3 things every woman needs to know in order to advocate for her hormonal health with her doctor
When I work with my clients, my job isn’t just to help them lose weight, it’s to help them feel good and confident in their bodies. One area that I like to have my clients look into is the health of their hormones and thyroid. However, this can be really difficult if you don’t know what you check for. I have had terrible experiences and amazing experiences with doctors as I tried to get my own health in balance. When I found Dr. Kris Wallace I was finally able to get the help I needed. I interviewed her about how women can be advocates for their own health and these are the three topics she said were the most important.
Before we dive into how to advocate for yourself, I want to talk about how you can decide if you need to have your hormones or your thyroid checked. A few of the biggest symptoms include:
Not sleeping well/always tired
Mood changes
Low energy
Decreased sex drive
If you have been working on your health and still are feeling off, then it’s time to look deeper in your body and find out what’s going on. If you simply don’t feel good, then something is off and you deserve to find out what it is. The first step in becoming your own advocate is finding the right doctor!
Find a doctor who will listen to you
There are so many types of doctors out there! When I first started my health journey, I went to my primary care physician (PCP,) you know the one you go to when you get the flu or your kids are sick. I thought that they would be able to tell me what was going on and how to fix it, but according to Dr. Wallace, general practitioners, which is what most PCPs are, aren’t best suited for thyroid or hormonal problems. General practitioners are great at diagnostics and knowing pharmaceuticals. However, they usually treat symptoms rather than the cause.
Dr. Wallace is a naturopath and recommends finding a naturopath or functional doctor because they look deeper and treat the cause not just the symptom.
When I saw Dr. Wallace, she asked about my symptoms, but then she asked me more about my health and how it was affecting other areas of my life. When she saw all the issues she was able to piece them together and create a plan that fit my needs.
“I’m a medical detective and I love it! Because I know that no one else has taken all of your parts and put them together before and that’s what we have to do. Because you’re all one. You’re not just a head for neurology, or a gut for gastroenterology, or a heart for cardiology, or a thyroid and hormones for endocrinology. You are one piece, so I have to get to know that whole thing,” Dr. Wallace said. “And let’s not forget about the emotional side of things. It’s a whole one big, nice, beautiful person so we have to get to know you from the whole and then test everything and then tease out what we have to fix to get you back together again.”
Whereas, when I went to my PCP they had a few ideas of what it could be and tried to get my symptoms to fit into those boxes. When I didn’t fit into the box, they either assumed nothing was wrong or knew something was wrong but couldn’t help me.
No matter who you go to, your doctor needs to listen to you and take your concerns seriously. That is the most important aspect of being an advocate for your health. If your doctor doesn’t listen, then go find a new one!
“If your doctor says you’re fine, but you’re not fine. You don’t feel good, then you gotta go down the road. You have to find another one. Just don’t stop. If you don’t feel good, then forget it. Find someone else,” Dr. Wallace said.
Get the right tests.
If you are struggling to lose weight, have a low sex drive, experience changes in your mood, can’t focus or sleep, then it might be time to test your thyroid and your hormones.
Thyroid testing
Most doctors will check the Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) but they are just checking that it’s present, what we really want to know is how much TSH is coming out of the thyroid and how much is being converted in the body, giving you energy.
There are also seven different thyroid hormone levels that can be tested. Most doctors only check for two or three, so if you feel like your thyroid could be an issue, make sure you ask your doctor for a comprehensive thyroid panel.
You’ll also want to mention that you would at least like these five areas tested.
TSH
Total T4
Free T3
Reverse T3
Antibodies to your thyroid
The thyroid is very complicated and most doctors don’t test for all of these because they don’t know how to treat them. But, you need this information so that you can get a full picture of what’s going on in your thyroid.
Hormonal testing
It’s hard to pinpoint which hormone may be off, so it’s best to ask for a comprehensive hormone panel. Just like the thyroid, this will give you the best picture of what’s going on in your body so that you and your doctor and determine the best course of treatment.
These are the five main hormones you will want to make sure you test.
Estradiol
Progesterone
Testosterone (at least total)
FSH
LH
Doctors only test what they can treat
First, if your doctor doesn’t want to run tests on all of those specific hormones, then they most likely don’t know how to treat them or what to do once they get the information back. Like Dr. Wallace said before, if they aren’t listening or don’t want to run tests you want done, then find a new doctor.
However, by asking for these hormones to be tested, your doctor is going to know how serious you are because you took the time to learn about it. If they can’t help you they should be able to give you a recommendation to a doctor who can.
When you show up and speak up for your health, it prompts your doctor to take it just as seriously. A good doctor will do what they can and help you find someone else when they can’t help.
Understand your lab reports so that you can ask your doctor for help
Now that you’ve advocated for the tests, it’s time to learn what “good” looks like. Health is very individualized, but knowing what ranges are and where you fall within them can help you determine what you want.
When you get a lab report back it will put you within a range. That range is based off of all the testing the lab has done on that specific thing. So if only people who feel terrible are being tested and you fall within the normal range, then it doesn’t necessarily mean you are healthy, it just means you seem normal within that group.
Dr. Wallace suggests that you need to be within the 50-75% range. If you are below that then you definitely need to address that area and get it up. If you are around 50% and aren’t feeling well, then you should aim for a higher percentage. If you aren’t happy with where you’re at then, a great question to ask your doctor is “How can we make this better?”
The real parameter for “good” is how you feel. If you don’t feel good, even if you’re within the right ranges, then you should do something about it.
“You are your best advocate for your health. Always. 100% Do not let anyone tell you how you feel. Or tell you that you’re OK, when you’re not OK,” Dr. Wallace said. “Trust your gut. all the time. Trust your gut. If you don’t feel right, then you are not right. Labs are important because they give us insight into how your body is reacting and what’s going on. But you’re the final say. You’re in charge. You’re in charge of your healthcare and you deserve it. And as much money as you spend on your hair and Starbucks; and as picky as you are about your drink, you need to be picky about your health care. You are worth it.”
I’ve found that when my physical, emotional, mental and hormonal health are in balance, I feel my best and show up in my life at my best level. It’s critical that we learn how to stand up for ourselves when it comes to our health. Doctors are great, but they can’t determine how we feel. If you don’t feel good, then you have to keep advocating for yourself until you find someone who can help you.
If you’re ready to start your health journey, then let’s talk! Schedule a free discovery call and we’ll see how to leverage your nutrition and hormones to help you reach your health goals.
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