Exhausted and feeling smashed even on waking in the morning?

December 13, 2024

Dr Kirstey Holland

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I've been helping women navigate peri/menopause for more than twenty years. I'm here to tell you that it does not need to be like this! I can help to rescue you from the rollercoaster of peri/menopause.

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Exhausted and feeling smashed (even on waking in the morning)? Thyroid issues (Thyropause) & potential autoimmunity and what you can do about it…

Do you feel tired and exhausted, even from the moment you wake in the morning, following a supposed “full night’s sleep”?

You could be suffering from an autoimmune or thyroid issue.

Autoimmune diseases are a situation where the immune system attacks the body. It can attack the body’s own tissues. Thyroid problems can involve an over- or under-production of thyroid hormones.

Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms of an autoimmune disease. Other symptoms include joint pain and swelling, skin problems, abdominal pain or digestive issues, recurring fever and swollen glands. Symptoms of thyroid dysfunction are similar, but also include sensitivity to cold, weight gain and puffiness.

Perimenopause is a risky time for the onset or the worsening of some types of autoimmune and thyroid diseases, such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

During perimenopause, there is a massive remodeling of our brains and the way our bodies produce hormones. We move from ovarian production of some of our hormones to more adrenal production. Now if those adrenal glands have been experiencing stress they are not going to be great at this new role they have just been recruited to. They are going to need some tender loving care, to say the least. Lifestyle changes alone may not be enough. You may need to feed and nourish them with different food sources and some carefully selected, safe, effective, natural, evidence-based strategies and supplementation.

In order to provide treatment, it is absolutely imperative that we request a full thyroid panel (blood test) and do not take no for an answer.

We need to test the thyroid stimulating hormone, T3, T4, reverse T3, and both sets of thyroid antibodies.

This information is crucial in the diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune and thyroid conditions in perimenopausal women.

And these conditions are just one issue that women commonly face during perimenopause.

My aim is to create a community of women who can transform from this rollercoaster of perimenopause into a beautiful, calm, peaceful, vital magic menopause.

My premium program may be just the thing you need?

My premium program may be just the thing you need: “Rescuing You from the Rollercoaster of Peri/menopause”

A 3-part process:

Repair your gut and boost your metabolism
Rebalance your hormones to balance your life
Reclaim your metabolic health and prevent chronic disease in later life

Learn more here: https://academy.thehollandclinic.com/rescuing-you-peri-menopause

Have you been diagnosed with a thyroid disease? If you have a thyroid diagnosis of any kind, it is likely to be an autoimmune condition because in Western countries, autoimmunity is the most common underlying cause of hypothyroidism.

If you have not been diagnosed but have a family history of autoimmune disease, it is really important to get tested.

Autoimmune thyroid disease is the target for most treatments in perimenopause.

Higher levels of antibodies correlate with a greater number of symptoms.

I see lots of women significantly reduce their antibodies and autoimmune symptoms by doing a full elimination and reintroduction diet like the one that we recommend inside of our premium transformation program. Individualised, precision medicine and close monitoring are key here.

We need to be aware of the fact that the various pathways and blood vessels in our body are highly connected. The brain, the thyroid, the gut, the ovaries – they all feed into each other via the HPA axis. Nothing in your body works in isolation.

Your gut is the middle of this connection. It is the centre. And it’s therefore another reason why the gut is the gateway to rescuing you from the rollercoaster of perimenopause.

Intestinal permeability can also exacerbate autoimmune diseases such as fibromyalgia as well as Hashimoto’s. Another good reason to heal, seal and repair the gut first.

The gut is the gateway to reducing inflammation and autoimmune symptoms.

If you are not ready to do our premium transformation program, start with the gut and do our “Repair Your Gut Program”. Learn more here: https://academy.thehollandclinic.com/heal-seal-repair-gut-program

Safe, effective, natural evidence based strategies and supplementation:

Further, if you have celiacs disease, research shows you have a higher chance of developing an autoimmune disease later in life. Molecular mimicry comes into play here too and I will explain this inside our program.

Testing negative for the celiac gene means you probably have a lower risk of developing an autoimmune disease, however it does not mean that gluten works for you. You may still experience a gluten sensitivity.

The simplest way to find out if gluten (and other foods for that matter) work for you, is to do a full elimination and reintroduction diet like the one I share in my premium program and see how this affects you, the way you feel, and your blood test results.

Supplementation is also extremely helpful in treating autoimmune diseases

For example, vitamin D supplementation is very important in treating symptoms of autoimmune diseases. As are trace minerals for the thyroid.

I understand that autoimmune thyroid disease is a common reason for body pain and that’s why it is so important to test your thyroid antibodies in peri/menopause too. High-dose turmeric, PEA and SPMs can be very effective in decreasing inflammation and pain.

Body pain tends to be one of the symptoms most of our perimenopausal women report. It is really important to reverse these conditions for the sake of your bones too.

It is also very important to know that iodine should not be used to treat autoimmune thyroid disease. Taking iodine can in fact worsen both Hashimoto’s and Graves.

It is crucial to test for autoimmunity before using iodine in perimenopause.

I test iodine levels prior to ever prescribing it and would never use iodine for patients with autoimmune diseases.

As you can see, this is such a huge topic, I will leave it there for now…

But I hope you found this information useful. Please reach out to us on social media. Ask us questions. Share with your family and friends. We’d love to hear from each and every one of you.

Here is a video I recorded on Instagram that gives some more information.