Category: Hormone Balance
TESTIMONY of GLORIA
Over the years I have found by veering away from traditional medicine and prescription drugs, I would become much healthier. A search to find doctors who treat you holistic and alternatively before resorting to traditional medicine is very difficult to find.
Recently I found myself getting more and more depressed about aging and dreaded getting older. I began seeing my body looking old and I was loosing the high energy that I had always had. I have been blessed with outstanding good health all my life because I always tried to take good care of my body. So believe me, I was beginning to feel hopeless and puzzled by what was happening to my body.
The search was on when I found Cool Springs Family Medicine.
At Cool Springs Family Medicine, I was treated like I was very important and cared for by all the staff. Dani Williamson, nurse practitioner, did some very extensive blood test and quickly found my problems. I was so thankful and I began to have hope again.
One of the tests that Dani did was to test my Thyroid Antibodies. No other doctor had tested it because my Thyroid Panel had always been normal. I was shocked to discover that I had Hashimoto’s disease. The level was 1490.3 and normal Is 60. Everything I have read about Hassimoto’s disease is that there is nothing you can do about it. The only thing is wait under the antibodies destroy you thyroid and then you start taking hormone pills. Well, I knew in my heart that that would NOT be my fate! Also I knew that once you begin taking thyroid medicine, then your thyroid completely stops making the hormones.
Right away Dani put me on some vitamins that support the thyroid and that settle the antibodies down. She also told me to start on a Gluten Free Diet. There is a book that was just printed that she recommended I read and would give me hope also: Hope for Hashimoto’s by Dr. Alexander Haskell, N.D.
After three months, Dani did another blood test and the Thyroid Antibodies was
Down 540 points to 950.3 from 1490.3! I was beyond excited and so happy. I knew Dani and Cool Springs Family Medicine was a God sent.
Having gone through menopause about 15 years ago, my hormone levels were depleted; which explained my lack of interest in sex, dry vagina, lack of energy, lack of enthusiasm for life, my skin looking wrinkled and saggy in a lot of places on my body.
Dani suggested I do the Testosterone Pellets that could be inserted under my skin and would last for 3 months. Since my testosterone level was zero, I was anxious to receive this treatment. She also subscribed Progesterone Troches that I would let dissolved in my mouth at bedtime.
Within a week, I began to feel better, my endurance level was coming back and I began to feel younger and like a woman again. Within two weeks, my sex drive was back and I was feeling that desire I used to have for my husband. Believe me, he was very happy about that because he wasn’t feeling rejected by me anymore!
Another thing I was seeing was that when I would go work out, my trainer was amazed because I was getting stronger and she was able to add more weights to my workout. I was feeling a lot stronger during the spinning classes too.
I cannot believe the difference in my health and life now. I will continue to work until I get my Thyroid Antibodies down to normal and I will continue to get the testosterone pellet inserts regularly and continue with the progesterone troches.
Thank you Cool Springs Family Medicine and Dani Williamson for giving me my life back. (My husband thanks you too).
Let’s talk adrenals. What does that mean? People come in and tell me all the time that they have adrenal fatigue, they don’t feel themselves. They feel frazzled, fat, famished (craving sugars and carbs), fatigued! I want to use this blog to begin a dialogue on how I approach adrenal fatigue and invite comments, questions and your experiences.
Are you hitting the snooze alarm continually, feel sluggish until mid-morning, wiped out when you get home in the evening or possibly get a burst of energy when it is time to go to sleep? You could be adrenally fatigued. A condition that is treatable with the proper lifestyle modifications, supplements, nutrients and herbal adaptogens.
I have patients on a daily basis that are experiencing high levels of emotional, mental, family and work stressors on a continual basis. Some have “burned the candle at both ends” for way too many years, and some have simply been under chronic stress for a multitude of reasons. They come to our office oftentimes after having sought help from various practitioners, simply to be told that their “lab tests are normal” and they just need to exercise more, lose weight and/or “start saying no” to commitments!
It has been my experience that most people have never heard of adrenal fatigue, much less know where their adrenal glands are located or exactly what their function is in our lives! Adrenal glands secrete cortisol in times of stress, exercise, low blood sugar (we will address low blood sugar and cortisol later)! Cortisol is your “fight or flight” hormone. Adrenal glands become compromised and sluggish when stress is not well managed and the adrenals are constantly pumping out cortisol. Eventually, they simply “poop out” and cortisol is unable to rise to meet our daily needs. Therefore, causing fatigue, sluggishness, anxiety, craving for sweets, allergies, reduced tolerance for stress the “tired but wired” feeling, sleep disturbances that many of us are experiencing.
At CSFM we can help you overcome adrenal fatigue by evaluating your cortisol levels with saliva testing that test 4x during the day (cortisol should be the highest it will be in a 24 hour period when we wake up). Cortisol slowly declines as the day progresses, it is low cortisol that allows us to go to sleep at night. I see all levels of adrenal fatigue weekly.
Adrenal fatigue is best treated with lifestyle modifications such as:
- At least 8 hours of sleep a night (sleep beginning before midnight is a must). The bed is for sleep and sex only….if you aren’t sleeping or having sex, get out of the bed!
- Meals at least every 4 hours with adequate protein and complex carbohydrates.
- Exercise at least 4-5 days a week of 20-30 minutes. No strenuous exercise: preferably yoga, stretching, breath work.
Nutrients: Supplements
- High doses of vitamin C 2-3 times daily
- Vitamins B5 and B6
- Vitamin E
Adrenal adaptogens:
- Ashwaghanda
- Holy Basil
- Licorice (used cautiously for elevated cortisol)
- Rhodiola
- Ginseng (used cautiously for elevated cortisol)
Adrenal Cortex or Cortisol is reserved for the most severe of cases.
For a complete saliva testing evaluation make an appointment at Cool Springs Family Medicine to see Dr. Kalb or Dani.
PS: The good news is that adrenal glands are easily treated, but can take months to a year or more to recover completely….be patient and consistent in your journey to better health!
