Ageless: The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones (9 page)

You may be going to your doctor with complaints that indicate your thyroid is too high or too low, but your blood work comes back in the normal range. Your doctor, therefore, may not treat your thyroid because you are “normal,” and that could be one of the big reasons you are symptomatic and gaining weight. You need to know this. When you go to an antiaging doctor, bring these ranges with you so you can do your own evaluating. When the thyroid is not working at optimal range for you, you are not getting the full benefit of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.

If you suspect that you have an underactive thyroid, blood tests should not be limited to the “faithful” TSH test. This method happens to be scientifically outdated, and not all doctors are up-to-date with this fact. To get an accurate picture of what your thyroid hormones are doing, you need to work with a physician who understands thyroid problems. Demand a full panel of tests, including TSH, free
T4, free T3, reverse T3, and possibly thyroid antibodies. Together, these are considered a complete battery of thyroid function tests.

Overweight women with a family history of obesity may have lower levels of T3 in their blood. Treatments to raise T3 levels may help reduce some metabolic risk factors associated with abdominal obesity in some overweight women. Also, it is not uncommon for women with thyroid problems to suffer from depression. One explanation for this is that T3 is actually a bona fide neurotransmitter that regulates the action of serotonin (the feel-good hormone) and nor-epinephrine and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), two brain chemicals that are important for alleviating anxiety.

Whenever thyroid problems are suspected or treated, it is important to monitor adrenal function as well. Attempting to treat low thyroid levels without supporting the adrenals can deplete the adrenal glands. At the same time, if your adrenals are weak, symptoms of low thyroid may persist even after your thyroid levels have been restored. Recognizing and treating adrenal exhaustion in conjunction with thyroid treatment can bring the body relief from fatigue, anxiety, and depression. It can stabilize your mood and energy levels and could be a factor in losing the weight you have gained.

USING NATURAL THYROID HORMONE:
There is such a thing as natural thyroid hormones, which can be helpful for a sick thyroid gland. Many antiaging doctors prefer to use Armour thyroid, a natural replacement for thyroid hormone obtained from porcine (pig) thyroid glands.

Low thyroid can also be easily corrected by augmenting the body’s own production with bioidentical thyroid hormones. It’s not just your individual hormone levels that matter, but the balance of all the hormones and a healthy lifestyle that helps you achieve optimal health and successful aging.

SAFETY AND SIDE EFFECTS:
Natural thyroid hormone should be used with caution if you have cardiovascular disease. It may also increase the symptoms of diabetes. Always report any unusual side effects to your doctor.

C
ORTISOL

WHAT IT IS
:
Cortisol is your stress hormone. It is released by your adrenal glands and is one of the major hormones in the body.

HOW IT WORKS:
Cortisol gives you energy, but more in response to stress. When you encounter a stressful situation, your adrenal glands release cortisol. If your child is trapped under a car, for example, your body will mobilize energy so you can lift the car and save your child. Or if you encounter a knife-wielding stranger, your body springs into action, thanks to cortisol, so that you can quickly run away. These are examples of cortisol in action. You cannot live very long without cortisol. It is that important.

However, the problem is that your body will secrete cortisol for whatever stress you encounter, including a bad day at work, stressing over the way your daughter is dressing these days, or a death in the family. Stress raises your blood pressure and uses up your energy reserves without much benefit to you. Using up your biochemicals is a waste because they are being used when there is no threat to your life. Our world is so full of stresses on a daily basis that most of us are running around with high cortisol all the time. It may give us a debilitating stroke, heart attack, or crippling diabetes—or worse, even kill us. Because stress is a wasted emotion that takes its toll on every part of your body, emotionally and physically, it is important to work at eliminating unnecessary stress and save your cortisol reserves for when you really need them, as in life-threatening situations.

There is a cortisol connection to getting fat. As I just explained, stress creates high levels of cortisol. High levels of cortisol, in turn, create insulin resistance, in which the cells of the body become resistant to the effects of insulin and higher levels of insulin are produced by the pancreas. When you are insulin-resistant, your body converts sugars and carbohydrates into fat rather than burning them as fuel.

When your cortisol is chronically elevated because of stress, it creates a devastating cycle of alternating high blood sugar and high insulin. This is why, after a while, your body loses its sensitivity to this
cycle of alternating high blood sugar and high insulin. The dangerous progression from elevated cortisol to elevated blood sugar to insulin resistance is one of the major ways stress contributes to heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and even death.

Also, chronically elevated levels of high cortisol will eventually degrade your immune system. This is a dangerous place to be, since you will have difficulty fighting off infections, especially viral infections. Stressed-out people are more susceptible to colds and flu, as well as flare-ups of cold sores or shingles. Cancer patients with high cortisol have little ability to fight the cancer, which increases the chances that the cancer will metastasize throughout the body.

The stress connection goes on and on and is even harmful to your brain cells. It can impair “cognitive function,” which means your memory, your reaction time, your problem-solving abilities, and your learning abilities. In short, high cortisol ages the brain.

HOW TO TEST:
Cortisol levels can be determined by a saliva test, which you can obtain through any antiaging doctor.

TREATMENT:
The best treatment for high cortisol is stress reduction and stress management. Often, maintaining proper hormone levels and balance will resolve high cortisol, too.

A
DRENALINE AND THE
A
DRENALS

WHAT IT IS
:
The adrenals are two triangular glands that sit on the top of each kidney. I like to think of hormones within the body as a concert. The adrenals are the orchestra leader. They communicate with all the other hormones, telling them what to do. Among other things, they produce stress hormones, including cortisol and adrenaline, which, once released, speed up heart rate, blood pressure, and other bodily functions to help you cope with stress.

HOW IT WORKS:
Adrenaline is our engine. It pushes us forward. If we are leading a balanced life, our bodies release adrenaline when we
need that surge of energy. Afterward, we return to a calmer baseline. But problems arise when we get addicted to adrenaline and put ourselves in situations that continually feed our bodies more and more. I describe a person in this state as being an “adrenaline junkie,” meaning that he or she craves, and lives in, a high-energy state at all times. You know the type: Every minute of each day is filled with activities, responsibilities, and piles and piles of things on the to-do list, with lots of check marks ticking off completed tasks. It is often said, “If you want something done, ask the busiest person you know.” There is truth in that statement, because the busy, busy people are running on adrenaline, and it’s as though they have superhuman energy. It’s akin to a caffeine high or even a drug high. And just like those stimulants, adrenaline can be addictive and dangerous to your health.

TESTING FOR ADRENAL FATIGUE:
Saliva tests can measure cortisol and determine whether your adrenals are blown out. Also, some of the symptoms of shot adrenals (“adrenal exhaustion”) include fatigue, heart palpitations, recurrent infections, achiness, and low blood sugar.

I know a little about adrenal exhaustion since I have been the worst offender. For thirty years I lived in an almost constant state of high adrenaline. I loved it, I craved it. I am a wife, a mother, and a grandmother first. Plus I work, travel, entertain, lecture, have seven businesses, remodel, decorate, write, perform—and oh, yes, I still cook and give perfect dinner parties for family and friends. Watching me go like the Energizer Bunny, my husband would tell me to slow down. But my body did not want to slow down! If I had some time left, it would be hard for me to relax. I would clean the house, organize a desk, or answer e-mail. Finally, my adrenals burned out.

I vowed never to do that to myself again. Though it was a big adjustment, I had to change my life. I reprioritized my daily schedule, made time for sleep, did yoga three or four times a week, and learned that relaxation time was as important as being so busy. I no longer stay up late at night, whereas I used to write until the wee hours of the morning. Now I try my best to be in bed by 9:00 p.m. and asleep by 10:00 p.m. It takes retraining. I have readjusted my social schedule so that I do not go out two nights in a row, and I try not to go out
more than two nights a week. Had I not done this, I would have run into trouble down the road, since burned-out adrenals lead to chronic high cortisol and, ultimately, a heart attack or stroke.

My doctor told me this after I had experienced adrenal burnout for the third time. The body can’t handle that kind of stress. It’s not easy to make the choice to change your life for health’s sake, but the way I look at it, what choice do you have? Look around you at the people who are on the adrenaline merry-go-round. Now that you know the facts, you can see where they are going. Is this where you want to go? If not, start making changes right now. This is your life.

When your adrenals are shot the way mine were, you have no energy, and you feel a “racing” inside that makes sleep impossible, further blowing out your adrenals. Why? Because burned-out adrenals put you in such a state of fatigue that sleep is impossible. This lack of rest exacerbates the situation; things get worse and worse. What do you do when you are exhausted? You drink coffee, a stimulant that gives a false sense of energy. Then, when you don’t sleep soundly for days, weeks, even months, depression is the result. What do you do then? You go to your doctor, who prescribes an antidepressant like Prozac or Paxil.

Now you’re in trouble. Antidepressants make you feel good at first, but after a while they produce lethargy, a false sense of well-being. Then you start to get fat. What would you expect? Antidepressants slow everything down, including your metabolism. No metabolism equals weight gain.

But you are already hooked. Once your body gets accustomed to antidepressants, it’s hard to feel good without them. Thus, the addiction. Addictions develop because the antidepressants initially cause the release of a lot of serotonin into your brain, making you feel calm and happy. This is how we want to feel all the time. The irony is that these same toxic chemicals that give you an immediate release of serotonin also cause you to use up more serotonin. Then you start craving anything that will make serotonin levels rise, even if it is only temporary. Many people go to carbohydrates and refined sugars or self-medicate with caffeine, alcohol, or drugs to feel good. What they are really doing is trying to use these substances to raise their serotonin
levels. Then they can’t stop with the antidepressants because without them they feel depressed. Depression is an impossible state in which to live. It debilitates. It hurts. Any of us would do anything to get rid of depression when it arrives uninvited.

FACTORS THAT CAN BLOW OUT YOUR ADRENALS

Almost everything and anything raises adrenaline levels in your body, because adrenaline is one of the hormones needed to access your biochemicals for use in the activities of daily living. Unfortunately, it is estimated that 85 percent of all Americans are walking around with burned-out adrenals. Here are some of the factors that can cause adrenal fatigue:

overwork

anemia

sleeplessness

high DHEA levels

high progesterone levels

high testosterone levels

high thyroid levels

high protein intake

low blood sugar levels

low estrogen levels

inflammation

infections

dietary imbalances

skipped meals

birth control pills

overexercising

pain

stimulants such as caffeine, nicotine, marijuana, ginseng, ephedra, Dexedrine, cocaine, and pure white sugar

So you see, it’s not just junkies who get addicted. We are all driven by our deficiencies. Deficiencies cause cravings. We crave feeling good, and we will do anything to feel good, no matter what the consequences.