Can't lose weight? Thyroid symptoms affect up to 8 million persons in America alone. Symptoms of thyroid problems often go undiagnosed, making it not easy to really know exactly how many people are suffering from thyroid symptoms. Regulating the body's metabolism rate, is the primary function of the thyroid gland.
Females are much more likely than men to have thyroid dysfunction - up to 10-20% of women and 1-2% of men may have indicators of thyroid problems. One type of thyroid dysfunction is called hypothyroidism, also described as low thyroid or underactive thyroid. When thyroid function is too sluggish, its effect is that the body's metabolism slows down more than it should. Less common are thyroid symptoms caused by hyperthyroidism or an overactive thyroid.
As your metabolism slows down caused by underactive thyroid function, the result can be symptoms such as fatigue, weight gain and depression. And other symptoms may occur, often seemingly unrelated. Hypothyroidism or low thyroid symptoms of thyroid problems include:
- High cholesterol
- Immune system problems
- Fatigue and weakness
- Nervousness and tremors
- Sluggish bowels, constipation
- Insomnia
- Weight gain
- Depression
- Low basal temperature, cold intolerance, cold hands and feet
- Heavy menstrual periods
- Poor memory, forgetfulness, dementia
- Hair loss
- Dry and coarse skin
Having thyroid symptoms is related to hormone levels and hormone imbalance. Three related hormones for a female are estrogen, thyroid hormone and progesterone. Knowing the interplay among these 3 hormones helps you better understand how to embark on treating thyroid symptoms.
In the best selling book What Your Doctor May NOT Tell You About Menopause, family physician Doctor J. R. Lee explains his results in treating females having symptoms of thyroid problems. In a broad sense, estrogen makes calories from food to be stored as fat. Thyroid hormone makes calories from food to be transformed into energy. The oversupply of estrogen interferes with normal thyroid hormone function. Progesterone helps "balance" and keep undesirable side effects of excess estrogen from manifesting. Progesterone enables the body to utilize fat for energy, and when progesterone is present in ideal levels, the thyroid functions more as it is supposed to. Dr. John Lee found a distinct pattern in his patients with a progesterone deficiency - their underactive thyroid symptoms decreased when natural progesterone supplementation was carried out and hormone balance was obtained.
