(TBS #19) 5 Causes of Low TRH & How it Impacts Thyroid Function
Today is episode #19 and it's all about TRH and TSH and how these two hormones impact thyroid function.
You're probably already familiar with TSH which stands for thyroid stimulating hormone.
TRH stands for thyrotropic releasing hormone and it is secreted by the hypothalamus.
The job of TRH is to stimulate the pituitary gland to produce TSH which then acts on your thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormone.
Problems with TRH may result in decreased TSH production which may cause falsely low levels of TSH and thyroid hormone in the body.
The problem here is that with dysregulated TRH you still have the symptoms of hypothyroidism even though your TSH and free thyroid hormone levels look "normal".
This means many people with TRH related issues may be misdiagnosed as "normal" even though they really do have thyroid problems.
So what causes TRH dysfunction? I've listed 5 of the major causes below and you will find that they are quite common:
#1. High stress or high cortisol.
- Highly stressful situations can damage your hypothalamus and reduce the amount of TRH that your body is able to produce.
#2. Dieting, Calorie restriction, and starvation.
- If you restrict your calories you may damage your metabolism, thyroid, and hypothalamus in the process. Dieting for as few as 21 consecutive days may cause this problem.
#3. Leptin resistance.
- Leptin resistance is a hormone imbalance which "tricks" your brain into thinking you are in a state of starvation when you have extra fat on your body. It does this by interfering with your hypothalamus.
#4. Inflammation.
- Inflammation from any cause may negatively impact thyroid function from both the conversion standpoint and hypothalamic standpoint.
#5. Prescription medications.
- Prescription medications such as cortisol can suppress TRH and TSH in your brain and impact thyroid function.
You can check for TRH levels with a simple serum test and this may help you figure out what is actually happening in your body.
Hey guys!
I'm Dr. Westin Childs and I focus on thyroid health, hormone balance, and weight loss. I write about thyroid disorders, weight loss, insulin resistance, estrogen/progesterone balance on my blog. I truly believe that hormone balance is the key to managing your weight, your mood and your quality of life which is why I'm so passionate about it.
I take a personalized/functional medicine approach to management of conditions. I'm not accepting patients but you can learn more and get plenty of information on my blog!
You can learn more about high-quality supplements that I create (and personally use) here:
https://www.restartmed.com/shop/
More information, including links to literary studies, in the video and the full blog post, can be found here:
https://www.restartmed.com/goitrogens/
You can find more general information on my site here:
https://www.restartmed.com/
If you enjoyed this video please subscribe on youtube or leave a comment on my podcast here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/dr-westin-childs-podcast-thyroid-weight-loss-hormones/id1141207688?mt=2
This video is not intended to be used as medical advice. If you have questions about your health please consult your physician or primary care provider. Dr. Westin Childs goes to great lengths to produce high-quality content but this is NOT a substitute for medical care.
Do you have any topics or video ideas? Please say so in the comments below!
You're probably already familiar with TSH which stands for thyroid stimulating hormone.
TRH stands for thyrotropic releasing hormone and it is secreted by the hypothalamus.
The job of TRH is to stimulate the pituitary gland to produce TSH which then acts on your thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormone.
Problems with TRH may result in decreased TSH production which may cause falsely low levels of TSH and thyroid hormone in the body.
The problem here is that with dysregulated TRH you still have the symptoms of hypothyroidism even though your TSH and free thyroid hormone levels look "normal".
This means many people with TRH related issues may be misdiagnosed as "normal" even though they really do have thyroid problems.
So what causes TRH dysfunction? I've listed 5 of the major causes below and you will find that they are quite common:
#1. High stress or high cortisol.
- Highly stressful situations can damage your hypothalamus and reduce the amount of TRH that your body is able to produce.
#2. Dieting, Calorie restriction, and starvation.
- If you restrict your calories you may damage your metabolism, thyroid, and hypothalamus in the process. Dieting for as few as 21 consecutive days may cause this problem.
#3. Leptin resistance.
- Leptin resistance is a hormone imbalance which "tricks" your brain into thinking you are in a state of starvation when you have extra fat on your body. It does this by interfering with your hypothalamus.
#4. Inflammation.
- Inflammation from any cause may negatively impact thyroid function from both the conversion standpoint and hypothalamic standpoint.
#5. Prescription medications.
- Prescription medications such as cortisol can suppress TRH and TSH in your brain and impact thyroid function.
You can check for TRH levels with a simple serum test and this may help you figure out what is actually happening in your body.
Hey guys!
I'm Dr. Westin Childs and I focus on thyroid health, hormone balance, and weight loss. I write about thyroid disorders, weight loss, insulin resistance, estrogen/progesterone balance on my blog. I truly believe that hormone balance is the key to managing your weight, your mood and your quality of life which is why I'm so passionate about it.
I take a personalized/functional medicine approach to management of conditions. I'm not accepting patients but you can learn more and get plenty of information on my blog!
You can learn more about high-quality supplements that I create (and personally use) here:
https://www.restartmed.com/shop/
More information, including links to literary studies, in the video and the full blog post, can be found here:
https://www.restartmed.com/goitrogens/
You can find more general information on my site here:
https://www.restartmed.com/
If you enjoyed this video please subscribe on youtube or leave a comment on my podcast here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/dr-westin-childs-podcast-thyroid-weight-loss-hormones/id1141207688?mt=2
This video is not intended to be used as medical advice. If you have questions about your health please consult your physician or primary care provider. Dr. Westin Childs goes to great lengths to produce high-quality content but this is NOT a substitute for medical care.
Do you have any topics or video ideas? Please say so in the comments below!
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