It’s World Thyroid Day! 🦋
The thyroid is a small butterfly-shaped gland located in the neck that controls the body’s metabolic rate/metabolism. It controls how quickly you burn energy and affects many other hormones and systems in the body.
Hypothyroidism is a condition of an underactive thyroid resulting in a variety of symptoms and it affects more women than men. Autoimmunity is responsible for the majority of cases of hypothyroidism and is called Hashimoto’s Disease. It’s important to differentiate the types of hypothyroidism as they are treated differently!
Symptoms of LOW thyroid function can include:
🔹 fatigue
🔹 brain fog 🧠
🔹 weight gain & difficulty losing weight
🔹 constipation
🔹 bloating
🔹 dry skin
🔹 tingling in hands & feet
🔹 brittle nails
🔹 hair loss and thinning hair (including eyebrows)
🔹 depression
🔹 poor memory 💭
🔹 puffy face & eyes
🔹 muscle pain
🔹 hoarse voice & slowed speech
🔹 slowed heart rate
🔹 high cholesterol
🔹 heavy or irregular/missed periods
🔹 enlarged thyroid gland
🔹 nausea & vomiting (more rare)
If you think you may have an underactive thyroid, you should get comprehensive lab testing! 🌡 The lab tests for low thyroid function include: TSH, free T4, free T3, anti-TPO, anti-TG and reverse T3. The levels should be in OPTIMAL ranges and not just in the normal ranges.
TSH and free T4 are not enough! ✖️ Important pieces of the puzzle can be missed. Thorough testing is so useful to fully assess thyroid health and investigate for the root cause of low thyroid function. If you have symptoms of an underactive thyroid, get TESTED! 🙌🏼
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