Talking About Subclinical Hypothyroidism with Dr. Philip Faler
Video Transcription
Dr. Philip Faler: Good morning. I’m Dr. Philip Faler with Anti-Aging Northwest. I wanted to make a little video this morning talking about subclinical hypothyroidism. So subclinical hypothyroidism is how I got into restorative endocrinology. I was doing family practice medicine, naturopathic family practice medicine back in 2008, ‘9, ’10, and I kept getting patients who were 35-year-old females, around that age, who all had really similar symptoms.
Common Symptoms of Subclinical Hypothyroidism
They were tired, they were losing hair, they were chilly, they were achy, their eyebrows were getting thin. They had a real hard time losing weight. And standard testing for thyroid is to run … Those were all thyroid symptoms.
Standard Thyroid Testing: TSH
Standard testing for thyroid was to run a TSH, which is measuring what’s coming from the hypothalamus pituitary, going to the thyroid and saying, “Hey, come on, let’s make some more.” And those would come back normal. The TSHs would come back normal, but here they had the symptom picture that was right in line with hypothyroidism.
Detailed Hormone Panels: 3T3 and 3T4
So I started running more detailed panels that brought forth the 3T3 and the 3T4 hormone levels actually coming from the thyroid gland. And what I found and many other doctors like me have found, is if you take a closer look at those labs, you’ll see that often the 3T3 is low-normal or even low. So 2.0 to 4 is the range. And you’ll see that the 3T3 might be coming in at 2.2 or 2.4. The TSH still looks normal, but that bioavailable 3T3 is considerably at the low end of the scale. And then they’ve got all the symptoms.
So back in 2009, ’10, I started to treat these patients with a little bit of thyroid hormone, and they would come back every time feeling a whole lot better. Their energy would improve, their weight would improve. They felt more able to go and pursue their careers and to take care of their children and to do whatever things they wanted to go and do. That was how I got into restorative endocrinology, seeing the power of just taking that closer look, and then using light dose bioidentical hormone replacement therapy to help support people in their lives so they can go and do the things they want to do. Thank you so much, and I hope you’re having a wonderful day, and I look forward to seeing you here at Anti-Aging Northwest.