Functional Medicine Thyroid Doctors in Royal Oak, MI

Living with thyroid issues can feel like a rollercoaster ride you never signed up for. So many people wake up each day feeling exhausted, uncomfortable, and sick. These symptoms indicate that something is out of balance in your body, and sometimes these symptoms are related to thyroid issues.

Functional medicine offers hope and comprehensive solutions for those struggling with thyroid issues. At Elle MD in Royal Oak, Dr. Erin and Dr. Maricela work with you to address the root causes of your symptoms. Thyroid conditions aren’t easy to resolve, but we can do it with expert guidance, education, and encouragement.

The thyroid gland, a small butterfly-shaped organ located at the front of your neck, plays a pivotal role in your body’s endocrine system. It’s like the master control center for your metabolism, influencing virtually every cell, organ, and function in your body. Its primary job is to regulate your metabolism – the process by which your body converts what you eat and drink into energy. This tiny gland does so by producing and releasing thyroid hormones, mainly thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), into the bloodstream.

-Metabolism: These hormones travel through your blood to reach every cell in the body, helping to control the speed at which your body’s processes work, known as the metabolic rate. For instance, they dictate how fast or slow your heart beats, how quickly you burn calories, and how promptly you can replace dying cells. Essentially, thyroid hormones are crucial for maintaining your body’s energy balance, ensuring that everything runs at just the right pace.

-Temperature Regulation and Heart Rate: Beyond metabolism, the thyroid gland influences several vital bodily functions. It plays a significant role in regulating your body’s temperature, ensuring you stay warm enough and can cool down when necessary. It also impacts heart rate, influencing how fast or slow your heart pumps blood throughout your body. This is crucial for delivering oxygen and nutrients to various tissues and organs, and it can make life more bearable in the cold winters and hot summers of Royal Oak, Michigan.

-Digestion: Moreover, the thyroid has a hand in controlling your digestive process, affecting how quickly or slowly food moves through your digestive tract. This can impact nutrient absorption and how rapidly waste is eliminated from your body. Additionally, thyroid hormones are essential for brain development and function, particularly during infancy and childhood. They help regulate brain and nervous system activity, affecting cognitive functions, mood, and emotions.

-Bone Health and Muscle Movement: The thyroid also plays a role in bone health, helping to regulate the turnover of bone tissue. Proper thyroid function ensures a balance between bone formation and bone breakdown, which is vital for maintaining strong and healthy bones throughout your life. Furthermore, it influences muscle control and strength, affecting how muscles contract and relax, which is crucial for movement and stability.

Whether it’s weight gain or loss, when your diet and exercise haven’t changed, your thyroid could be the culprit.

Feeling perpetually tired, regardless of how much you sleep, is a hallmark symptom of thyroid issues. Experiencing unexplained anxiety, depression, or mood fluctuations can be related to thyroid health.

Thyroid issues can present with a variety of symptoms that may often be mistaken for other conditions. Common signs include unexplained weight changes, fatigue, dry skin, hair loss, sensitivity to cold or heat, and irregular menstrual cycles. People with hypothyroidism may experience weight gain, constipation, and depression, while those with hyperthyroidism often notice weight loss, anxiety, and an increased heart rate. If you experience these symptoms, functional medicine tests can assess thyroid hormone levels to diagnose potential issues.

Treating thyroid issues isn’t always as simple as taking a pill. While medication plays a crucial role, especially in balancing hormone levels, a holistic approach can offer more sustainable results. This includes dietary changes to support thyroid health, lifestyle modifications to reduce stress, supplements to correct nutrient deficiencies, and strategies to improve gut health.

Functional medicine excels in creating personalized plans that address all aspects of your well-being. When it comes to thyroid health, we may focus on any of the following:

Join the Elle MD family: Your partner in thyroid health in Royal Oak, Michigan

Meet the Drs.

Dr. Hendriks and Dr. Castillo MacKenzie are board-certified physicians, female, specialized, with over 10 years of experience.

Elle MD started after practicing in a traditional primary care setting together for over a decade. We grew frustrated with the current healthcare model, which places no emphasis on addressing the root cause of chronic disease. A lot of times, conventional care doesn’t even promote overall wellness! 

We founded Elle MD in Royal Oak, MI, with a vision of providing this care in a compassionate and personalized way. 

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