Thyroid and Other Hormones –– Texas Star Pharmacy

Thyroid and Other Hormones

By Donna S. Barsky, D.Ph., R.Ph., Texas Star Pharmacy, Collin County LIVING WELL Magazine

Do you sometimes feel like you are having heart palpitations? How about unusual sweating, sleeplessness and fatigue? These mysterious symptoms sometimes may have something to do with your thyroid gland.

According to some medical studies, approximately 70% of people have trouble with thyroid gland function without knowing it. Thyroid gland-related illness may lead to heart disease and stroke (cerebrovascular accident). Thyroid hormones work with all the hormones in the body. With an under active thyroid, some symptoms are more significant than others.

Thyroid patients report symptoms such as:

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  • Hot flashes
  • Night sweats
  • Hair loss
  • Vaginal dryness
  • Brittle nails
  • Low libido
  • Cold hands and feet
  • Constipation

 

Your thyroid gland is just one of many hormone glands in your body. Hormones are everywhere and control virtually every facet of your body. Your thinking, digestion, sugar maintenance, weight control, muscles, bones, fluid balance, even your moods and personality are controlled by hormones. Every cell in your body has a receptor for every hormone that your body makes.

The power hormones have over many systems in your body are incredible and often times when the thyroid is not functioning correctly we see many symptoms.

Restated, the older you are, the fewer hormones you have and this is why your body tanks as you get older. There are some cliffs you can fall off along the way—like menopause for women and andropause for men.

Because hormones are inter-related with each other, when one hormone is deficient, then this can affect the proportion of the other hormones. Many hormones have feedback mechanisms on each other so that if one is up, the other is down.

The brain is especially interesting when it comes to hormones. Not only do parts of the brain manufacture hormones (pituitary gland and pineal gland), but it also monitors their activity in the blood stream and controls the release of “pre-hormones,” called releasing factors that induce other glands to make their hormones. In the thyroid, this is the thyroid stimulating hormone (or TSH in lab tests). So, when the physician tests for blood levels, they will always test for TSH but not always do a complete Thyroid Panel.

There are also important nutritionals that are imperative for the proper function of your thyroid level and the conversion of T4 to T3 (the active form). And, without proper nutritional support, that conversion may not happen, which can cause clinical hypothyroidism.

Each individual with thyroid conditions will have different needs as far as combinations of thyroid replacement therapy. Often times we are called upon to customize the ratios and strengths of replacement medications to meet individual patient needs. This also includes the nutritional support for proper thyroid function and conversion of thyroid to the active form.

Donna Barsky, D.Ph., R.Ph., is a clinical compounding pharmacist and owner of Texas Star Pharmacy.  She specializes in thyroid, and related hormone replacement therapies with nutritional support.

Barsky collaborates with, and refers many patients to select physicians. “We are just part of the team,” she says. “At Texas Star Pharmacy, our goal is to work with the patient and their doctor to maximize their therapeutic outcomes.”

If you have any questions about your hormones or thyroid function, please contact Dr. Barsky at any one of the pharmacies: Texas Star Pharmacy, 3033 W. Parker Rd., #100, 972-519-8475 or Store #2 5425 W. Spring Creek Pkwy, #190, 214-291-5087, Plano, Texas.