Low Thyroid Function, Adrenal Fatigue, and the Impact of Trauma

WEBVTT
00:00:00.017 --> 00:00:03.417
Are you on thyroid hormone replacement but still feel awful?
00:00:04.037 --> 00:00:08.617
Or are your thyroid levels normal yet you have classic symptoms?
00:00:09.197 --> 00:00:12.797
Do you feel like you've tried everything and don't know what to do next?
00:00:13.497 --> 00:00:19.317
Do you wonder how you can get to the true root causes of autoimmunity or functional hypothyroidism?
00:00:20.057 --> 00:00:24.157
Are you holding out for a natural way to resolve your symptoms?
00:00:25.277 --> 00:00:29.497
Well, you're in the right place. Welcome to the Heal Your Thyroid podcast.
00:00:30.017 --> 00:00:35.657
I'm Madeline Lowry, a neural retraining specialist and founder of Twin Cities Neural Retraining.
00:00:35.757 --> 00:00:41.037
I work with clients in virtual sessions to resolve the hidden sources of stress
00:00:41.037 --> 00:00:45.357
behind chronic health issues, including low thyroid function.
00:00:45.917 --> 00:00:50.257
In this episode, I'm going to share about my own struggles with fatigue,
00:00:50.617 --> 00:00:57.617
aches and pains, weight gain, sensitivities, a very low tolerance for stress, gut issues.
00:00:58.277 --> 00:01:03.177
Nutritional deficiencies, immune dysfunction, hair loss, and more.
00:01:03.637 --> 00:01:07.657
At one point, I thought that I had classic hypothyroid symptoms,
00:01:07.657 --> 00:01:12.677
but my lab values were normal, and I had to figure it out for myself.
00:01:12.797 --> 00:01:18.337
It took me years and some unconventional thinking, but I achieved my goal.
00:01:18.777 --> 00:01:24.117
After hearing my story, I hope that you will understand how I arrived at what
00:01:24.117 --> 00:01:26.317
I believe to be the ultimate root cause,
00:01:26.317 --> 00:01:29.457
which is the mind if you
00:01:29.457 --> 00:01:32.137
are finally ready to address your thyroid issues in a new
00:01:32.137 --> 00:01:38.357
way a mind body way then this podcast is for you i'm going to connect the dots
00:01:38.357 --> 00:01:41.737
for you so that you will understand the real reasons you still have thyroid
00:01:41.737 --> 00:01:46.657
problems despite everything you've tried and what you can do about it could
00:01:46.657 --> 00:01:49.997
neural retraining be your best next step to thyroid healing?
00:01:50.297 --> 00:01:56.277
Take our quiz at tcneuralretraining.solutions to find out.
00:01:58.328 --> 00:02:02.368
In this episode, I'm going to sum up about 12 years of my personal experience
00:02:02.368 --> 00:02:07.188
and what led me to becoming a neural retraining specialist, and how I've come
00:02:07.188 --> 00:02:11.628
to understand that the mind is the ultimate root cause of chronic health issues.
00:02:12.208 --> 00:02:18.348
I woke up one day at about age 40 and realized that although I had always thought
00:02:18.348 --> 00:02:21.668
of myself as a healthy person, it was no longer true.
00:02:22.048 --> 00:02:25.968
My dermatologist had found precancerous cells in a routine exam,
00:02:26.168 --> 00:02:31.308
and my very first mammogram had found a precancerous lump that had to be surgically removed.
00:02:31.648 --> 00:02:38.628
I was exhausted, anemic, I had chronic aches and pains, inexplicable weight
00:02:38.628 --> 00:02:42.688
gain, cluster headaches, extremely heavy menstrual bleeding.
00:02:43.728 --> 00:02:50.508
Multiple sensitivities to foods, pollen, meds, and every time I caught a cold
00:02:50.508 --> 00:02:54.328
it would last for weeks and the congestion was so bad I had to sleep sitting up.
00:02:54.668 --> 00:02:59.768
Taking this tally of about a dozen health problems made me realize that I was
00:02:59.768 --> 00:03:02.788
not doing that well, and it was time to figure out why.
00:03:03.388 --> 00:03:07.468
When my hair started falling out, it seemed to point towards my thyroid.
00:03:08.108 --> 00:03:12.868
So I found an internist with some functional medicine training and had some labs run.
00:03:13.448 --> 00:03:17.888
Normal. My thyroid was fine. No problem there. Keep looking.
00:03:18.468 --> 00:03:24.568
A couple of years later, I saw a naturopath. She listened to my litany of niggling health issues,
00:03:24.928 --> 00:03:29.668
nothing really serious, but all of them incompatible with being a mother of
00:03:29.668 --> 00:03:34.668
three with a job, a house, two dogs, and a husband with a very demanding career.
00:03:35.028 --> 00:03:38.168
She said, let's start with your adrenals.
00:03:38.568 --> 00:03:44.928
She gave me some drops to try. At $300 per visit, I was extremely underwhelmed.
00:03:44.928 --> 00:03:50.168
A few years later, after training in nutritional therapy and running out of
00:03:50.168 --> 00:03:52.388
ideas, I went to an integrative clinic.
00:03:52.628 --> 00:03:56.068
They wanted to run a battery of expensive tests.
00:03:56.448 --> 00:04:00.068
I had about 20 tubes of blood taken for blood work.
00:04:00.788 --> 00:04:06.468
Samples were sent to two labs for mold testing alone, which cost over $800.
00:04:07.368 --> 00:04:11.828
I had a panel run to see what was growing in my gut, and more.
00:04:11.928 --> 00:04:14.568
I won't burden you with all the gory details.
00:04:14.848 --> 00:04:20.628
The answers came back. I was very anemic and had a host of other nutritional
00:04:20.628 --> 00:04:25.928
deficiencies, high levels of heavy metals, high mold counts,
00:04:26.368 --> 00:04:28.828
a very disrupted gut microbiome.
00:04:29.248 --> 00:04:33.408
And they said, come right back. We need to start working on these things.
00:04:33.668 --> 00:04:36.088
Your mold levels are off the charts.
00:04:37.263 --> 00:04:41.963
Long story short, I did not go back. I understood what the test showed,
00:04:42.223 --> 00:04:48.543
and that what they were telling me was true, but I did not find the answers satisfying.
00:04:49.183 --> 00:04:55.003
I felt that there was a root cause underlying all of these so-called root causes
00:04:55.003 --> 00:04:58.843
that we were missing, though I did not understand what it was.
00:04:59.383 --> 00:05:05.203
To my mind, there had to be a reason why a person who exercised regularly,
00:05:05.203 --> 00:05:12.563
ate a clean diet with a pretty average level of stress and who even meditated
00:05:12.563 --> 00:05:17.543
occasionally could be suffering health challenges in almost every system of the body.
00:05:18.003 --> 00:05:24.403
Yes, my immune system was dysregulated. And yes, I was not digesting or taking up nutrients well.
00:05:24.883 --> 00:05:31.063
Yes, my gut and my system was overloaded with pathogenic species, mold and heavy metals.
00:05:31.763 --> 00:05:37.003
Yes and yes and yes. And also, why would this be true?
00:05:37.703 --> 00:05:42.523
My training as a nutritional therapy practitioner taught me that the body is
00:05:42.523 --> 00:05:46.123
designed to heal itself. So why wasn't it?
00:05:46.623 --> 00:05:51.943
Something was not adding up for me, and it would be years before I had my answers.
00:05:52.643 --> 00:05:56.443
About the only thing that had helped me over the years was removing foods from
00:05:56.443 --> 00:06:00.363
my diet. The first epiphany came from removing gluten.
00:06:00.923 --> 00:06:06.343
That resolved multiple symptoms for a couple of years, and then they started to come back.
00:06:06.863 --> 00:06:12.783
Then I removed dairy. Again, everything improved for about 18 months, and then came back.
00:06:13.163 --> 00:06:18.303
I removed more foods, and the duration of the improvements continued to shorten.
00:06:18.883 --> 00:06:24.243
Finally, I was on an autoimmune paleo diet, and even that was not good enough.
00:06:24.783 --> 00:06:29.243
Not knowing what more I could do is what sent me to get a degree in nutritional therapy.
00:06:29.243 --> 00:06:34.763
But as I said, though I learned a lot about anatomy and the systems of the body,
00:06:35.063 --> 00:06:38.143
and a lot about nutrition, lifestyle changes, and supplements,
00:06:38.583 --> 00:06:42.543
none of it seemed to have a significant impact on my health.
00:06:42.743 --> 00:06:47.743
I had come to the end of what diet changes and supplements could do for me.
00:06:48.063 --> 00:06:49.743
I needed a new direction.
00:06:50.643 --> 00:06:55.703
That new direction came along as a response to my clients' requests for allergy
00:06:55.703 --> 00:06:57.883
and sensitivity elimination techniques.
00:06:58.783 --> 00:07:02.723
Nothing in my training as an NTP had prepared me for this.
00:07:03.023 --> 00:07:08.643
I sought out and learned several techniques, and the best one I found was a
00:07:08.643 --> 00:07:14.483
basic method of neural retraining called DNRS, Dynamic Neural Retraining System.
00:07:15.766 --> 00:07:21.986
I started to teach a simplified method based on the principles of DNRS and had
00:07:21.986 --> 00:07:27.346
pretty good results, but only with about 70% of my clients.
00:07:27.646 --> 00:07:33.386
The remaining 30% were not improving even after practicing the scripts,
00:07:33.686 --> 00:07:36.406
affirmations, and visualizations for months.
00:07:36.706 --> 00:07:43.106
I was at a conference sometime after that and heard a talk about the ACEs study
00:07:43.106 --> 00:07:46.746
done by the CDC, Centers for Disease Control,
00:07:46.946 --> 00:07:52.206
and Kaiser Permanente that demonstrated a connection between childhood trauma
00:07:52.206 --> 00:07:57.346
and a lifelong predisposition to chronic emotional, mental, and physical health issues.
00:07:57.626 --> 00:08:01.046
I took the ACEs quiz myself.
00:08:01.526 --> 00:08:05.306
It's a simple 10-question survey.
00:08:05.366 --> 00:08:11.966
You get a point for each trauma factor that you experienced before the age of 18.
00:08:12.206 --> 00:08:14.606
And though I would never have considered
00:08:14.606 --> 00:08:19.286
myself to have suffered childhood trauma, I scored a 5 out of 10.
00:08:20.026 --> 00:08:25.706
Once I understood that unresolved trauma in the subconscious mind was the complicating factor,
00:08:26.046 --> 00:08:30.826
I started to wish for an advanced method of neural retraining to help me to
00:08:30.826 --> 00:08:35.046
get to the root causes more quickly with my clients.
00:08:35.726 --> 00:08:41.346
I didn't think that such a method existed, and I would not have known how to
00:08:41.346 --> 00:08:44.906
describe what I was looking for, but I came across it anyway.
00:08:45.386 --> 00:08:51.886
I saw a demonstration of the MAP method, and I knew instantly that this was
00:08:51.886 --> 00:08:53.346
the technique I was looking for.
00:08:53.766 --> 00:08:57.726
I will talk more specifically about the MAP method in another episode,
00:08:57.946 --> 00:09:01.766
but first let me backtrack and talk a little bit more about the ACEs study.
00:09:02.466 --> 00:09:08.666
This study, done in the 1990s, surveyed 17,000 participants and.
00:09:09.555 --> 00:09:13.275
As I said, 10 questions about trauma experiences before the age of 18.
00:09:13.855 --> 00:09:20.515
It is not a perfect survey. It does not make a distinction between trauma that
00:09:20.515 --> 00:09:25.795
happens once or trauma that happens over an extended period of time.
00:09:26.335 --> 00:09:32.635
It is a very simple assessment, and yet the study showed a clear correlation
00:09:32.635 --> 00:09:34.575
between significant childhood trauma.
00:09:35.355 --> 00:09:41.315
Which was a score of 4 out of 10 or higher, and it increased lifetime risk of
00:09:41.315 --> 00:09:48.195
chronic health issues at the emotional level, such as anxiety, PTSD, depression.
00:09:48.575 --> 00:09:54.655
At the behavioral level, this could look like obsessions, compulsions, or addictions.
00:09:55.135 --> 00:10:00.295
And at the physical level, which could look like chronic health conditions,
00:10:00.835 --> 00:10:04.775
obesity, an elevated risk of early death.
00:10:04.775 --> 00:10:12.555
You can learn more about the ACEs study by googling Adverse Childhood Experiences.
00:10:13.275 --> 00:10:16.175
And look for the Centers for Disease Control website.
00:10:16.815 --> 00:10:20.575
You can even take the quiz yourself and see how you score.
00:10:21.215 --> 00:10:24.955
As I said, it does not account for every possible type of trauma.
00:10:25.355 --> 00:10:30.495
And I have a much more extensive list in my own quiz because we have learned
00:10:30.495 --> 00:10:35.815
so much more about trauma since 1990, including the distinctions between big
00:10:35.815 --> 00:10:38.575
T trauma, the usual suspects,
00:10:38.975 --> 00:10:44.195
and the kinds of things assessed by this quiz, and also little t trauma,
00:10:44.875 --> 00:10:49.615
smaller or less significant sources of painful emotional experience,
00:10:49.875 --> 00:10:54.055
and finally hidden trauma or what we call lacks,
00:10:54.575 --> 00:10:59.875
the lack of emotional support or understanding during childhood, for example.
00:11:00.375 --> 00:11:05.335
You can take our quiz at tcneuralretraining.solutions.
00:11:06.415 --> 00:11:11.095
In the next episode, I will describe my understanding of why early life trauma
00:11:11.095 --> 00:11:15.795
has an impact on all levels of health for the rest of our lives.
00:11:17.735 --> 00:11:22.615
If you are interested in reading more about the impact of trauma,
00:11:22.795 --> 00:11:27.295
I recommend the book When the Body Says No by Dr.
00:11:27.415 --> 00:11:31.995
Gabor Matei and What Happened to You by Dr.
00:11:32.435 --> 00:11:34.415
Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey.
00:11:36.475 --> 00:11:40.915
Thanks for listening. If you found this episode intriguing, I'd like to invite
00:11:40.915 --> 00:11:45.635
you to join the Heal Your Thyroid, the MindBody Solution community on Facebook.
00:11:46.255 --> 00:11:51.055
If you learned something or were inspired, please listen again and remember
00:11:51.055 --> 00:11:52.875
to subscribe and leave a review.
00:11:54.035 --> 00:12:00.335
Content of this podcast Copyright 2024 by Twin Cities Neural Retraining.
00:12:01.295 --> 00:12:03.015
Music by Barbara Benn.
00:12:03.440 --> 00:12:26.482
Music.