Dr. Bilstrom Blogs
So, why is progesterone so important for a woman?
We covered why estrogen is so important for a women in our last blog post. Now we will talk about progesterone. What are some symptoms of progesterone loss? Anxiety. Depression. Irritability. Mood swings. Insomnia. Pain and inflammation. Osteoporosis. Excessive...
So, why is estrogen so important for a women’s body?
We have spoken often about estrogen dominance as a huge driver of immune system dysregulation and more specifically autoimmune disease. And, at the same time, a huge driver of how women get all kinds of cancer. This can make estrogens seem like bad hormones to have....
What blood tests should I have run if I want to try and reverse this autoimmune disease?
Blood tests are an important portion of the tests that need to be run if someone wants to try and reverse the autoimmune disease process. When the right blood work is run, you will also get a sense of why you developed the autoimmune disease in the first place....
Part 2: “We tested your thyroid and it looks fine”: why patients hear this so much, why it’s wrong, and what tests to be run
Now that we know what thyroid blood tests need to be run and why, what should the results ideally be if a person is going to be functioning at their highest level? Or, perhaps like so many many people, what do my thyroid test results need to look like for me to know...
Part 1: “We tested your thyroid and it looks fine”: why patients hear this so much, why it’s wrong, and what tests to be run
Abnormal functioning of the thyroid hormones (yes, thyroid hormones. More than one. Several as a matter of fact) tends to be such a driver of chronic disease. Almost any symptom under the sun could be thyroid related. Identifying and optimizing thyroid hormones is it...
The shape shifting hormone. The “great mimicker”. Thyroid.
They call thyroid the "great mimicker". That is because when thyroid is off, it can look like just about anything. Autoimmune disease, joint pain, muscle pain, headaches, fatigue, memory issues, concentration issues, anxiety, depression, dry skin, easy bruising,...
How the “forgotten hormone” is beating up your body. Cortisol.
Stress stinks. We live in a very stressful world. And not just emotional stress but an extreme amount of physical and biochemical stress as well. It is extremely challenging to be a human being. Cortisol, "the stress hormone", is a key central mechanism...
PANDAS and the “Herxheimer reaction” .
Definition. "A Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction is a reaction to endotoxin-like products released by the death of harmful microorganisms within the body during antibiotic treatment. Efficacious antimicrobial therapy results in lysis (destruction) of bacterial cell...
Sometimes heros don’t wear capes. Sometimes they wear Patagonia.
Dawn behind our home on Saturday. I should have known it would suggest good things were going to happen that day. We were watching our daughter play in a volleyball tournament today. It was a big meet. 16 teams from across the state and outside the state. They had all...
PANDAS: Attacking children’s brains.
PANDAS stands for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections. A common presentation may be rapid onset of obsessive-compulsive behavior (OCD) and/or tic disorders. Other common symptoms include a major change in...
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