how many people I've seen in their eighties that started off with one or two medications in their thirties, ended up with four or five in their fifties, and now in their eighties, they're taking thirteen to fifteen medications.
Don't think that you need medication to be healthy. And don't get me wrong; I'm not saying to stop taking your medications this minute. But... as we test you and we're treating you and we're retesting you, you're bound to improve, and, eventually, you can go back to your medical doctor, and you can ask him to take you off of these medications or decrease the dosage.
We want to work at getting to the cause of your problem. We want to reverse your symptoms. We want to get the root cause and get the problem taken care of at the very beginning.
Why do you still have thyroid sypmtoms when your lab test are normal?
Why do you still have thyroid symptoms when your TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) is between .35 to 5.0 which is the "normal lab range"?
Most likely, your M.D. has only ordered one thyroid test, which is TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone). If you're lucky, maybe he has ordered a couple more. From your M.D.'s perspective, if your TSH level is within that very wide lab range of .35 to 5.0, you're normal, theres nothing wrong with you! BUT--and this is a HUGE "BUT"-- the OPTIMAL LEVEL or "functional level" for TSH is 1.8 to3.0. So you could still be "normal" in the medical doctor's eyes but abnormal in the functional or optimal range.
It's only when that range is above 5.0 that the medical doctor will put you on a thyroid hormone such as Synthroid or the generic, levothyroxine.
But, as I mentions, in a medical doctor's eyes, if your thyroid TSH is within .35 to 5.0, YOU ARE NORMAL! There is NOTHING wrong with you. "it's ALL in your head!" "You don't need medication, because you don't have a thyroid problem!" Even though you still may have all the thyroid symptoms: Extreme fatigue, hair falling out, etc., you're NORMAL! Well... you and I both know that you are not "normal". If you were, you would not be suffering from symptoms! Your could be within the "normal" TSH range of .35 to 5.0 but still be outside the optimal range of 1.8 to 3.0. Your TSH level could be at 4.2, and that's why you're having the problem; it's outside the "optimal" or "functional" range. The same is true for any other thyroid blood test such as Total Thyroxine (TT4), Free Thyroxine Index (FTI), Free Thyroxine (FT4), Free Triodothyroxine (FT3) and the three or four other test that need to be run on your thyroid to get to the EXACT cause of your problem.
The #1 cause of low thyroid or hypothyroid in the United States.
The #1 cause is something called Hashimoto's thyroiditis or autoimmune thyroid. It's and autoimmune condition and it means that your immune system is attacking your thyroid.
An autoimmune condition is where your immune system is attacking a part of your body, and in your case, it is most likely attacking your thyroid gland. Remember, your thyroid controls your body's metabolism. ALL OF IT! Hashimoto's thyroiditis (Aka. autoimmune thyroid) is the #1 cause of low thyroid in the U.S. Your immune system is attacking your thyroid, and it is killing it. You don't have just a "thyroid" problem, you have an immune problem! Unfortunately, thyroid hormones do nothing for this autoimmune attack. You will continue to lose more and more of your thyroid by taking medications It is a slow, progressive, downward slide.
So the problem isn't just your thyroid: it is your immune system. You have an immune system problem, and you need to heal your immune system. Thyroid hormones are not going to help you heal your immune system.
There are two parts to your immune system, TH1 and TH2, and they should be in balance, kind of like a teeter-totter effect. One should not be higher than the other. If your immune system goes out of balance because of stress (physical, chemical or emotional), one system (TH1 or TH2) will become dominant and this will cause your immune system to attack your body. There are specific blood test that can be run to determine if you are autoimmune and if one part of your immune system is dominant.
Now the problem with an autoimmune condition is it just doesn't attack one area of your body... your thyroid. it can attack other areas of your body. It can attack your pancreas, causeing diabetes, or it can attack your gut-- your stomach lining, (causing IBS), or it can attack your joints (rheumatoid arthritis). It can attack your entire body. You need to be tested to see if you are having an autoimmune condition, and if that is what is causing your thyroid condition.
Dr. Steve Alukonis DC, DABCO
**NEW OFFICE LOCATION**
Merritt Island Office
2235 North Courtenay Pkwy Suite 4A
Merritt Island FL, 32952