Client is a 55-yr old white female who enrolled in my practice June 2015. Her presenting complaints were a struggle with obesity since her teenage years despite an active lifestyle, low thyroid function treated off and on with levothyroxine only, and uncontrolled hypertension despite being treated with 4 pharmaceutical anti-hypertensives, one of which is known to impair thyroid function. She had recently been told her “TSH was normal” and that she no longer needed to be treated with levothyroxine, despite complaining of fatigue and common hypothyroid symptoms.
Upon exam, the client showed a flat affect and a generalized “puffiness” from the face down to the legs. Outer third of the eyebrows was missing. BMI 40.98 (weight 252 lbs), blood pressure 152/84, heart rate 58. She brought in basic labs which showed a TSH of 0.94 one week before presenting to my clinic, and she had not been on levothyroxine for a few weeks prior to this. We commenced with ordering expanded thyroid labs which showed no thyroid auto-antibodies, a TSH well-below 2.0, and borderline low free T3 and T4. Fasting glucose was 116. Total cholesterol 238, HDL 43, TG 188, LDL 157. Since I serve as her primary care provider, I agreed that she could immediately discontinue the anti-hypertensive medication amlodipine under my supervision with close observation of blood pressure readings at home, and that she could commence with the SHAPE Program, Phase I: FasTrac Cleanse.
Over the next 10 months, the patient was able to successfully wean off the other 3 blood pressure medications, and her current blood pressure readings at home are 110s to 120s systolic, and diastolic readings are in the 70s. (We’ve found her blood pressure readings tend to run higher in the office, closer to 150 systolic, related to white-coat hypertension.) Of note, she experienced a significant, uncharacteristic spike in her blood pressure right around Christmas when we introduced her first dose of Thyroid Support Complex containing ashwagandha. After a few weeks of abstinence, the client’s blood pressure readings normalized again. Her current BMI is 31.57 (weight 191.4 lb), and she is happily continuing on Phase I: Sure & Steady at this time. Thyroid labs remain unchanged. Her TSH has come up a bit, but free T4 and T3 are still low-normal, so we are contemplating replacement therapy at this time. In addition to the SHAPE Program and several Ortho Molecular supplements utilized, we added 2 other significant therapies which really assisted this client in her progress. One is a redox signaling supplement made by ASEA which increases cellular efficiency and health. We have noticed that after several months of consuming 4 oz protein twice daily, the outer third of her eyebrows seem to be filling in. She has noticed a generalized increase in energy and improved mental functioning as well.
The second adjuvant therapy employed was one that the client found herself; a 21-day brain detox by Dr. Caroline Leaf. I cannot underestimate the significance of the progress this client showed in her health journey in employing this simple program to retrain her thought life.
Submitted by Dr. Deborah Chisholm
Dr. Todd’s Teaching Assessment
This case study is an excellent example of how inept western medicine is in treating thyroid and also how lucky this patient is in having Dr. Chisholm as her physician. The thyroid can malfunction in different ways and yet normal TSH means “all is well” with the thyroid. I will continue to be amazed by the power of lifestyle changes in turning around health conditions that are not responding to standard medical care. Great job Dr. Chisholm.
