Thyroid Disorders
One Agora Integrative Health Clinic in Bloomington, MN

Your thyroid is a small butterfly-shaped organ at the bottom of your neck that releases thyroid hormone into your bloodstream to control your energy, metabolism, temperature, sleep, hair and nail growth, digestion and sexual function. If your thyroid gland produces too much or too little thyroid hormone, any or all of these functions may be disrupted.

It has been estimated that over 27 million people suffer with thyroid conditions in the United States, and up to half of them have not been diagnosed.

Symptoms of Thyroid Dysfunction

Are you gaining or losing weight without changing your diet or exercise routine? Feeling exhausted, moody, or suffering with brain fog or memory issues? Find that you're colder or warmer than the people around you? If your thyroid gland can't produce the proper amount of thyroid hormone your body requires, you may struggle with any of these symptoms or a combination of them:

• weight gain or loss
• depression, anxiety or irritability insomnia
• constipation
• hot and cold flashes
• high blood cholesterol
• carpal tunnel syndrome
• hair loss
• brain fog or memory impairment
• neck swelling
• abnormal periods
• frequent colds and infections
• an irregular, slowed or fast heart rate
• fatigue
• dry, brittle nails
• water retention
• hand numbness
• sexual dysfunction

Common Thyroid Conditions

• Hypothyroidism - Also known as underactive thyroid, this thyroid condition develops when your thyroid gland produces less thyroid hormone than your body requires.
• Hyperthyroidism - Also known as overactive thyroid, this thyroid condition develops when your thyroid gland produces more thyroid hormone than your body requires.
• Hashimoto's - Hashimoto's is the most common type of thyroiditis. It is an autoimmune disease that occurs when your body makes antibodies that attack the cells in your thyroid, causing it to produce too little thyroid hormone, leading to hypothyroidism.
• Graves' Disease - An autoimmune disease in which your immune system attacks your thyroid, causing it to produce too much thyroid hormone, often leading to hyperthyroidism.
• Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) - An autoimmune disease in which your immune system attacks the tissue behind your eyes, leading to a variety of ocular conditions.
• Thyroiditis - Inflammation of the thyroid gland with many possible causes, e.g., Hashimoto's thyroiditis, De Quervain's (subacute) thyroiditis, infectious thyroiditis and postpartum thyroiditis.

Diagnosis and Testing

Conventional endocrinologists often administer a standard thyroid hormone level test and develop a diagnosis based on what, decades ago, was labeled a “normal” range for thyroid function. Even if they were suffering with almost every symptom indicative of thyroid disease, many of our patients heard time and again: “There's nothing wrong with you. Your thyroid tests are normal.”

At One Agora Integrative Health we don't dictate what's “normal” for your body. For us, “normal” means symptom-free. If you are experiencing symptoms of a thyroid disorder, our goal is to discover the root causes behind these symptoms .

We will perform a comprehensive thyroid panel testing for: TSH, T3, T4, free T3, free T4, reverse T3 and antibodies. We will target each cause with the appropriate treatments until each symptom has been resolved.

Treatment Options

Each thyroid is unique, and at One Agora Integrative Health, so is each treatment plan. To accomplish long term thyroid health, we tap all treatment options, from medication and supplementation, to medical nutrition and lifestyle management.

Our goal is to achieve your unique optimal level of thyroid hormone, using a customized variety of the following treatment tools:

• Bioidentical T4 and T3: combinations (customized for you by a compounding pharmacy)
• Natural desiccated thyroid (porcine derived thyroid formulas like naturethroid and westthroid)
• Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN)
• Medical Nutrition for thyroid support
• Stress management protocols
• Healthy movement and exercise (especially outdoors)
• Lifestyle modifications as needed
• Conventional synthetic thyroid supplements (e.g., Synthroid and Cytomel) when necessary

Many conventionally trained doctors will tell you that once you start taking thyroid medication, you will be on it for life. However, we have seen our patients resolve thyroid problems completely because we test and target all root causes behind each patient's unique condition .

We also specialize in treating autoimmune conditions like Hashimoto's thyroiditis and Graves' disease by uncovering the source of your antibodies. Many conventional healthcare providers will never test you for antibodies.

At One Agora Integrative Health, we know it's important to detect antibodies because they are indicators of autoimmunity. Antibodies alert us to treat not only your thyroid, but to find and treat whatever is at the root of your immune system dysfunction. We know that antibodies can change, and we'll treat and monitor you until they do.

Request Your Appointment Today!

Compile your hypothyroidism symptoms checklist or your hyperthyroidism treatment requests - and we'll test and treat the root causes of your condition until you feel like yourself again! Call One Agora Integrative Health at (952) 234-5898 or contact us online today.

Related links

• Learn more about Thyroid Hormone Therapy.

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