Article written by Dr. Michelle Strydom MD, Photo by Monstera Production
The Thyroid produces the thyroid hormones T3 (tri-iodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxine). These hormones have the following functions in the body:
- Control of oxygen consumption and energy metabolism.
- Protein metabolism – building of proteins and body growth.
- Carbohydrate metabolism – it helps insulin take glucose out of the blood into the body tissues, helps with intestinal absorption of glucose from the food you eat and the building of glucose (energy stores) in the body tissues (glycogenesis).
- Fat metabolism – helps body utilize fat.
- Vitamin metabolism – thyroid hormones are required to make vitamin A.
- Milk production in women with babies.
- They have an effect on the heart (can make it beat faster) and have an effect on blood flow to the body tissues.
- They affect the nervous system. That is why too much thyroid hormones causes nervousness, irritability and tremor in the fingers when they are stretched out. Thyroid hormones also play an important role in development of the brain.
HYPOTHYROIDSIM is a condition where the thyroid is underactive i.e. it is not producing enough thyroid hormones. This causes the person to feel tired and lethargic, gain weight, constipation, intolerance of cold, hoarse voice, depression, poor concentration, muscle pain and in women, abnormally large volume of blood in menstrual periods. Skin and hair are dry and there may be swelling in the eyelids, hands and feet.
HYPERTHYROIDISM is a condition where the thyroid is overactive i.e. it is producing excessive quantities of thyroid hormones. This causes the person to have intolerance to heat, sweaty, diarrhea, increased appetite and weight loss, tremor in the hands, palpitations, visual problems – sometimes the person’s eyes protrude outwards (exopthalmos) and in women, very little blood in menstruation.
How Production of the Thyroid Hormones Normally Occurs:
Hypothyroidism (Under-Active Thyroid)
Hypothyroidism can be caused by a deficiency of iodine in the diet (the thyroid needs iodine to make T3 and T4), radiotherapy with radioactive iodine (given for treatment of hyperthyroidism), cancer of the thyroid and operations where the thyroid is removed (thyroidectomy).
Apart from the above situations, there are two different mechanisms that result in damage to the thyroid so that it does not produce enough thyroid hormones. One or both of these mechanisms can be present. Each mechanism has a different spiritual root.
Hypothyroidism is primarily an autoimmune disease (Hashimoto’s Disease and Spontaneous Atrophic Hypothyroidism). Therefore, before reading this section any further, please read through the chapter on page 200 because you need a background understanding of autoimmune diseases.
I explained in the chapter on autoimmune diseases that when your thought life is dominated by selfhatred, self-rejection, self-condemnation and/or guilt, the reaction via the mind-body connection is your immune system attacking your own body tissue. In your case, your hypothyroidism is as a result of antibodies (from your own immune system) called thyroid peroxidase antibodies that attacked and damaged the cells of your thyroid. The B and T cells (lymphocytes) of your immune system also entered into your thyroid, causing damage and destruction of your thyroid cells. Because the cells of your thyroid were damaged, they could no longer make thyroid hormones very well.
There are also antibodies that destroy the sites (receptors) where TSH attaches to the thyroid. As I explained with the pictures on the previous page, when the hypothalamus in the brain sees that the levels of thyroid hormones in your blood are too low, it sends TRH to tell the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland then sends TSH to tell the thyroid to make more thyroid hormones. But when TSH gets to the thyroid, it can’t attach to it because the receptors were destroyed by the antibodies of your immune system. If TSH can’t attach to the thyroid, it can’t stimulate the thyroid to produce more thyroid hormones. As a result the thyroid does not produce enough thyroid hormones.
Interestingly, when a person with hypothyroidism has a blood test:
- Very high levels of the antibodies that destroy the thyroid and its receptors are seen.
- There are high levels of TSH in the blood because hypothalamus and pituitary gland are trying to tell the thyroid to make more thyroid hormones. However the thyroid isn’t listening because the receptors are damaged.
- There are low levels of the thyroid hormones (T3 and T4) seen in the blood.
There is also an anxiety component to hypothyroidism. Therefore before reading any further, you also need to read through the chapter on page 180 because you need to gain a background understanding of the effects of long term fear, anxiety and stress on your body.
During stage 2 of stress, the thyroid is one of the first organs that is affected by the sympathetic nervous system, causing it to produce less thyroid hormones. Allergies are also caused by long term fear, anxiety and stress in a person’s thought life (This is discussed in detail in the chapter on allergies). The most severe form of allergies is multiple chemical sensitivity and environmental illness (MCS/EI) where a person becomes allergic to almost everything including most foods, even water, light and clothes. These are very miserable people as they end up living in a room lined with foil, permanently on oxygen and unable to be in the company of another human for too long. Most people with MCS/EI develop hypothyroidism. In the ministry of Pastor Henry Wright, when these people got fear and anxiety out of their thought life – their allergies were healed… and their hypothyroidism also disappeared. Hypothyroidism is considered to be incurable in the medical field. However I am here to tell you that is not so – it is curable through the grace and mercy of God, when His conditions for healing are met
Henry Wright reports a success of over 95% in seeing people healed of hypothyroidism after dealing with the toxic mindsets causing it. When the root issues of a low self-esteem, self-hatred, fear and anxiety are eliminated through ministry and renewing your mind (i.e. changing your thinking) with the truth of the Word, the thyroid will recover, kick back into balance and begin secreting thyroid hormones correctly again.
These two chapters will help you:
- “Who You Are In Christ” on page 498 – building a healthy self-esteem starts with knowing who you are in Christ and establishing your identity and sense of self worth in Him.
- “Dealing With Fear, Anxiety and Stress” on page 523.
When you feel that you have dealt with these issues, you may take yourself off your medication (thyroxin), only under the supervision of a doctor. The doctor must monitor the levels of your thyroid hormones and taper down your medication accordingly.
Hyperthyroidism (Over-Active Thyroid)
In 75% of cases hyperthyroidism is caused by Grave’s Disease (Primary Thyrotoxicosis). The other 25% is caused by tumors in the thyroid (Toxic Multinodular Goitre and Toxic Adenoma) – this is usually preceded by long standing non toxic goiter (enlarged thyroid visible as a lump in front of the neck) and is caused by iodine deficiency.
Grave’s Disease is very similar to hypothyroidism: it occurs by two different mechanisms that result in damage to the thyroid, so that it goes out of control and produces too much thyroid hormone. One or both of these mechanisms can be present. Each mechanism has a different spiritual root.
Grave’s disease can be triggered by emotional shock or a prolonged period of anxiety. Experienced endocrinologists (doctors who specialize in diseases to do with hormones) have noted that there is often a relationship between the onset of hyperthyroidism and a very emotionally stressful life event. Therefore before reading this section any further, please read through the chapter on page 180 because you need a background understanding of the effects of long term fear, anxiety and stress on your body.
During stage 2 of stress, the hypothalamus (which is the area in the brain that connects the mind to the body) releases increased amounts of the TRH chemical. As explained on the first page of this chapter, an increased release of TRH by the hypothalamus results in an increased release of TSH from the pituitary gland. This then leads to increased production of thyroid hormones. High levels of thyroid hormones = hyperthyroidism.
Grave’s disease also is an autoimmune disease – therefore before reading this section any further, please turn to page 200 because you need a background understanding of autoimmune diseases.
I explained in the chapter on autoimmune diseases that when your thought life is dominated by selfhatred, self-rejection, self-condemnation and/or guilt, the reaction via the mind-body connection is your immune system attacking your own body tissue. Sometimes this has to do with people who feel responsible for solving other people’s problems and they feel guilty because they can’t.
Hyperthyroidism is caused by an autoimmune reaction where the Ig G antibodies attack the sites (receptors) where TSH attaches onto the thyroid. These Ig G antibodies are also called TSH receptor antibodies or thyroid stimulating immunoglobulins – these antibodies stimulate the thyroid at the TSH receptors. The thyroid thinks that this stimulation is TSH that was sent from the pituitary gland to tell it to make more thyroid hormones. The thyroid does not realize that it is actually the Ig G antibodies at the receptors and not TSH. As a result it inappropriately produces too much thyroid hormone.
The antibodies and cells of the immune system also directly attack the cells of the thyroid causing a lot of damage. This can eventually lead to failure of the thyroid where it can’t function anymore. The inflammation caused by the damage from the various cells in the immune system cause swelling of the eye muscles and a rise in pressure behind the eyes causing the eyes to be displaced forwards. That is why people with hyperthyroidism have eyes that look as though they are “popping out”.
Graves disease can also be genetically inherited (the genes that Graves disease is associated with are called DR3, DR2 and HLA-B8). If other family members have also suffered from hyperthyroidism I recommend that you read through the chapter on genetically inherited diseases on page 153.
Many doctors treat hyperthyroidism with radioactive iodine (which destroys some of the thyroid tissue so that it produces less hormones) and surgery to remove part of the thyroid (subtotal thyroidectomy). I would sincerely not recommend radioactive iodine and surgery because more than 50% of patients end up with hypothyroidism (thyroid doesn’t produce enough hormones). Then you have to take thyroid hormone supplements for the rest of your life. What is the point of exchanging one disease for another? God doesn’t want your thyroid destroyed, He wants it totally healed.
Hyperthyroidism is dangerous because you can develop life threatening complications, for example what is called a thyroid storm or hyperthyroid crisis. Therefore you must not play games with this disease. There is medication that you can take to keep you safe so that you have time to deal with the underlying issues. I would recommend that you take Carbimazole: 40 – 60 mg daily for 3 weeks. Then 20 – 40 mg daily for 4 to 8 weeks and then 5 – 20 mg daily for 18 to 24 months. If you are breast feeding you must take Propylthiouracil instead, which is just as effective as Carbimazole. (These drugs can only be brought by prescription from a doctor). The exact dose is determined by blood tests that regularly measure the levels of your thyroid hormones. You will feel an improvement 10 to 14 days after starting the drug and your thyroid should be functioning normally in 3 to 4 weeks. However, the hyperthyroidism often recurs within 2 years of stopping the drug, because the drugs have no long term effect on the natural disease progression of hyperthyroidism… why? Because you have to deal with the root of the problem to be permanently healed. Medical drugs are not the ultimate answer because they do not deal with the underlying issues. You have to parallel that by dealing with the toxic mindsets that are causing the hyperthyroidism.
These two chapters will help you:
- “Who You Are In Christ” on page 498 – building a healthy self-esteem starts with knowing who you are in Christ and establishing your identity and sense of self worth in Him.
- “Dealing With Fear, Anxiety and Stress” on page 523.
Stop allowing the enemy to hammer you over the head with guilt and self-accusation concerning other people’s problems. You are not responsible for fixing their mess. Do what you can to help and then leave them in God’s hands. It is the Holy Spirit’s job to bring conviction and the change.
Pray this with me: “Father I repent for buying into the enemy’s lies that lead me into self-hatred and guilt and I ask for Your forgiveness. I release myself from guilt and self-accusation and the false sense of responsibility for others. I take authority over the spirit of death and spirit of infirmity that was released through the guilt and self-hatred to attack my thyroid producing hyperthyroidism – in Jesus’ Name I command you to be gone! In the Name of Jesus I command my immune system to stop attacking my thyroid and I command my thyroid to stop producing thyroid hormones in excess. By the stripes of Jesus I am healed (Isaiah 53 v 5).”
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