Thyroid functioning is becoming an increasingly hot topic, including terms such as autoimmune disease, hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. But are the issues in this area even worse than health experts are aware?
This article from the amazing Lisa Fitzgibbon at oomphhealth.co.nz is a fascinating read and a real eye opener regarding the accuracy of blood test results – Lisa discusses how lab-test facilities in New Zealand all use different methods of testing and the implications of this when drawing conclusions about healthy Thyroid function.
I have personally been using iodine for my thyroid under Lisa’s guidance and have found a huge improvement in menopause symptoms.
Lisa is a naturopath and medical herbalist who draws on her professional training and long-term experience, as well as her own personal experience to bring you realistic, holistic health advice. If you have any health issues I highly recommend getting in touch with Lisa, you can see her in person or via Zoom if you are not in the Auckland area.
Thyroid Function Testing
I don’t have all the answers about healthy Thyroid function, especially when more questions keep coming up.
I’m not a big fan of the word ‘expert’.
It makes a person sound like they are single-minded, and that they know everything there is to know about a certain subject. Which, to my mind, doesn’t seem possible, nor does it seem like a very well-rounded approach to anything, particularly when assessing healthy Thyroid function.
(No, I’m not a fan of specialist doctors either. They tend to work alone, rather than as part of a team-effort with specialists in different areas of health.)
I get termed ‘expert’ — quite a bit — when people are referred to me for Hypothyroidism, Thyroid dysfunction, or Iodine therapy. However, having worked in these areas for some years now, I’ll only ever admit to having a good level of expertise here. Especially as I’m not solidly focused in this one area of health. I’m a holistic natural health practitioner. (I look at the whole person, and the various factors that influence their health.)1
What I can say is that at OOMPH, I provide the best care that I can for your Thyroid, based on my current level of education, understanding, and experience.
No more. No less.
That said, in this blog-post I’m going to share something that I’ve learned about Thyroid function over the last few years:
SPECIALISTS ARE NO WISER ABOUT THYROID FUNCTION THAN, SAY, NATUROPATHS.
AND,
UNFORTUNATELY The BLOOD tests for Thyroid function aren’t very accurate.
For one, I see screeds of clients at OOMPH who are clearly displaying the signs and symptoms of Hypothyroidism, yet their Thyroid blood-work suggests otherwise (their results are ‘normal’, and sometimes even appear to be perfect.)2
And, because I have clients from all over New Zealand — and I get to see their blood test results — I’ve come to realise that there isn’t a universal Thyroid function reference range to actually fit into!
Not only do I find these issues confounding, but I also find it to be a real concern.
I mean, just what are we really dealing with here, anyway — a sliding Thyroid testing system where the results don’t necessarily match-up with the symptoms?
How are we to compare apples with apples here?
Instead, it’s more like we’re comparing (Adam’s) apples to Kiwis… 😳
Confused?
Join the club.
Being too focused in any one area of health can make you ‘blinkered’ – unable to factor in all the other considerations.
This is both honest, and scary as all hell.
To illustrate my first point, I have taken this written extract from one of my client’s medical reports, which was sent from her Endocrinologist to her referring GP. The client had gone to this hormone specialist to have her Thyroid function assessed by an expert in this field.
The assessment began —
“I have explained to (client) our poor understanding of Thyroid, and indeed autoimmunity….”
Enough said? 😬
Of course specialists are generally quite happy to point-the-finger at natural health practitioners, and natural health products (with 100% certainty) when it suits them; usually when they have no clue what the cause of the condition is.
There is no standardisation of Thyroid function blood test reference ranges in New Zealand.
Thyroid Function Reference Ranges:
I am lucky enough to work with clients from all around the country, and when I receive their blood-work results, the reference ranges are included. (Or, if my client just emails me their test results, I refer to a record of the LabTest reference ranges.
While I keep a rough idea of the various blood-work ranges in my head; I don’t keep the actual specifics — because, well, I didn’t think I had to. However, as I progressed with my work, I was getting all-sorts-of-confused when my clients were displaying random, or results contrary to what I had anticipated 🤔
Then I realised that we aren’t all on a level playing-field when it comes to testing our Thyroid function.💡
The region in New Zealand where you live will determine what the reference range for your Thyroid function will be — and for the most part, they are all different.
Now, I would love to say that the reason for this discrepancy is because the region you live in impacts the functioning of this gland e.g you live close to the sea, or live in a land-locked area. (which would affect your access to fresh seafood and therefore your access to iodine — more on this below.)
But unfortunately, this isn’t the case, as obviously, we have supermarkets that standardise, and supply (reasonably fresh) food across Aotearoa.
The actual reason for the various Thyroid function result ranges are simply due to which lab-test facility you use — because they all use different methods of testing.
Therefore when I’m assessing my clients blood-work, not only do I have to take into consideration the idiosyncrasies between individuals, but I also have to take into account these ‘sliding scales’.
To read the rest to this article click here.
Lisa Fitzgibbon is a qualified (2006), experienced and registered Naturopath & Medical Herbalist. She runs her own private practice —OOMPH.
Lisa has been involved in the Natural Health industry for 16 years. She draws on her professional training and experience, as well as her own personal experience to bring you realistic, holistic health advice.
Make an appointment with Lisa here
About The Author: Katie Brooks
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