Hashimotos Thyroiditis: Wouldn’t it be Nice if Treatment Success was Based on our Symptom Relief? Dr. Redd Comes to the Rescue!

Having a Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis Facebook Support Group brings up many questions about what is going wrong with the standard of care in conventional medicine for us as Hashi’s patients. Why are we not getting well? Why are we feeling like the best thing to do might be to just cut out that stupid thyroid, or give up altogether? Why doesn’t anyone understand?

My blog is meant to be a resource for as many people as possible so I often post a variety of ways to get help that I particularly believe in or have experienced as profitable, from diet, to Functional Medicine, to finding out if you are gluten sensitive and resources that will help you with that research.

Well, in this post, I asked Dr. Redd, founder of RedRiver Health and Wellness Center to answer some of these questions for us. I am thrilled to present his responses in video form below. There are two videos. Before each one, I will cover the questions you will get answered.

Recently, on our Facebook Support Group page, there was some discussion about why some of us function just fine while others are severely debilitated. This turned into a time where I needed to intervene, because some were not able to comprehend how in the world you can have the same “disease,” yet it cause so many different symptoms and in such differing severity. I am sad to say that some of the comments were uncaring and harsh when those who were truly suffering were asking for compassion and help. This question has been the source of much contention over many months and this is why I asked Dr. Redd to help us understand this and I am also hoping it gives us more compassion for those who are hurting worse that we are, as well as justification for those who are struggling much worse. He also explains why just taking out the thyroid may not be the best answer. And IF we decide to have our thyroid removed, does this mean our autoimmune disease is also removed?

Please listen to Dr. Redd as he explains why this is happening:

So you may be thinking after watching the above video, “Well, thank you very much but how do I address this autoimmune disease then?” Fortunately for us, Dr. Redd took the time to explain the process of detective work that sometimes needs to be done in order to find those triggers, imbalances and additional deterrents to getting well. What is the cascade of events causing our flare ups? Why is it so hard to control? What are the answers?

The following video will hopefully address this as simply as possible for us and help us understand why conventional medicine is not dealing with the real source of the problem. Why don’t they address our quality of life when we go in to the doctor and our TSH is normal? If you are like me, and you’ve had this happen many times in your journey, they really do make you feel like a hypochondriac. I’m sorry, but I’m done with that. I had to leave conventional medicine and move into the world of natural and Functional Medicine (Dr. Redd practices this type of medicine) in order to feel understood and justified.

Yes, there is out of pocket expense to get help like this, but if we are not being helped in conventional medicine, at this time, I really don’t know of any other way. I am grateful that doctors like these Functional Medicine doctors have taken the time to acknowledge our pain and suffering and it would not be fair to think they shouldn’t be paid for this very detailed and difficult troubleshooting path they must help us through.

So, I thank Dr. Redd for helping us understand our condition better and applaud him for his hard work in providing a practice that will give more of us a chance to feel better.

In light of this post, when interacting with other sufferers, let’s all remember that our symptoms could be very different. We all need a place to feel safe and understood, especially when we can be suffering so severely. Let’s reach out to the hurting ones among us and help them feel heard without judgment. This is the reason I developed this blog and Facebook Support Group. There was a time in my life that there was not one person anywhere that seemed to understand my illness, but that was 20 years ago. We have much more help now thanks to professionals like Dr. Redd and other specialized doctors in his center.

If you would like to find out more about RedRiver Health and Wellness Center, you can find them here and you can follow them Facebook where you can see customer testimonials, tips, and other great articles to help you along your way. It doesn’t matter if you live in the area or not. Dr. Redd takes patients all over the world and offers a FREE initial consultation via either phone or Skype!

If you would like to look for other Functional Medicine doctors in your area, there are searches here and here, but please always get references and consult with these doctors before moving forward to make sure they are a good fit for your particular needs.

Here’s to our continued healing journey.