Thyroid and Hormone talk w/ Kari

#7:  In this episode, I invite Kari Degrandpre on to talk thyroid and hormone health. I have struggled with thyroid issues for over 10 years, and until I found Kari, my thyroid levels were all over the charts.

Kari is a family practitioner in Huntsville. She works at Advanced Life Care and knows her stuff! She listens to her patients. 

I was so excited for this episode and needing out about thyroid talk, I forgot to give you the basics of thyroid hormone. 

TSH: Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. This hormone stimulates your thyroid to put out thyroid  hormone in the body. 

T3: The active thyroid hormone that manages ALL THINGS (metabolism, hair growth, energy levels, etc)

T4: The inactive form of thyroid hormone. This hormone is suppose to convert to the active form T3. 

Why do we want Free T3/Free T4 levels drawn instead of total? 
The "free" labs tell you how much hormone you have circulating "freely" in the blood stream which givens you a better picture of what you are working with. 

The "total" labs tell you how much total T3/T4 you have in your body, but doesn't tell you where ... is it in the blood stream, peripheral, or tissues? Hard to say with this lab. 

What labs do you need to ask your doctor for? My recommendations are: TSH, Free T3, Free T4, TPO antibodies, Thyroglobulin levels, and in some cases, you may need more. 

Reference Range: The range at which that lab says is "normal" for that specific lab being drawn. 

Optimal: A more narrow range where people your age and gender feel "better" without side effects, but diminishes or lessens one's symptoms. 

Disclaimer: This podcast was just to give a picture of thyroid and hormone health. It is to share my story and experiences that I have felt with along the way. It is in no way intended to replace the advice of your doctor. Be your own advocate and have a communication with your doctor to get to the root cause of your illnesses. 

If you aren't bored of me yet, listen to the bonus episode where I share my own personal experience with my thyroid health. 

Thanks for listening you guys! As always, like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast to get it out into the world. 

If you're feeling really good, leave a little review. 

Find Kari @ http://www.advancedlifecarehsv.com
Find me @ http://www.babblesnonsense.com/

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