When "Normal" TSH Isn't Normal - New Endocrinology can Help!

Thyroid sufferers take heart!

If you have frustrating symptoms like low energy, brain fog, and weight gain, but have been told your thyroid is fine, because your TSH and other “thyroid panel” labs are normal, you might have Hashimoto’s disease or one of several other causes of thyroid imbalance. These are TREATABLE, despite what your doctors may have told you, and you CAN get your energy back.  

I’m Dana Gibbs, MD. I’m an ENT surgeon and allergist. I have been helping patients fix their thyroid symptoms for years, with a philosophy I call The New Endocrinology. Although mainstream medicine is slowly starting to catch up, it sometimes takes 30 years for “new” ideas and discoveries to catch on. 

How do I know these ideas are legit? Well for one, I was my own first patient, after I first learned there was more to hypothyroidism than just overweight. I will tell you that this information completely changed the way I practice medicine…wait,  that's really not even strong enough.  It completely changed my life. This is my story:

From the time I was maybe 7 years old, I knew I wanted to be a surgeon. I idolized the pioneers of heart and brain surgery, the inventors of anesthesia, of sutures, of sterile technique, of antibiotics. But… I spent my teens and twenties sick, like all the time, sinus infections, ear infections, strep, Mono. I almost didn’t even apply to medical school because I was exhausted, all the time. 

I was cold when others weren’t, my hands and feet freezing.  I never felt rested no matter how long I slept.  I would wake up drenched in sweat.    My hair was thin and limp.  My eyebrows had fallen out. I had irregular and painful menstrual cycles, constipation. I also had difficulty with memorization and concentration. I was pale. My pulse was low.  My heart rate was low. My blood pressure was so low I would nearly pass out on rounds or in surgeries. 

I was textbook low thyroid,  except I was not overweight.  And I went to my doctors, many times.  They said,  your labs are normal.  Take these antidepressants.  Looking back, I don't know how I even made it through medical school and residency. I finally concluded they were right, and I was just lazy compared to the other people around me.

But after I was out in private practice, I was at a medical conference learning about allergy, and I had actually already heard the lecture before, so I went into a different lecture hall: and as I listened, my mind was just blown. Because they were talking about patients like me,  all those symptoms I just listed.  I had them all.  They had them listed on the slide and they said, these patients have normal thyroid tests, but they will feel better on Armour thyroid (natural desiccated thyroid).

And they were right! Because I went to my doctor and I said, I know my TSH is normal, but I am desperate to feel better and I want to try this.  And it was miraculous for me. Every single one of those symptoms improved.

And so starting that day,  I began seeking out explanations for WHY this worked for me, when my thyroid numbers were “normal”, and nobody thought I had low thyroid. And I found my answers in the medical literature and with certain mentors who taught me their methods.

Once I learned about these integrative endocrinology techniques,  I started noticing  those symptoms in lots of people, and noticed how fixing thyroid helped peoples’ immune systems and other health issues too.  I was doing full scope ENT which includes thyroid surgery.  I found people who had, for example, chronic sinusitis.  And I would say, hey, you've got a few symptoms that make me think you also have imbalanced thyroid.  And we would check and they would start the treatment, while waiting to schedule their sinus surgeries, and the patients would come back six months later and say, my sinus symptoms are completely gone, and I feel great.  Can I please have a refill on my thyroid medicine?  It was remarkable. 

Then guess what?  I got older. I started hitting menopause.  My symptoms were back.  And nothing I tried was working.  And so I went back to the literature and my same  mentors, and once again they had solutions for me. Together we now practice and teach The New Endocrinology. These techniques combine a better way of interpreting the labs, with prescription hormones if needed, and select well proven supplements, and lifestyle changes. And with this knowledge, I now treat people with chronic fatigue,  fibromyalgia syndrome,  perimenopausal symptoms,  infertility, PCOS,  Hashimoto's disease. My career has now transitioned to doing this full time.

Even if you have been to many other doctors before, purchased expensive supplements or coaching and diet programs from people  who claim to be experts, and still don’t feel better, I can help you. Even if you don’t live in Texas or Iowa, I have lots of free educational materials that can help you be informed!

I have a comprehensive course that discusses many things you can do on your own to feel better, and occasionally offer private health coaching to folks who can’t find a local provider to get them feeling better. Check out my youtube channel, or, even better, follow the links and get on my mailing list to get access to every bit of new information I produce.

You can get your energy back, and that is priceless!

I'm Dr. Dana Gibbs, encouraging you to take charge of your hormonal health. For more tips and updates, sign up for my newsletter at https://www.danagibbsmd.com/email-list-form. If you're in North Texas and struggling with thyroid or chronic fatigue issues, visit https://www.danagibbsmd.com/cim-medical for a new patient consultation.