Can I get off my thyroid medication?

Hi guys, it's Sachin Patel and we're answering questions that have come in about the thyroid. So one question that came in is when a person who is hypothyroid, can they realistically work towards stopping thyroid medication, assuming one still has a thyroid gland? So I want to make it very clear, a lot of people are making the thyroid medication the enemy. Thyroid medication is not the enemy. It's in fact one of the most tested and most prescribed medications on the planet. So we have more data on thyroid medication than anything else. And it's actually a life saving medication in many cases. The problem is that people have made the medication the enemy, when in fact the immune system and the overactivity of the immune system probably coming from the gut and their stressful lives, that's the enemy. So that's what you want to get rid of. Because even if you get off the medication, the function of your thyroid is still dictated by inflammation and chronic stress in your life. So really you have the wrong goal in mind. Your goal should not be to get off the medication. Your goal should be to find out why you need it in the first place and then address that. And until you address that, you're not going to feel your best, which is what you're looking for. Somebody asks what are the least known causes and triggers of hypothyroidism? Well, I would say it's gut infections, stealth infections, which typically mean that they're stealth and that means that you're not looking for them. Pathogen. Its defense mechanism is the fact that it's stealth and it hides from the host, which means that you're probably not going to do anything about it. You're probably not even going to have symptoms in that area, but which means you're probably not going to test for it and then address it. So that's one of the hidden causes and one that's obvious, but one that may not necessarily come to mind first is chronic stress. Chronic stress causes usually chronic inflammation. It causes poor sleep patterns, it causes poor dietary choices, it causes a downregulation of thyroid hormone production and conversion. So there's a huge impact of poor function in terms of stress. Next question is, is it possible for someone who is hypothyroid to feel different dosage needs throughout the year and also throughout the month, particularly women who still have their cycle. So this is a great question. One thing to kind of keep in mind is that your thyroid hormone production changes from moment to moment. Your hormones are made in real time. So the amount of hormone I make Today is going to be different than the amount of hormone I make tomorrow in a healthy, functioning person, because my demands are going to be different tomorrow versus today. So I would say yes, it is possible to make. I mean, it's necessary for you to make different amounts depending on your environment. And this is what makes it very difficult to dose thyroid medication. You know, what works for you one month might not work for you the next month, because your life or your stress, your circumstances might be different. So just keep that in mind. Can certain supplements hinder one's thyroid to work properly? Well, well, you know, for some people, too much iodine can be a problem. And that's the only supplement that I'm very cautious with is supplementing with iodine. I mean, iodine in food can be from a whole food source, like seaweed and kelp. I think that should be okay because it's not ridiculous amounts. But when somebody starts taking supplemental iodine, in some instances, it could be a major issue. So just be mindful of that. Just be careful with that, especially if you have Hashimoto's. The next question is, is there a link between periodontal disease, implants and an underperforming thyroid gland? Well, keep in mind that 90% of thyroid dysfunction is caused by an autoimmune condition known as Hashimoto's. And so if we've got a chronic infection going on in our mouth, then we have a chronic immune upregulation and we have chronic inflammation and chronic cytokine upregulation, which means that if we have antibodies to our thyroid, then we have a chronic upregulation from these cytokines to tell our antibodies to damage our thyroid and other tissues that we may have tagged or may have been tagged by the immune system. So I would say yes, there's a strong connection. And then even if you look at where the lymph nodes are for the jaw and where the lymph nodes are for the thyroid, they're obviously very closely connected to one another. So, yes, look at the mouth. The mouth can be a major source for chronic infections and chronic health issues. So just keep that in mind. Always.