The Orenda Clinic & Apothecary - Toronto Naturopath Clinic focused on Hormone Support, Cancer Care and Fertility
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Thyroid Health

 
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thyroid health

Providing realistic and customized support to finally get your thyroid health back on track


How We Can Help

Chances are if you’re here, you’ve been struggling with your thyroid health for far too long. If hypothyroidism is ruling your life, you keep cancelling plans because your clothes are too tight, you can barely function because you’re so exhausted, or you’re just tired of feeling out of control in your own body, you’re in the right place.

Our team is here to help you take the guesswork out of eliminating your thyroid imbalances, and provide you with a customized and realistic treatment plan.

What Is Hypothyroidism Anyway?

Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid gland fails to produce enough thyroid hormones. It’s estimated that 1 in 3 people in Canada are struggling with thyroid concerns, of which 50% of these cases remain undiagnosed. In North America, most cases of hypothyroidism are autoimmune in nature. Autoimmune hypothyroidism is called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. The diagnosis of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is determined by the presence of antibodies produced by our immune system called Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPO Ab), and/or Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TGB Ab). These antibodies attack your thyroid, causing inflammation of the thyroid gland, and underproduction of thyroid hormones. Hypothyroidism can take a toll on your physical and mental health when left untreated, leaving you feeling like a stranger in your own body!

Common symptoms of hypothyroidism may include:

  • Exhaustion

  • Constipation & bloating

  • Dry skin

  • Weight gain & inability to lose weight

  • Muscle & joint pain

  • High cholesterol

  • Heavy or irregular periods

  • Thinning hair 

  • Depression

  • Impaired memory

  • Difficulty getting pregnant

When left untreated, not only do the symptoms leave you feeling very much unlike yourself, but you also become at risk for a number of long-term health concerns. These include things such as cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol levels, depression, and infertility.

What Is Hyperthyroidism Anyway?

Hyperthyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid gland is overactive and produces too much thyroid hormone. The most common type of hyperthyroidism is an autoimmune disorder called Graves’ disease. The diagnosis of Graves’ disease is determined by the presence of antibodies produced by our immune system called Thyroid-Stimulating Immunoglobulins (TSI). These antibodies latch on to the cells in our thyroid and cause them to release more thyroid hormones than needed. 

Common symptoms of hyperthyroidism may include:

  • Exhaustion

  • Nervousness, anxiety, irritability

  • Hyperactivity, trembling hands

  • Heart palpitations, increased heart rate

  • Difficulty sleeping

  • Loose stools

  • Sensitivity to heat or excessive sweating

  • Muscle & joint pain/weakness

  • Weight loss & inability to gain weight

  • Muscle & joint pain/weakness

  • Itchiness

  • Hair thinning

  • Irregular menstrual cycles

  • Enlarged thyroid gland

Thyroid Concerns We Commonly Treat

We commonly treat the following thyroid concerns:

  • Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (autoimmune hypothyroidism) - most common cause of low thyroid function

  • Subclinical Hypothyroidism - experiencing symptoms but blood work appears “normal”

  • Graves’ Disease (autoimmune) - results in an over functioning thyroid

  • Thyroid Nodules

  • Postpartum Thyroiditis - thyroid changes, commonly hypothyroidism, that occurs in postpartum

What to Expect

Whatever symptoms you are experiencing with hypothyroidism, our team will take the time to hear you, meet you where you are at, and teach you how to feel confident and comfortable in your body again. Our ultimate goal is always to dig deeper and find the unique underlying causes of your thyroid imbalance, so that symptoms are corrected – not masked, you feel in control of your body, and prevention strategies for long-term concerns like cardiovascular disease are put in place.

Conquering Thyroid Disease: Our 6 Step Program

It’s time to reclaim your thyroid and feel great in your body again! This is exactly why we created the Conquering Thyroid Disease Program. This 6-step program will help you reduce your symptoms, prevent long-term risks, and take the guesswork out of your thyroid hormones, so you can get back to feeling like yourself!

our 6-step program

  1. Comprehensive Assessment of Symptoms + Thyroid Panel - Thorough blood work, including all thyroid hormones and antibodies, as well as symptom assessment, allows for an in-depth evaluation of your current thyroid health. This will not only help us understand your unique situation and what has and hasn’t been working for you, but also help us determine goals as we move into the next steps of this program.

  2. Identify Barriers  - The extremely comprehensive intake and lab work that are completed in the initial steps allow us to move forward with an understanding of your general health status, your immune status, and your hormone status and identify where things are going wrong. We also send you home to complete symptom monitoring so we can start to pick up on your unique symptom patterns. 

  3. Support Foundations – This is where your treatment begins. We ensure the foundations of thyroid health are in place so your symptoms resolve faster, and we’re maintaining these results long-term. This includes correcting things like immune function, digestive function, and environmental exposures. Often, just correcting these and putting them in place is all you need! We teach you how to implement foundational supports in a balanced way, so you never feel restricted.

  4. Customized + Targeted Supplementation – Once we receive all of your lab results and symptom diary we start targeting treatment specifically to you. This often takes the form of highly concentrated supplementation and is completely based on your unique physiology and barriers. In some cases of hypothyroidism, medications or the addition of Natural Desiccated Thyroid are recommended.

  5. Optimize the Gut – Once the foundations are in place and we’ve removed underlying barriers through targeted supplementation, we look at further optimizing the gut. The gut is the foundation of lasting health in the body and has far-reaching impacts on our hormonal health and immune health. Optimizing this system is a must in order to maintain long-term results.

  6. Maintenance – Once your initial concerns have been addressed, we create a new plan for you to carry forward to help sustain your results and prevent long-term risks such as infertility and cardiovascular disease that often emerge in thyroid disorders. Our goal at this point is that you’ve become such an expert in understanding your own body that you only need us for maintenance support quarterly or bi-annually!

If you’re struggling with hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism and want to learn more, we offer complimentary 15 minute consults with our chief Naturopathic Doctor focusing on thyroid health, Dr. Monica Velletri.

 
 
 
 

Looking for Support?

dr. monica velletri, nd

Dr. Monica Velletri is our chief Naturopathic Doctor focusing on thyroid health. You can learn more about her practice here.

 
 
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