Underactive Thyroid: How Many Symptoms of Thyroid Problems Do You Have?

While an underactive thyroid is not known to end your life, it is known make your life seem slow. Thyroid hormone gives every cell in your body that extra little umph when needed. When you have low thyroid hormone, that lack of extra umph makes those cells under perform.

Symptoms of thyroid problems can be seen from head to toe. Some people with low thyroid hormone have cold feet as a symptom, while others with an underactive thyroid have thin, straw-like hair.

So here is a short version of my checklist to see if you have symptoms of thyroid problems:

1. Always feeling cold, or may need extra cloths to stay warm
2. Thinning hair, balding or straw-like hair
3. Aching in muscles and joints that had no physical trauma to explain it
4. Eating a reasonable amount of calories, but still gain weight or can't lose weight
5. Feelings of depression or anxiety
6. Mental sluggishness or brain fog
7. Chronic problems with infection, like a sinus infection, vaginal infection or ear infection
8. Muscle weakness, especially in the back, hips and shoulders
9. Feeling fatigued, tired or exhausted even without doing physical exercise
10. Soreness in throat or neck
11. Constipation or decreased bowel function
12. Infertility, miscarriages and low libido or sex drive
13. High cholesterol, heart flutters or low or high blood pressure
14. Poor digestion or heart burn
15. Increase in water weight or water retention
16. History of some other autoimmune disorder
17. Family history of thyroid problems
18. Family history of autoimmune disorders

If you have 3 or more of the above, you may be one of the millions who suffer from an underactive thyroid.

If you continue reading pages in this thyroid blog, you will see that symptoms of thyroid problems are just as or even more important in diagnosing low thyroid hormone than thyroid lab analysis. Check out this post on how testing thyroid hormone levels can be very inaccurate.

technorati tags: underactive thyroid low thyroid hormone symptoms of thyroid problems

Underactive Thyroid and Depression - Missing This Diagnosis is Just Sad

It is well established that an underactive thyroid can cause depression. In a 1993 study entitled Subclinical hypothyroidism: a modifiable risk factor for depression?, the authors reported a significantly higher lifetime frequency of depression if subclinical hypothyroidism is present compared to those without subclinical hypothyroidism (56% compared to 20%).

In a previous post about how a low thyroid can make you feel depressed, I wrote about possible causes of the depression.

So if it is so well understood that an underactive thyroid can cause depression, why are so many doctors missing it and so many people not sticking up for themselves when they know something is not right?

First, it is not always easy to pinpoint an underactive thyroid. While there is usually some other clues that point to an underactive thyroid (family history, stubborn weight gain, thinning hair, etc.), it is not always the case.

Second, very dated information still is erroneously used. For instance, a doctor that excludes an underactive thyroid as a diagnosis because they do not live in the goiter belt will miss tons of underactive thyroid problems in his/her office.

Third, many rely on lab test as gospel. These lab test mean very little when they are interpreted without comparing the results to the individual (as this study on subclinical hypothyroidism demonstrated).

Lastly, depression is easy for a doctor. "Take these and come back in 3 months." No need to dig further or spend much time with the patient. It's an easy buck.

In cases of depression, an underactive thyroid should be considered till proven otherwise. Missing this diagnosis is just...well sad.

technorati tags: underactive thyroid depression subclinical hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism and Water Weight...What's the Link?

In my last post about hypothyroidism and water weight, I showed how retaining water can cause health problems. I think that those looking to really understand what is going on with their hypothyroidism want to know "Why?"

In a lot of cases, if you know "Why," then you know how to manage it.

So here we go...

First, people with hypothyroidism have problems polymerizing certain tissue structures into usable glycoproteins.

Translation: Your body makes different types of connective tissue by combining short strands into longer ones. People with hypothyroidism have problems doing this. You end up with more of these smaller strands that aren't linked together.

Theses smaller strands have a greater cumulative hydrophilic (water loving) charge, so they attract more water.

End result is an increase water weight.

Secondly, some people with hypothyroidism have problems with both allergens and toxic metals (which can be the actual reason for the hypothyroidism). These pollutant can really cause havoc in multiple areas in the body, including the thyroid.

Your body can handle a small amount of these toxins, but struggles when the amount gets past its breaking point. Your body needs to do something to defend against these toxins.

Your body's solution to pollution is dilution.

Let's say you had very tart lemonade, what would you do? Add water.

Your body does the same thing, by adding water (retaining water) to try to lower the effects of the toxins (it dilutes it).

End result is an increase in water weight.


So there are 2 reasons for retaining water in people with hypothyroidism. One cause of water weight is due to a shift in elcertochemical charge, and the other is a defense mechanism of the body.

(And yes, both can happen in the same person)

technorati tags: diagnosed with hypothyroidism water weight retaining water

Retaining Water? Learn Why So Many Can't Drop The Water Weight.

Have you noticed that some people just look puffy? They have puffy eyes, their ankles look swollen, their skin looks stretched...these people are just retaining water, known as water weight.

How does water weight cause problems in those with hypothyroidism?

Cells need to maintain a certain amount of water in order to function. As a matter of fact, cells need enough water inside in order to survive.

Retaining water means that the water is not in the cells where it should be. Something has caused the water to be sucked out of the cell and it's now outside the cell (in the extracellular matrix).

Retaining water weight is a very common occurrence in hypothyroidism. Here are a couple of things you may have noticed due to it:

1. You retain more water, looking puffy or swollen all over


2. You may have some numbness and tingling in your hands and feet as the swollen tissue puts pressure on nerves


3. You have lowered blood pressure, since the water is sucked out from your blood and causes low blood volume


4. You are always cold, since you have a low blood volume


5. You are anemic despite supplementing with iron. This can happen because retaining water creates a lower blood volume, as well as the fact that hypothyroidism causes a lower production of red blood cells due to lower body temperature.


6. You are more prone to Alzheimer's disease and stroke, since you have poor blood supply to the brain.
   

Just like thinning hair, cold hands and stubborn weight loss, water weight is a sign of hypothyroidism.

technorati tags: water weight hypothyroidism retaining water

Graves' Disease Caused by a Tummy Ache?

If you are like most people (and even most doctors), you may have a hard time wrapping your mind around the fact that a problem in your gut can cause a problem in your thyroid (which is way up in your neck). There is strong evidence that proves that this just might be the underlying issue in many cases of Graves' disease.

Graves thyroiditis, also known as Graves' disease, is an autoimmune disorder that attacks the thyroid gland. While there can be acute attacks of thyroiditis, Graves' disease is usually a more slow acting autoimmune disorder.

There is evidence that a specific strand of pathogen (though there can be many different kinds not as well documented) called Yersinia enterocolitica that has been shown to cause Graves thyroiditis.

A common medical treatment for Graves thyroiditis is radiation or surgical removal of the thyroid gland. The thought is that if you remove the overactive thyroid gland, then you remove the problem. This line of thinking ignores the fact that there is still the underlying problem of the Yersinia enterocolitica.

If the treatment was aimed in addressing the pathogen Yersinia enterocolitica instead of the thyroid, you may have been able to forgo the ablating of the thyroid gland.

So how did Yersinia enterocolitica even get into the bloodstream to cause Graves' disease?

Most likely in cases of dysbiosis (or overgrowth of unhealthy bugs within your gut lining), there is an overgrowth of Yersinia enterocolitica within the gut. When this pathogen is allowed to flourish in the gut lining, changes to the gut lining may enable Yersinia enterocolitica to pass through when it should not.

Once Yersinia enterocolitica is in the bloodstream, your immune system recognizes it, tags it is a foreign invader, and then attacks it.

It is believed that the protein makeup of Yersinia enterocolitica is similar to that of the protein structures on the thyroid. What happens is your immune system gets "tag happy" and tags your thyroid gland as well. Now your body cannot decipher a difference between Yersinia enterocolitica and your thyroid gland. You now have what is known as an autoimmune disease.

There are many natural treatments that will help rid the body of Yersinia enterocolitica overgrowth, such as: probiotics, oil of oregano, tree tea oil, garlic, olive oil, aloe, glutamine, high fiber diet, exclusion of trans fats, avoidance of chronic use of antibiotics, etc.

So I hope that now you can see how treating a tummy ache can prevent an autoimmune disease and save you from cutting out or destroying a gland essential to life.

technorati tags: Yersinia enterocolitica Graves' disease Graves thyroiditis thyroiditis Graves

How Having Hypothyroidism Actually Skews Thyroid Lab Testing: Part I

If you ask the majority of people who were diagnosed with hypothyroidism how they got their diagnosis, I bet their answer will be "because I had a high TSH."

Many more people are being misdiagnosed as not having hypothyroidism because of a "normal" TSH. They are being missed and aren't getting the help they need.

Using TSH testing by itself is a very flawed way of thinking. I've posted before on some of the problems with TSH testing...here's one more.

Hypothyroidism causes a person to make more mucin, which in turn holds onto water. It gets this water from sucking it out of areas that normally need it (like inside of every cell in the body). This is why people with hypothyroidism have a "swollen" look to them. They are retaining water.

So what does this have to do with TSH testing?

Well, one of the structures that swells is the pituitary gland. This is the gland that actually produces TSH to stimulate the thyroid to make thyroid hormones.

When the pituitary swells, it actually blunts the production of TSH.

So when a doctor goes to look at the results of the blood work, the blunted TSH production now falls lower and into the "normal" range. It is the symptoms of hypothyroidism (water retention) that is causing the labs to tell your doctor that according to this test, you do not have hypothyroidism.

Ironic, isn't it?

technorati tags: hypothyroidism pituitary gland TSH TSH testing

How Having Hypothyroidism Actually Skews Thyroid Lab Testing: Part II

In a previous post, I talked about how hypothyroidism causes you to hold onto water and can give you a false reading of thyroid hormone levels. Your doctor could look at these skewed levels on the thyroid lab testing and misdiagnose you as falling into normal ranges in the thyroid hormone levels.

To continue that conversation, we are going to look at another portion of the thyroid panel that doctors often look at that give a false presentation: T4 and T3.

T4 and T3 lab test shows how much T4 and T3 are present in the blood at that instant in time. It does this by looking at the amount of T4 and T3 per volume of blood. Since hypothyroidism causes you to retain water by causing an increased production in mucin, water is sucked out of the blood and into the extracellular matrix.

Now there is a lowered blood volume, but still the same amount of T4 and T3 in the blood stream. This gives you a false reading of the thyroid hormone levels by making the T4 and T3 value seem more elevated than what is actually the case. This might even push the numbers into the normal range, making your doctor believe that everything is normal.

This is one more example that demonstrates the point that thyroid hormone levels through lab analysis need to be interpreted by comparing the results to the additional testing (like for sex hormones, adrenal stress test, nutrient levels, etc), family history, symptoms and physical presentation. This is the only way that the lab results gives any pertinent information.

technorati tags: T4 andT3 thyroid hormone levels

Problems With Your Thyroid and Fast Thinning Hair

Have you seen those commercials where there is a married couple, who happen to be turtles? These turtles like their dial-up and hate fast connecting Internet access...they like it slow.

People with problems with hypothyroidism have bodies that like it slow, although one of the signs is a problematic thyroid and fast thinning hair.

What causes thinning hair in someone with thyroid problems?

A thyroid that is not producing enough thyroid hormone (or more commonly if there is a problem with the conversion and utilization of the hormone itself) will cause almost every cell in the body to slow down. Tissues that have a high turnover rate (hair, skin, lining of your gut) will suffer the most.

This sets up a couple of problems.

First, your hair is in one of three phases: growth (anagen), rest (catagen) or shedding (telogen). Different hairs are in different stages at all time. As long as everything is normal, you will not notice any signs of hair loss (which is a normal, daily occurrence, just check your pillow). When there is a problem with the thyroid and fast thinning hair, it is due to the slow reproduction of new hairs. Now you can start seeing some gaps, but not in one specific location as seen in other forms of hair loss.

Second, other problems associated with hypothyroidism (low volume of blood, dehydration, constipation, toxic overload and malabsorption) can lead to poor physical makeup of the hair itself and lower levels of oils to keep the hair healthy. The hair may seem brittle and unmanageable.

While this is not the only cause for thinning hair, it should always be pursued as a possible cause when the pattern is not a local bald spot. Many men and women are chalking it up to bad genes when they are actually seeing a problem with the thyroid and fast thinning hair.

technorati tags: hypothyroidism what causes thinning hair thyroid and fast thinning hair

Symptoms of Thyroid Problems: The Ultimate Yardstick

What's really important when it comes to diagnosing thyroid problems? Is it the symptoms of thyroid problems, family history and physical presentation, or should more weight be given to TSH, T3, T4?

Before we answer that, let's look at both the patients and the doctor's points of view.

In order for a patient to tell their doctor about their symptoms of thyroid problems, the doctor has to actually spend time with them, as well as actually listen to them.

Well, the #1 problem people have with their doctor is that they do neither, and doctors know it.

So if you go to the doctor and s/he doesn't listen, it must not be important, right?

A patient may subconsciously be persuaded to feel that maybe it isn't that important and take the doctor's word or their actions as reasonable.

What about the doctor. They have to listen to people tell them all their problems all day long. Some are very real, some are blown out of proportion and some are just lies (for money, drugs, sympathy, etc).

Doctors are actually trained that people are liars, so they rely heavily on lab testing (because lab test never lie, right?).

So we end up with both parties feeling that maybe the lab work is the way to go. Not good.

This has huge implications for those with symptoms of thyroid problems. A huge problem of under diagnosis exist for those with thyroid problems when a doctor relies on abnormal or normal TSH as the only marker for thyroid problems. Truth be told, these labs are very inaccurate and serve better as secondary markers for the diagnosis of thyroid problems.

What are far superior ways to assess thyroid problems?

1. symptoms of thyroid problems such as: unexplained weight gain, unmanageable hair or hair loss, depression, fatigue, chronic pain, always being cold, neuropathy, etc.? These are all things that point the finger at thyroid problems.
2. Are these problems common in your family (especially your mother)?
3. Is your body temperature low upon waking?
4. If you do an iodine test, does it show that you are deficient?

To properly make a diagnosis of thyroid problems, you need to leave no stone unturned. Since this hormone affects the rate that every cells works, it can have a wide range of problems (that are not always present). No wonder it's referred to as the "Great Mimicker."

Once the diagnosis is made, it is again the symptoms of thyroid problems and physical presentation that are the ultimate marker of improvement. Lab test are still unreliable and should serve as secondary markers (they do still have a purpose, don't get me wrong).

So here the challenge: changing our current way of thinking. Lab testing is modern, its sexy. Patient history and physical presentation is old school, its blah. Don't be swayed, go with what really works.

technorati tags: symptoms of thyroid problems thyroid problems TSH T4 T3
del.icio.us tags: symptoms of thyroid problems thyroid problems TSH T4 T3

10 Activities That Will Slow Down Weight Loss In Someone With Hypothroidism

In another post I wrote in my squidoo.com account, I wrote about a patient with a missed case of hypothyroidism that was doing what she thought was right to lose weight. Check out her work out regiment to lose weight (which is all too common) despite having hypothyroidism to see if it something you are doing too.

Here is the lessons she (and maybe you) needed to learn to turn it around and being to lose weight permanently:

1. Skipping breakfast: Look at the word breakfast. It is "break" the "fast" by eating food 30 minutes after waking. If you don't, your body goes into starvation mode and stores extra fat in order to survive.


2. Cut calories: If you cut them too low, back into starvation mode.


3. Exercise just after waking: Your cortisol levels are too high in the morning (or they should be), because you first need to "break the fast." It is better to wait till after noon-2:00 to work out. Utilize your hormones, don't do things to disrupt their normal levels.


4. 1 hour of intense exercise: This is too much for intense exercise. You deplete your growth hormone, which is needed to build muscle, which is needed to make your metabolism an efficient burning machine. The extra stress of the exercise increase stress hormone, which also place fat around your abdominal area as a survival mechanism.


5. Purified water: Water is essential to life. Purification gets rid of most of the toxin...which is a good thing, since those things can disrupt thyroid hormone utilization. Unfortunately, it does not filter out fluoride. Fluoride binds to the thyroid hormone where iodine should be bound (in order to convert T4 to T3).


6. Soy: This increases thyroid hormone binding with certain proteins, making the hormone useless. They have also been shown to stimulate goiter formation and antibodies against the thyroid gland (autoimmune disease).


7. High protein diet: Animals are fed chemicals in their food to keep it fresher (blocks thyroid receptors), given soy as food because it is cheap (see #6) and pumped with estrogens in order to beef up (estrogen blocks conversion of T4 to T3)...which is all given to you when you eat those meats.


8. Bottled water: plastics have chemicals that mimic estrogens and can block the conversion of T4 to T3. These are given off from the bottle into the water, especially if it is heated.


9. Salmon: What should be a super food, high levels of mercury and other toxins are bound to the fat in these fish. These toxins block conversion of T4 to T3 and disrupts the thyroid receptors.


10. Broccoli: another super food, but is often times sprayed with pesticides. It also has goitrogens if it is eaten raw, which are known to block the conversion of T4 to T3.
    

There you go. 10 common mistakes that may actually be hindering your goal of weight loss (and all other symptoms of hypothyroidism), even though many professionals may be telling you that is how to lose weight.

Lifestyle changes, when done correctly, can be some of the most powerful solutions to your problems.

technorati tags: T4 T3 lose weight weight loss hypothyroidism

Caution. Armour Thyroid Is Not 100% Safe

I am all for using Armour Thyroid when it is appropriate in hypothyroid cases. When looking to go the medical route, my suggestion would be to start there (but do not rely on this solely...you need to get aggressively conservative as well).

Please note: whenever you are using a hormone replacement, your body is going to react in ways that are not always desired (AKA side effects of Armour Thyroid).

Some of the side effects of Armour Thyroid are not so pleasant...and they aren't that obvious to pick up on till it's usually too late.

With that being said, people are getting amazing results with Armour Thyroid when they are hypothyroid. Knowing about the possible side effects of Armour Thyroid and how to manage them will make the treatment that much more successful, as well as cut down on the risk greatly.

I let one person on a hypothyroid forum know about this in much greater detail, so I figured I would share it with you as well. Click on the link to find out more.

technorati tags: side effects of Armour Thyroid Armour Thyroid hypothyroid

Normal TSH, Low Thyroid Hormone. Is This Rare?

On a recent forum post, there was a question about a normal TSH and low thyroid hormone. This person wanted to know if this is common and should they go to another doctor. Here was my reply:

"Great question...and it is not a rare occurrence.
Here are some things you need to first know, and then better assess your situation.

What was the level of your TSH? Normal TSH means different things for different doctors, and labs have different ranges for "normal" as well. Also remember that "normal" is based on averages from a large population of people and abnormal is people that are a certain percentage outside of that. What really matters is what is normal TSH is for you...those other numbers are just a good guideline.

There are internal and external influences that can affect your hormone levels. For instance, woman begin to get worse symptoms when they have a flux in their estrogen (menstrual cycle) which influences their thyroid hormone production and utilization. The same can be said for people during winter months, or if they have a problem with their detoxification system, or if they are eating a lot of soy (there are tons of "or ifs"). The key to remember is this: Lab test are a snapshot of how your body was doing at that specific point in time. It can be completely different hours, days, and weeks later.

And you are right, going just by TSH is a very poor way to asses the situation. Even if it is low, it is still a poor way to asses the situation. There are too many questions that need to be answered to make a confident diagnosis and treat one way or another.

I would find another doctor (you should thank your original doctor for referring you once s/he realized it was out of his/her realm), but go into it prepared. There are plenty of studies that show a person who understands their condition will have significantly greater improvements over those who do not. If you know ahead of time the right questions to ask, you can sort of "interview" your doctor to make sure s/he knows how to properly manage the situation. You will be surprised at who knows what."

technorati tags: normal TSH Low thyroid hormone

So You Have a Normal TSH, SO WHAT!

I found a question in a forum about hypothyroidism that the person was having issues with their hair, blood pressure, triglycerides, irregular menstrual cycles, dry skin, fatigue, low sex drive, and weight gain. They were told that it was not a thyroid issue since ther was a normal TSH. Here was my response:

"Your doctor found a normal TSH. What does that mean?

Say the average American shovels 10 pounds of snow per week (which I just made up). I live in Florida and never shoveled snow in my life, am I abnormal? If you live
in Alaska, maybe some shovel 100 pounds of snow per week. Or maybe don't shovel
any at all because it would be a worthless task since it snows all the time. Are
both abnormal? I would guess that most Americans shovel more snow during the
winter than summer, so are they normal only when the weather is just right to
shovel 10 pounds of snow per week.

Lab analysis is a snapshot in time. You may show as borderline hypothyroid one day, normal the next. There are many factors that can influence your lab results.

Many people get a diagnosis of a normal TSH when they are actually borderline
hypothyroid, but because of the test they get no treatment. Well some
doctor's borderline hypothyroid is well into another doctors definate
hypothyroid. Why? Because some doctors have such a broad spectru of
what they consider normal TSH.

It would be similar to trying to chose a NBA center for your basketball team,
but saying anyone from 4 feet tall to 8 feet tall would be OK, or anything
between .3 and 5 is normal TSH and is OK. That's just not so.

TSH is a useful marker, but is limited in what it tells you about the
person's thyroid gland, hormone production, conversion and
utilization. It is only a piece of the puzzle.

By your explanation of your symptoms and presentation, there is something
going on. While many of the issues point to some sort of problem with your
thyroid or thyroid hormones, they may be secondary problems that are being
influenced by some other problem. So while treatment for your borderline hypothyroid (in this hypothetical case) may very well be warranted, you would also need to address the underlying problem.

Bottom line is this: there is something going on that needs to be addressed. You need to get educated yourself, as well as find a doctor that is capable of solving the problem and giving the appropriate treatment.

Using limited testing to find a problem is a poor way to locate the problem. Get more than a "normal TSH" for testing.

Also, throwing one specific drug or nutrient at a label (also known as a diagnosis) is a very poor way to treat.

You need to find the problem, and then do everything that is needed to solve that
problem."

technorati tags: borderline hypothyroid, normal TSH

Do You Feel Depressed Because of a Depressed Thyroid?

"I just had my heart broke"

"I can't get my head right"

"I can feel it in the pit of my stomach"

"My low thyroid hormone has got me down?"

It's well accepted that when you feel depressed, it can affect your body in a way that you can just feel. But what is a little less known is that parts of your body can affect your level of depression.

One example is when you have thyroid problems or low thyroid hormone. The thyroid gland is found in your neck and releases hormones that affect every cell in your body. Its main purpose is to control the rate at which the cell works. When there are thyroid problems and low thyroid hormone output is the result, there may not be enough hormone to crank up the cells in your brain. Those cells then act a little sluggish.

How does a sluggish brain make me feel depressed?

There is an area of your brain called your prefrontal cortex. From an evolutionary standpoint, this is a relatively "new" part of the brain. It is the area that makes us human.

One of the jobs of the prefrontal cortex is to suppress our animalistic portion of our brain (limbic system). If this part of the brain is not working as well as it should, your animalistic brain is allowed to take over. This is why some people with low thyroid hormone feel depressed, agitated, anxious, aggressive or feel like they are in a brain fog.

While doing brain specific exercises, eating brain friendly foods and supplementing brain supporting nutrients are all excellent ideas for treating depression (and should be implemented as part of your aggressively conservative plan of attack), you need to address the root of the problem in order to achieve long term success. Identifying where the breakdown in the thyroid hormone production and utilization is absolutely necessary to effectively treat a person with thyroid problems or low thyroid hormone.

technorati tags: feel depressed low thyroid hormone thyroid problems