Table of Contents
| Acknowledgments | xi |
| Foreword | xiii |
| Preface Low Thyroid: An Undeclared Epidemic | xvii |
| Before You Begin: How This Book Can Help | xix |
| Step 1 | Consider Thyroid the Hidden Factor in Your Overall Health | 1 |
| Step 2 | Learn How Low Thyroid Makes Any Illness Worse | 22 |
| Step 3 | Use Signs, Symptoms, and Family History to Support a Diagnosis | 42 |
| Step 4 | Realize You May Still Be Low Thyroid Despite Normal Tests | 60 |
| Step 5 | Discover Your Best Dose, Brand, or Mix of Medicines | 87 |
| Step 6 | Reestablish Balance in Your Reproductive System | 107 |
| Step 7 | Determine If Low Adrenal Should Also Be Treated | 130 |
| Step 8 | Boost Your Medication with Natural Therapies | 152 |
| Step 9 | Improve the Underlying Autoimmune Condition | 179 |
| Step 10 | Reach Optimal Recovery with an Empowered Lifestyle | 208 |
| Beyond the Tenth Step: How to Tap the Source of Boundless Energy | 237 |
| The 5-Day Jump Start: How to Begin Your Program Quickly | 255 |
| Show This to Your Doctor | 261 |
| Useful Terms | 267 |
| Fluoride Facts | 275 |
| Resources | 279 |
| Tests | 287 |
| Medications Useful for Low Thyroid | 291 |
| Food Choices | 293 |
| Recommended Supplements | 295 |
| Notes | 297 |
| Further Reading | 301 |
| Index | 307 |
Read an Excerpt
Step 2
Learn How Low
Thyroid Makes Any
Illness Worse
We have now, crossed a threshold to the point where we can effectively diagnose and treat your fatigue.
-- Jacob Teitelbaum M.D., From Fatigued to Fantastic
Could symptoms that seem like low thyroid actually be a result of another low-energy disease? Of course. Could these same symptoms actually be from a combination of low thyroid and some other energy-sapping disease? Certainly. There are many additional causes of fatigue and marginal health, each requiring a different treatment.
Coexistent low thyroid can worsen any other illness, and-interestingly enough-the opposite is also true. To achieve lasting improvement, you may have to treat more than one condition at a time. It is critical that you obtain a full and complete diagnosis and treat in the appropriate order all conditions that may be contributing to your health dilemma. While simple low energy is often a common condition with an easy resolution, it can sometimes be maddeningly deceptive and hard to diagnose.
The first, critical step is to find a qualified health care practitioner with whom to collaborate. You have a right, as a health consumer, to fully understand your condition, to hear the range of possible treatments, and to assess their benefits and detriments prior to making any decisions. Ultimately, it is you who must direct your journey toward health. Achieving a proper diagnosis is a critical beginning step that can save years of pain and anguish.
Finding a Doctor Who Understands
As health professionals, we areextremely supportive of personal empowerment and self-care. However, in addition to books, friends, and the Internet, it is essential to secure the help of a trained professional. A good practitioner can properly assist you in diagnosing the true cause of marginal health or significant low energy, saving you years of distress, unnecessary treatments, expense, and hardship.
A knowledgeable practitioner takes a complete history, listening carefully to nuances and identifying patterns. Then, he or she performs the proper physical examination and orders appropriate laboratory tests to ascertain exactly what kind of low energy you have so as to accurately determine which treatments will be most helpfiil. Don't sell yourself short. Make sure from the beginning to have your condition properly diagnosed.
Since low energy is a very common problem, many doctors hear this complaint often and have a standard, preset way of approaching it. Generally, if the fatigue does not seem severe to the practitioner, he or she will simply offer some reassurance. This can take the form of a little pep talk that acknowledges the financial squeeze people may be feeling, the hectic pace of modern life, and the difficulty in getting enough exercise, proper diet, and rest.
If you want to get beyond the simple pep talk, you will need to be very dear about how to present your symptoms to your physician. Write down everything that bothers you and the degree to which it interferes with your life. List the associated difficulties, if any, and describe as objectively as possible how the productivity in your life is being affected. If you feel noticeably less productive at work than you did a couple of years ago, make a note of this, and be specific.
If you have trouble getting started in the morning and arrive late at the office, mention that. If it used to take one cup of coffee to get started, and it now takes three, indicate this. If you can only get to your job site with great difficulty, dragging yourself out of bed and through the morning routine, definitely mention it. Explain what an imposition this is on the quality and enjoyment of your life. If you run out of steam at three or four p.m. but still have to work several more hours, describe briefly how hard this is for you, and what a sense of limitation you are feeling. If you can make it through the day but have no energy for evening activities, even enjoyable ones such as dinner and a movie, then mention how this "disability" is causing you some real distress and concern.
If other people are suffering in some way because of your fatigue, such as a spouse, children, or elderly loved ones who need more care and attention than you can provide, mention that dearly and objectively. Describe the emotions this lack of energy may be causing in terms of anger, frustration, or even despair. Make it apparent how much aggravation and irritation low energy is causing in your life. Try to quantify how your daily life is different from a few months oryears ago. Try to pinpoint when and how your health began to change. Keep records that can portray the problem, even creating visual graphs if necessary to demonstrate changes in your health and ability to perform or enjoy your life.
It is imperative that, as a health consumer, you direct the course of the appointment with your health provider. The more assertive, clear, and focused you can be, the more likely you are to have your needs met in a timely and satisfactory fashion. Most people find it advantageous to write down questions prior to their appointment, even prioritizing their concerns so that if they run out of time, the major considerations will have been addressed. If you do not understand something you are being told or asked to do, don't be embarrassed to ask questions and get your needs met. Remember, you are your own best health advocate in these situations.
If you have obtained information from friends or websites related to your condition, it would be a good idea to share this with your practitioner to obtain further input. In these instances, be alert to the response of your practitioner. If your doctor acts as ifyour questions are a bother or doesn't answer directly, consider whether you are receiving optimal treatment... Thyroid Power . Copyright © by Richard Shames. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.
Read a Sample Chapter
Thyroid PowerTen Steps to Total Health
Step 2
Learn How Low
Thyroid Makes Any
Illness Worse
We have now, crossed a threshold to the point where we can effectively diagnose and treat your fatigue.
-- Jacob Teitelbaum M.D., From Fatigued to Fantastic
Could symptoms that seem like low thyroid actually be a result of another low-energy disease? Of course. Could these same symptoms actually be from a combination of low thyroid and some other energy-sapping disease? Certainly. There are many additional causes of fatigue and marginal health, each requiring a different treatment.
Coexistent low thyroid can worsen any other illness, and-interestingly enough-the opposite is also true. To achieve lasting improvement, you may have to treat more than one condition at a time. It is critical that you obtain a full and complete diagnosis and treat in the appropriate order all conditions that may be contributing to your health dilemma. While simple low energy is often a common condition with an easy resolution, it can sometimes be maddeningly deceptive and hard to diagnose.
The first, critical step is to find a qualified health care practitioner with whom to collaborate. You have a right, as a health consumer, to fully understand your condition, to hear the range of possible treatments, and to assess their benefits and detriments prior to making any decisions. Ultimately, it is you who must direct your journey toward health. Achieving a proper diagnosis is a critical beginning step that can save years of pain and anguish.
Finding a Doctor Who Understands
As health professionals, we are extremely supportive of personal empowerment and self-care. However, in addition to books, friends, and the Internet, it is essential to secure the help of a trained professional. A good practitioner can properly assist you in diagnosing the true cause of marginal health or significant low energy, saving you years of distress, unnecessary treatments, expense, and hardship.
A knowledgeable practitioner takes a complete history, listening carefully to nuances and identifying patterns. Then, he or she performs the proper physical examination and orders appropriate laboratory tests to ascertain exactly what kind of low energy you have so as to accurately determine which treatments will be most helpfiil. Don't sell yourself short. Make sure from the beginning to have your condition properly diagnosed.
Since low energy is a very common problem, many doctors hear this complaint often and have a standard, preset way of approaching it. Generally, if the fatigue does not seem severe to the practitioner, he or she will simply offer some reassurance. This can take the form of a little pep talk that acknowledges the financial squeeze people may be feeling, the hectic pace of modern life, and the difficulty in getting enough exercise, proper diet, and rest.
If you want to get beyond the simple pep talk, you will need to be very dear about how to present your symptoms to your physician. Write down everything that bothers you and the degree to which it interferes with your life. List the associated difficulties, if any, and describe as objectively as possible how the productivity in your life is being affected. If you feel noticeably less productive at work than you did a couple of years ago, make a note of this, and be specific.
If you have trouble getting started in the morning and arrive late at the office, mention that. If it used to take one cup of coffee to get started, and it now takes three, indicate this. If you can only get to your job site with great difficulty, dragging yourself out of bed and through the morning routine, definitely mention it. Explain what an imposition this is on the quality and enjoyment of your life. If you run out of steam at three or four p.m. but still have to work several more hours, describe briefly how hard this is for you, and what a sense of limitation you are feeling. If you can make it through the day but have no energy for evening activities, even enjoyable ones such as dinner and a movie, then mention how this "disability" is causing you some real distress and concern.
If other people are suffering in some way because of your fatigue, such as a spouse, children, or elderly loved ones who need more care and attention than you can provide, mention that dearly and objectively. Describe the emotions this lack of energy may be causing in terms of anger, frustration, or even despair. Make it apparent how much aggravation and irritation low energy is causing in your life. Try to quantify how your daily life is different from a few months oryears ago. Try to pinpoint when and how your health began to change. Keep records that can portray the problem, even creating visual graphs if necessary to demonstrate changes in your health and ability to perform or enjoy your life.
It is imperative that, as a health consumer, you direct the course of the appointment with your health provider. The more assertive, clear, and focused you can be, the more likely you are to have your needs met in a timely and satisfactory fashion. Most people find it advantageous to write down questions prior to their appointment, even prioritizing their concerns so that if they run out of time, the major considerations will have been addressed. If you do not understand something you are being told or asked to do, don't be embarrassed to ask questions and get your needs met. Remember, you are your own best health advocate in these situations.
If you have obtained information from friends or websites related to your condition, it would be a good idea to share this with your practitioner to obtain further input. In these instances, be alert to the response of your practitioner. If your doctor acts as ifyour questions are a bother or doesn't answer directly, consider whether you are receiving optimal treatment... Thyroid Power
Ten Steps to Total Health. Copyright © by Richard Shames. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold. homelbonilla1015 0060007478<%FIRSTCHAPT%>Christmas in Canaan
Chapter One
DJ and Rodney
The school bus lurched forward, sending DJ Burton off balance and sprawling into the nearest empty seat. It was enough to cause Rodney Freeman to peek over the top of his book, surprised that the Burton boy had taken a seat so near the back of the bus.
The truth was, Rodney didn't mind sitting in the back of the bus; in fact, he liked it. He could settle into his usual corner, spread out his books and read. Miss Eunice, his grandmother, kept a farm on the outskirts of Canaan, the farthest point from town on the whole route, so there was always time to read. The bus was perfect for that.
There were no laws requiring Rodney Freeman or any other of the handful of black children be kept separate from the rest. The government had seen to that. But early that spring of 1960 what remained in the small town of Canaan, Texas, was an uneasy truce, a truce that served to hold the town together by separating the groups of people who lived there. Not that any of that mattered to Rodney.
Miss Eunice had surprised him with a copy of James Fenimore Cooper's The Deerslayer just the night before, a special illustrated edition, and even the unexpected arrival of DJ Burton and the grinding of gears as the bus got up to speed didn't warrant much more than a glance over the top of the cover.
DJ was big for his age, towheaded and with a broad face and eyes so pale blue they were almost gray. No sooner had he slouched into his seat than he began digging through scraps of paper in his book bag, searching for his unfinished homework.
"Hey, DJ, you still doin' homework?" Jimmy Ray Thompson asked, peering over the back of his seat.
"Yeah, well, how am I supposed to finish anything when my dad gives me chores till dark? And who asked you anyway?" DJ grumbled, hoping the others would see how busy he was and leave him alone. He hated always being the one kid in class who never had his homework done on time. He hated being called on to read in front of the others and hearing them snicker when he couldn't make out the words. Mostly he hated having to work so hard doing all those stupid chores for his dad on his stupid farm in a stupid town called Canaan.
He found his geography homework at the bottom of his bag. "What's the capital city of New York?" he read the question aloud and sighed. He could look up the answer, but the very thought of having to look up something that seemed like such common knowledge pained him. It was the kind of answer that deserved to be shared.
"Sarah!" he called to his sister. She was sitting with a clutch of girls her age near the front of the bus.
"What?" Sarah answered without turning.
He could see her ponytail bobbing as she chattered with her girlfriends and tried to ignore him.
"What's the capital of New York?"
"Look it up like you're supposed to," she said. Her voice was caked with such scorn, it sent her two friends into a fit of giggles.
Jimmy Ray turned in his seat to join the discussion.
"Why didn't you ask me?" he asked. Jimmy Ray considered himself a source of important information and was hurt he had been so easily overlooked.
"You know that?" DJ asked.
"I sure do. The capital of New York is New York." His voice rang with proud authority.
But the answer only confused DJ.
"Just New York?" DJ asked again. "Or New York City?"
"Either one," Jimmy Ray answered. "They're the same place."
Butch Waller shook his head violently in disagreement.
"They ain't the same," Butch argued. "One's a city and the other's a state."
"There's a New York that's a city, too," Jimmy Ray insisted.
"That's New York City," Butch insisted right back.
"Ah, you're crazy," Jimmy Ray muttered. "There ain't three."
DJ looked at his two colleagues with a growing helplessness. What had been a simple request to help him cheat on his homework had now escalated into a full-fledged discussion on geography.
"There's a plain New York that's a city, and there's a New York City that's a city and New York that's a state?" DJ was frustrated.
"No, Jimmy Ray don't know his butt from a beehive," Butch announced. "The plain New York is the only one that's a state."
"It's Albany." The voice came from somewhere in the back of the bus.
"What?" asked DJ, turning quickly in the direction of the sound.
"It's Albany," the voice said again.
Suddenly every face on the bus was looking in the direction of the voice, which came from behind the cover of The Deerslayer.
"What did you say?" DJ demanded.
Rodney Freeman lowered the book and looked out over the cover at the faces staring back at him.
"The capital of New York is Albany."
There was a brief silence, followed first by a giggle from one of Sarah's friends and then by a more malevolent snicker from Butch Waller.
"Hey, DJ, that colored boy's smarter 'n you.
DJ spun back around, the first flush of red beginning to creep up his neck like the mercury in a storefront thermometer.
"H-h-he ain't smarter," DJ stammered. "He just thinks he's smart. He's guessing, that's all."
It wasn't so much that the boy knew the answer; DJ had his doubts about that. It wasn't even that he was one of "them back of the busers," at least not entirely. More than anything else it was the fact that this scrawny kid, who didn't do a thing except read all day, was so confident about the answer.
"That's a pucky pile," DJ snarled at Rodney. "How do you know the capital of New York is Albany?"
"My grandma told me, that's how."
"I ain't never heard of your grandma and I ain't never heard of Albany." Then, DJ took up his pencil and began to write on the crumpled sheet of homework paper ...
Christmas in Canaan. Copyright © by Kenny Rogers. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.
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