Thyroid 101

Ann Clark RDH

The thyroid regulates many things, among them are your body’s teemperature, metabolism and heart beat. What causes the thyroid to go haywire? It could be genetics, an autoimmune attack, pregnancy, stress, nutrient deficiencies or toxins in the environment.The following are signs of thyroid disfunction:

1) Exhaustion– fatigue is the number 1 sign: feeling tired and no energy are strongly linked to hypothroidism. Too little hormone in your bloodstream and cells mean your muscles aren’t getting the “get GOing” signal.
2) Depressed– low hormone impacts seratonin in the brain
3) Anxious/jittery– anxiety and “feeling wired” indicate too much hormone causing your metabolism and body to feel hyper: your heart can feel fluttery as your it skips a beat
4) Appetite and taste buds are altered- overactive: increased appetite is offset by the higher metabolism so no weight gain occurs. underactive: changes sense of taste and smell
5)Fuzzy brain– hyper: hard to connect hypo: forgetful and “foggy”
6)loss of interest in sex– hypo: contributes to low libido as does the weight gain, low energy, body aches and pains associated with it.
7) Dry skin– change of texture and appearance is from slow metabolism. You also sweat less and nail are brittle and develop ridges.
8)Unpredictable bowls- hypo: constipation hyper: frequent movements or diarrhea
9)Changes to your period– hypo: longer cycle, heavier flow and closer together hyper: short cycle, farther apart and very light.
10)Pain in extremities or muscles– indicates hypo: overtime low hormone can damage the neves sending signals= unexplained twinges and tingles.
11)HBP- hypo: 2-3x increased risk to develop
12)Body temperature regulation- hypo: feeling cold or chills=less energy is being burned by the cells so we have less heat hyper: cells are in overdrive so you feel warm or sweaty
13)Sound hoarse or feel a lump in your throat, a change in your voice or lump is a sign of disorder
14)Sleep issues- hypo: sleep all the time hyper: hard to fall asleep or wake during the night
15)Weight- hypo: gain hyper: loss
16)Hair Cycle interruption- hypo: dry, loss or brittle, hyper: thinning hair on your head only
17)Pregnancy issues- difficulty conceiving is linked to higher risk of undiagnosed thyroid issues.
18)High Cholesterol– high levels of bad cholesterol can be caused by underactive thyroid. Untreated hypothyroid can lead to heart problems including enlarged heart or heart failure.