Thyroid Deep Dive Podcast: Preview Trailer

A sneak preview of the new Thyroid Deep Dive podcast, hosted by bestselling author and patient advocate Mary Shomon.

MARY SHOMON: This is Mary Shomon, and I’m so excited to share this sneak preview of my upcoming Thyroid Deep Dive podcast! In each episode, you’ll hear from patients, doctors, and experts who will help you feel and live well with a thyroid condition.

Are your thyroid levels in the so-called “normal range” but you don’t feel normal? Internationally known expert and bestselling author Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum explains what the “normal range” really means.

DR. TEITELBAUM: The normal range is what most doctors rely on. And the vast majority of doctors have no idea where the normal range comes from. And that creates a problem. All that normal means is they take 100 people and the 95 in the middle are defined as normal. It's called two standard deviations. So, if I wanted a normal range for shoe sizes, I check 100 people, and the normal range for shoe sizes would be size five to 13. That doesn't mean that if you put my size 12 foot in a size six shoe it’s going to fit. But as far as most doctors are concerned, if I have a size six as my shoe size, they're going to say it's in the normal range, there's nothing wrong with that. And that is, simply put, utterly insane.

MARY SHOMON: You, like Stephanie, a busy mom and thyroid patient, may find out the hard way that some health care providers actually make it HARDER for you to feel well.

STEPHANIE LAWRY: But it still just wasn't the full life that I wanted to live with two little kids. I liked being active. I just couldn't be as active as I wanted to be. That same doctor, when I'd said I still don't feel well, I have, this brain fog I have. I just don't have that same love for life that I used to. Well, your levels look fine. So, you know, you should go see a psychiatrist. To be told that by your doctor is kind of hard to take up. You want someone who is willing to look at not just lab work but symptoms as well and say, you know, we're gonna find a solution that works for you.

MARY SHOMON: Are you confused about different thyroid drugs? You’ll hear about challenges with different levothyroxine drugs, from Aldo Donati, president of IBSA, the company that makes brand name Tirosint.

ALDO DONATI: While many patients will do well on a generic levothyroxine formulation, other patients may have problems with absorption, allergic reactions or issues with excipients. These patients need a consistent formulation such as Tirosint, which, in some patients, may show a better dissolution and absorption profile. Tirosint formulations are unique, as both the capsule and the solution contain only the active ingredient levothyroxine, water, glycerol, and in the case of the capsule, a naturally-derived gelatin which holds the semi-liquid levothyroxine.

MARY SHOMON: Once you find the best thyroid medication for you, you of course also have to pay for it! Dr. Jessica Nouhavandi, founder of the Honeybee Health online pharmacy, shares an important tip.

DR. NOUVAHANDI: You need to communicate to the pharmacy that this is exactly what you want. If it's not covered by your insurance, or it seems unreasonably high, there's always other options. And this is where we come in as well. And, we have a lot of patients that come to us at Honeybee that just want to search pricing and see what it would be out of pocket. And to be honest with you, Mary, a lot of times, it's cheaper to pay out of pocket than it is to use insurance.

MARY SHOMON: It's not just about medication, of course. We may think that our daily meds should take care of every symptom, but it’s often not enough. You need to pay attention to your entire lifestyle, as Dr. Kevin Passero explains.

DR. PASSERO: You have to pay attention to the daily habits that you engage in. For all aspects of your health and wellbeing. Nobody's fatigue is going to completely go away, if they're only sleeping five hours a night, somebody who doesn't have a thyroid disorder, if you only let them sleep five hours a night, they're going to end up really tired.

MARY SHOMON: And of course, we ARE what we eat. Here’s nutritional expert and bestselling author Johnny Bowden, explaining more about that nutritional boogeyman, gluten, and one way to tell if it’s a problem for you.

DR. JONNY BOWDEN: Gluten can have two effects on the body. One of them is neutral and one of them is bad. There's nothing good that comes out and gluten there's no reason that we need gluten. So, if I'm doing something kind of as my own experiment, and I have some reactions or some symptoms that I want to see if there might be a change, I would do an experiment on myself and I'd go grain free for three weeks. And that's your experiment. If you start feeling great. Guess what? That's your answer.

MARY SHOMON: Finally, if you’re exhausted, brain fogged, and depressed, you may feel like giving up on the hope of getting properly diagnosed and treated. Subscribe to my Thyroid Deep Dive podcast, and you’ll hear from thyroid patients like Tara, who is hypothyroid after thyroid surgery, about what kept her going until she found lasting solutions.

TARA FLOTTA: The hope is what I feel got me and gets people through the day to day frustration because if you viscerally believe that at some point, you will find your answer your medication, your combination of medications that are actually therapeutic and bring you your quality of life back. If you have that hope and belief, then you will have the fortitude to keep going until you reach that point.

MARY SHOMON: I’ve created the Thyroid Deep Dive podcast to give you hope, and helping you find the answers to get your life back! It’s launching soon, so be sure to sign up at www.thyroiddeepdive.com or your favorite podcast app so you don’t miss a single episode!