You’ve probably seen patients who are on thyroid medication and the numbers are “fine” according the their conventional doctor, but they just don’t feel right. We know from our experience as practitioners that often our patients are deeply frustrated because they’ve been through thousands of dollars of testing and yet they are told “there is nothing wrong with you.” But the truth of situation more often is “we have not been able to find the source of the problem your having.”
In this conversation with Heidi Lovie we taken a deep enough dive into the hormonal interactions of the thyroid that you’ll be able to better understand the numbers on a thyroid panel. And we then flip into how Chinese medicine, especially the ideas of Li Dong Yuan, can help you to make a substantial difference in your patient’s life.
Understanding the story that certain key factors of the bloodwork tell along with the methods and perspectives of Chinese medicine can make a big difference in the life your Hashimoto’s patients. Listen in and find out how!
In This Conversation We Discuss:
- An experience with acupuncture changed how Heidi felt about her thyroid issues
- The Synthyroid Racket
- The Liver and Spleen play a huge role in thyroid issues
- Li Dong Yuan nailed it, his methods from the Pi Wei Lun are very helpful in treating thyroid disease
- Chronic systemic inflammation is a major factor to address, and setting the Earth phase healthy is critical
- Getting the right blood work is important and also knowing how to read it
- A typical Hashimoto’s profile
- Hashimoto’s is primarily a taxation issue
- A clinical look at two women who seem the same, but aren’t
- The MUTHR variation and what it means to your Hashimoto’s patient
- Nothing gets better if the methylation/detox pathways are congested
- A look at the role of antibodies
- Why gluten is such a big problem
- Guasha for the throat and back of the neck
The Hashi game is all about the anti-bodies; so test, and test often. The three biggest ways to play that game are:
• Go gluten free
• Clear or calm any Gu (i.e. gut critters, EBV, Lyme’s, Cytomegalovirus, candida, etc)
• Acupuncture, tui-na, and gua-sha the neck every time you get your hands on the patient to clear out any soft scar tissue caused by anti-bodies so that the thyroid has some breathing room.
Heidi Lovie, L.Ac
My patients are my teachers, my inspiration, and my heart. They are the reason I get out of bed in the morning. Their stories move me to tears and make me a better person. Being human is hard. Our bodies and minds, which are designed to provide an experience for our spirit, come with so many issues. But watching my patients navigate, overcome, and conquer their issues heals my own my broken humanness. I can’t imagine a better job.
I believe that the best Chinese medicine practitioners know acupuncture is a last resort. That true healing happens when blind spots are illuminated and that my job is to act as a sherpa guiding people towards the best version of themselves using Chinese medicine as the guiding light. Something transformative and magical happens when people are self empowered, given knowledge, and prescribed resources to take outside the treatment room.
You can find the full back-story to my adventures with Hashimoto's and what brought me into Chinese medicine here.
Links and Resources
How To: Quick tutorial Heidi did with author, Phoebe Lapine, on how to gua-sha for Hashimoto’s.
Book Recommendations: The sequence of books Heidi usually recommends for people in terms of Hashi readings:
- Thyroid Healthy, Lose Weight, Look Beautiful and Live the Life You Imagine. The title and the cover are the absolute WORST. It’s not Hashimoto specific, but it’s the best book on the market in terms of a thyroid primer and is absolutely the BEST when it comes to descriptions of how things work and were to start in terms of getting oneself on a healing path.
- Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis: Lifestyle Interventions for Finding and Treating the Root Cause. It’s a bit unorganized, but she’s got some great starter information and strategies.
- Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms When My Lab Tests Are Normal: a Revolutionary Breakthrough in Understanding Hashimoto's Disease and Hypothyroidism. The marquee book written on the subject; however, it's super science based and can be hard to read without a strong foundation. So that's why I have people read one of the first two listed first and then this one.
- How to Heal Hashimoto’s: An Integrative Road Map to Remission; Written by an acupuncturist who regularly uses functional medicine in his practice. He uses 5 element theory to break down and explain Hashimoto’s in a format that any Chinese medicine practitioner will find familiar.
- The Autoimmune Epidemic is not specific to thyroid at all; however, it's an absolute fantastic page turner regarding thoughts on why autoimmune is on the rise and she explains “catalyst event” in terms that are easy to understand.
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