Although many people with thyroid conditions are turning towards natural thyroid treatment methods, many people remain skeptical as to whether these treatment methods are both safe and effective. It of course is completely normal to be skeptical, as most people are unaware that many thyroid conditions can be cured, especially when they are told otherwise by their endocrinologist or general medical practitioner.
You might wonder why most endocrinologists and other types of medical doctors don’t recommend natural thyroid treatment methods. After all, if there was a cure for most cases of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, including autoimmune thyroid disorders such as Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, then why wouldn’t they recommend natural thyroid treatment methods? There are three main reasons for this:
Reason #1: They are trained to recommend conventional medical treatment methods. As unbelievable as this may sound, in medical school they don’t focus on holist treatment methods, but instead use conventional methods such as prescription drugs, surgery, and other procedures. Many of these treatment methods of course just manage the symptoms. It is unfortunate that with more and more people choosing alternative healthcare options that they wouldn’t begin teaching more about holistic treatment methods in medical schools. But I guess that’s why they have naturopathic and chiropractic colleges, as well as certifications to become a “holistic medical practitioner”.
Without question drugs, surgery, and other treatment procedures have their place, as they help thousands of people with thyroid conditions who can’t be helped through natural treatment methods. On the other hand, there are many people who can be helped by following a natural thyroid treatment protocol, but are told by their medical doctor they need to take thyroid hormone or anti-thyroid drugs for the rest of their life, receive radioactive iodine therapy or thyroid gland surgery, etc.
Reason #2: Many medical doctors are close minded. This of course doesn’t apply to all medical doctors, as many go on to practice holistic medicine, and as a result recommend alternative methods for thyroid conditions for people who can be helped through a natural thyroid treatment protocol. However, there are many medical doctors who are not open minded when it comes to holistic healthcare. I can’t tell you why this is the case, as perhaps they become so accustomed to recommending thyroid hormone, anti-thyroid drugs, and other conventional treatment methods and simply become skeptical as to whether something natural can help their patients.
Once again, I can understand a medical doctor or anyone else being skeptical as to whether or not natural thyroid treatment methods are safe and/or effective. And I respect someone who does some research about holistic healthcare and decides that it’s not for them. But many medical doctors (and people in general) automatically rule out natural treatment methods without doing any research, which in my opinion is very close minded.
I think it works both ways, as I know some holistic doctors who aren’t receptive to any conventional medical treatment methods. As I mentioned previously, there is a time and place for both conventional medical treatment methods and natural treatment methods. It’s just too bad that most medical doctors and holistic practitioners won’t work together and keep and open mind.
Reason #3: The financial incentives. Although I hate bringing the money issue into it, the fact remains that many doctors will recommend conventional medical treatment methods because they are more profitable than most natural methods. For example, I’ve read that the average cost for radioactive iodine therapy is $3,000. This isn’t an enormous amount of money, but it’s still more money than these doctors would make if they were recommending nutritional supplements and other natural therapies. Plus, let’s not forget that people who receive RAI will most likely need to take thyroid hormone for the rest of their life, and as a result will probably need to come in for regular checkups, etc.
This obviously doesn’t only benefit the medical doctors financially, but the drug companies as well. In fact, it’s this relationship between the drug companies that is a big reason why many conventional treatment methods and prescription drugs are recommended, even though many people would do fine after following a natural treatment protocol. I’m not suggesting that holistic doctors also don’t have any financial incentives, as some charge a lot of money for their consultations, additional testing, and nutritional supplements. But in most cases, much more money is made through medical protocols than holistic treatments.
Being On The Brink Of Choosing Natural Thyroid Treatment Methods
If you are seriously considering giving natural thyroid treatment methods a try, but remain skeptical as to whether they will help you, my goal here is not to try to convince you to choose natural treatment methods (okay, maybe that’s not completely true, as I do have a little bit of a bias!). Ultimately my goal is to help you to open your mind so that you’ll realize that natural treatment methods are in most cases both safe and effective, and that you should at least consider speaking with a natural endocrine doctor.
After all, just about everyone who eventually chooses natural treatment methods was at one time or another skeptical. I frequently tell my story about when I was diagnosed with Graves’ Disease, and how even though there was no question as to whether I was going to follow a natural treatment protocol, at the same time I was still very skeptical as to whether they would truly be effective. But being a holistic doctor I knew the anti-thyroid drugs that were recommended wouldn’t actually cure my condition, and I definitely knew that RAI wasn’t something that I wanted to receive. So to me there was very little risk with trying natural treatment methods.
Plus, I figured that conventional medical treatment methods were always an option, in the event the natural treatment methods failed to work. Fortunately I received great results from taking the holistic route, and didn’t need to take any drugs. And while many people can receive similar results by following a natural thyroid treatment protocol, there will be some people who can’t have their health completely restored back to normal. But you’ll never know until you give them a try, or at least speak with a holistic doctor to find out if you’re a good candidate for such a protocol.
In summary, being skeptical is fine, but being close-minded can potentially deprive you of the benefits of achieving optimal health. If you speak with a natural endocrine doctor and/or give natural thyroid treatment methods a try and then determine that you’d rather go with conventional medical treatments, then there is nothing wrong with that. But by taking this approach you’ll at least have peace of mind and won’t have any regrets in the future regarding your thyroid health.
Other Articles You Might Like To Read:
3 Reasons Why Natural Thyroid Treatments Might Not Work [1]
How The People You Interact With Can Affect Your Thyroid Health [2]
5 Must Read Books For People With Thyroid Conditions [3]
Why You Can’t Rely Solely On Thyroid Blood Tests [4]
Combining Natural Thyroid Treatment Methods With Conventional Treatment Protocols [5]