Insomnia? Trouble Sleeping?

Trouble sleeping? You are not alone. That is one of the major things that people come into my office looking for help with. Too often the approach to not being able to sleep is to knock yourself out with alcohol, with sleeping pills, or to try to take some herbs like Valerian root.... Or just to not sleep much and be grumpy all the time. Well, wouldn't you like to know what is usually the main cause of not sleeping? Ok...since you asked ;)

It is 90% of the time a problem with the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland is responsible for making your mind race, for being unable to "turn off" and go to sleep. If this gland is out of balance it can make you jumpy, grumpy, and tired...but you can't sleep well. It is also behind panic attacks, anxiety, and skipped heart beats. Oh...and it is also the reason for a lot of neck pains, shoulder pains, and stiff spine.... And it is also the reason why people don't have interest in sex (low libido), crazy menstrual cycles, and can't get pregnant. Oh...and it is also why lots of people have morning headaches, losing your hair, dry skin, and acne. And it is the reason why pigeons poop on your car. (I just threw that in to see if you are paying attention). And lastly, it is a major reason why people are just tired or depressed.

As you can see, a dysfunction in the thyroid gland can cause many problems. The good news is that the thyroid gland responds beautifully to nutritional care and then many problems clear up and get better. Keep in mind that sometimes the thyroid gland is just hungry for some minerals or vitamins. But also the thyroid gland can be dysfunctional due to food allergies or toxins or infections. In that case, you need to avoid the food allergy, detox the chemicals, or get rid of the infection that is hurting your thyroid gland.

The thyroid gland often looks "OK" on blood tests but is not "OK" in reality. I don't know why, but lots of medical tests miss the fact that the thyroid gland needs help. I find thyroid problems in over half of all patients. When the thyroid gland starts working correctly then you can get your health back. If it is not working well, then you really can't feel great.

And lastly, if you think about it, hormone replacement therapy DOES NOT help your thyroid gland! What?? "But my doctor said..." well, your doctor didn't explain well or maybe he doesn't understand either. If your thyroid gland is not making hormones properly, then taking extra hormones doesn't fix your thyroid gland. Get it? I think of it like a little factory that for some reason is missing some supply trucks for raw materials. So, without some of the missing raw materials- the factory can't make the product. So, let's just not fix the factory but import the products from overseas. That is what hormone replacement therapy does. And I find lots of people who are on HRT who still have thyroid symptoms! Crazy...

If you know someone who might have thyroid problems, who has trouble sleeping...who might want to get off hormone replacement therapy eventually, or someone who can't figure out why they feel bad, have them give my office a call at 972-880-8541. All the best. Dr. Cone