If you’ve been on the ‘thyroid path’ for a while now, you might be familiar with some of the big names in thyroid health. There’s TSH, T4, T3 and then there’s the thyroid antibodies. But have you heard about reverse T3? Put simply, reverse T3 is an inactive ‘thyroid hormone’, but one that can sometimes wreak havoc when everything else is seemingly functioning as it should be…

Winter - for many families, it’s a time of endless coughs and colds, recurrent chest infections and of course, a serious investment in tissue supplies! The reality though is it doesn’t have to be! Whilst a typical cough or cold once or twice a year is certainly normal, recurrent bouts of infection indicate the immune system is not functioning as well as it should be, leaving you susceptible to bugs and viruses…

Do you struggle with bloating? Perhaps you also suffer other digestive symptoms, like constipation, diarrhoea, flatulence and nausea? If so, you’re not alone. Of the patients I see in clinical practice, I would estimate more than half struggle with bloating or digestive disturbance in one way or another, however many simply learn to put up with the discomfort! This is a sad reality, as persistent bloating is NOT NORMAL and means there is some form of underlying disturbance that needs to be addressed.

When I treat patients with thyroid disorders, one of the first things we do is teach them what the various thyroid function tests mean, so they can be more involved and empowered in their health journey. In this article today, I want to do the same for my readers, as for patients with a thyroid condition, being able to understand your results enables better communication with your healthcare providers and a greater understanding of your health in general.

If you, a family member or a friend were recently diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease, you might be wondering what it is, what it means and where to go from here. I’ve written this blog as an attempt to answer some of these questions for you, as well as to enable you to share it with family or friends who might like to know more about your condition.

The thyroid is a hugely complex, yet incredibly important organ in the body, but sadly, there is a lot of misinformation and confusion about what it is and what it does. Consider this article your Thyroid 101 Guide, where I’ll be covering what the thyroid is, what is does and what it means when the thyroid is not working as it should.

If your Hashimoto’s diagnosis was anything like mine, it might have gone something like this: “We got your blood tests back. You’ve got Hashimoto’s and you’ll be on thyroxine for life”.

Cue full-blown panic! Hashimoto’s disease? Lifelong thyroid hormone replacement? These are pretty big terms to be confronted with, and sadly, a diagnosis of Hashimoto’s can be a scary, unfamiliar and bewildering situation. If this sounds familiar, welcome to my first of many posts on the topic: What to do when diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease.