Why I Wrote the Thyroid Debacle

I co-wrote the book, “The Thyroid Debacle” to help people realize the reason that they still have sub-optimal health is they may be mismanaging their condition. The thyroid is a master gland when it comes to metabolism and a multitude of bodily functions.

Millions continue to struggle despite the best that medicine has to offer.  But is what medicine has to offer the best? I don’t think so. In fact, I think us doctors can (and should) do better, and I want to change the way doctors treat this disease. Let’s face it, doctors are slow to hear and very resistant to change; possibly due to their financial tie to the pharmaceutical industry and partly due to the broken system that requires a quick diagnosis and subsequent prescription with no time to really care for the patient.

While it may take a generation or two to change the system, we can empower the individual today with a knowledge that they can – and must – take back control of their health and be their own advocate to improve. That’s our mission!

While everyone wants a quick fix, nothing is that simple. Despite the best drugs allopathic medicine has to offer, you’ve come to realize that we can’t merely drug ourselves to health. Allopathic medicine and big Pharma have tried to do this for decades. While it’s been extremely profitable, it has failed us miserably. The United States consumes nearly 65% of the world’s pharmaceuticals yet we are consistently one of the sickest and most obese countries in the world.

The Problem Not Addressed

Despite all the advances of medical science, groundbreaking procedures, and copious amounts of pharmaceuticals, not much has changed in the last three decades. The top three causes of death in the United States are the same as they were decades ago. New diseases and disorders continue to occur and life expectancy in the United States is starting to decline. The numbers of people with primary hypothyroidism isn’t declining either, despite Levothyroxine/Synthroid being one of the top prescribed medications decade after decade.

The simple pill for every ill continues to fail people and make big business wealthy. The business of managing symptoms, illness, and disease has become too profitable for things to change any time soon. It will require a grass roots effort. If you want to improve your health, you must follow a different model.

The Functional Medicine Model

So, what can you do? What is the solution? Understand, the model by which functional medicine works is straightforward. You must:

  • Identify what is causing your cellular stress.
  • Identify what organ systems have become dysfunctional.
  • Reduce or remove as many of your cellular stressors as possible.
  • Support cell, tissue, and system repair and regeneration by improving your health fitness factors
  • Monitor and manage health not disease, with functional medicine testing and optimal health lab ranges.

That’s how it’s done; it’s not simple, not easy, but it is straightforward. We’ve broken down the process into 9 steps that we call Fitness Factors:

  1. Dietary Fitness
  2. Sleep Fitness
  3. Respiratory Fitness
  4. Emotional Fitness
  5. Physical Fitness
  6. Habitual Fitness
  7. Environmental Fitness
  8. Metabolic Fitness
  9. Genetic Fitness

Our aim is to help people walk through each of these steps with an action plan to accomplish lasting change. Our initial 6-month program addresses each of these so you can put your feet to action and see the start of habitual, lifestyle changes that will lead to success. Truly, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” and we will help guide you through your personal journey.