Hypothyroidism Diet Info

Symptoms that may indicate Hypothyroidism

In an earlier post I touched upon what hypothyroidism is and some of the common causes such as the autoimmune disease, Hashimoto Thyroiditis or thyroid cancer. This time we’re going to take a hard look at the symptoms of hypothyroidism and when you should seek medical advice.

An underactive thyroid can lead to a number of thyroid disease symptoms that you can suffer from. The issue is that hypothyroid symptoms sometimes go unnoticed or are taken for granted. To most they may seem innocuous at first. However as time goes by, your thyroid reduces its production of hormones and your metabolism slows down, causing these symptoms to become more and more severe should you ignore your thyroid condition and choose not to get proper thyroid treatment such as a thyroid hormone replacement therapy.

It’s a Slow Process

It can take years for the symptoms of hypothyroidism to manifest themselves fully but once they have started they require a thyroid treatment such as a daily dose of a synthetic thyroid medication.

The following is a list of some of the more common, noticeable symptoms of hypothyroidism…

• Fatigue
• Low blood pressure
• Unexplained weight gain or difficulty in losing weight
• Constipation
• Sluggishness
• Depression
• Decreased libido
• Memory loss, loss of mental cognition or difficulty concentrating
• Increased sensitivity to cold
• Pale, dry skin
• elevated cholesterol levels
• Muscle aches, tenderness and stiffness
• Pain, stiffness or swelling in your joints
• Muscle weakness
• Heavier than normal menstrual periods
• Brittle fingernails and hair or hair loss

Listen to What Your Body is Telling You

Now, depending on how abnormal your thyroid levels are you may experience any or all of these hypothyroidism symptoms. It’s important to be in tune with your body and what it’s trying to tell you. If you are suffering from any of these symptoms then you may be suffering from a low thyroid.

Neither thyroid disease nor the symptoms of hypothyroidism are something to be taken lightly as they can seriously affect your health. Goiters (an enlargement of the thyroid gland) can occur when the thyroid is bombarded with requests to make hormones that it cannot deliver on. This happens when the pituitary gland overproduces TSH trying to get the thyroid to create more of its hormones. In rare situations if this condition is left untreated, life threatening complications can occur such as depression, coma or heart failure. This is due in large part to a condition known as Myxedema.

Myxedema affects the skin and subcutaneous tissue under the skin. The common characteristics of this symptom are puffiness around the face and eyes. It is a thickening of the skin caused by prolonged untreated hypothyroidism that can eventually result in a loss of brain function known as Myxedema Coma. As much as I hate to leave this post on a low note, it is extremely important to know and understand the symptoms of hypothyroidism and the increased risk factors that can arise from leaving it untreated.

There is Hope!

There is good news however, once diagnosed, an underactive thyroid can be successfully treated and you can lead a healthy and normal life.

Finally once your thyroid levels are under control and you’ve experienced a reduction of the symptoms of hypothyroidism you can then begin to think about a hypothyroidism diet and exercise program for weight loss.

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