Mother Thucking Thyroid

...what was it I was going to say? Oh, I forgot!

Fog brain is just one of the symptoms of Low Thyroid

There is actually so many symptoms, so many it's hard to actually pin point the issue. It doesn't help that most of the doctors can't identify it either. Looking back there was so many warning signs, literally slapping me in the face, but the Doc said it was depression.

14 years later I am still hooked on anti-depressants, and although I am the happiest I have ever been... the withdrawal symptoms are too much to handle.

Oh yeh, thyroid - I digress (I do that a lot)

So what else comes with the joy of having low thyroid? Here's some more symptoms:

• Weight Gain - this is the most talked about symptom, but the most abused excuse too

• Water Retention - this can coincides with the above but warrants more of an excuse

• Slow digestion & constipation - again can coincide with weight gain

• Slowing of metabolism - again ... weight gain

• Pure exhaustion - feeling fatigued

• Thinning of hair

• Carpel Tunnel - aka sausage fingers - only had this twice myself, wasn't fun!

• Low Blood Pressure

• Menstrual Rollercoaster

• Fertility Issues

• Feeling sore - muscles & joints

• Feeling cold

• Heartburn

• Bloating

• Mental health issues

The sciency bit - When you have hypothyroidism, your body makes too little of the thyroid hormones T3 and T4.

So, have a few of the above symptoms, how do you find out if you have in fact got low thryoid.

1. Ask the doc to do a thyroid test, actually don't ask, insist

2. Get your thyroid test results - don't accept 'normal' or 'border line' ask for the actual numbers of what they have tested

(Make sure your doctor doesn't just test TSH - Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. To get a better picture you need T4 ... if you wanna pay for it or go private go the whole hog and get all the hormones checked but it is highly unlikely to get any more than the TSH & T4 for free)

Once you've got your results - cross reference to the table above (ranges are different for children and during pregnancy)

If you are diagnosed as borderline - keep getting tested. Everyones levels are different and regularly fluctuate - so what might be borderline for you may not be for someone else.

From there - if you still have issues and you're not identifying as having low-thyroid within the guidelines of the table above, perhaps seek a private test to test the other hormones if you haven't already.

NOTE - having low thyroid isn't the full diagnosis - low thyroid is the result of when the thyroid gland fails to produce enough hormones. Hypothyroidism may be due to a number of factors, including: Autoimmune disease. The most common cause of hypothyroidism is an autoimmune disorder known as Hashimoto's thyroiditis. I have had low thryoid (diagnosed) for 7 years now and I still haven't been given a test for hashimoto's or been supported to try and reach a full diagnosis. If you have low-thyroid and on medication which is still not helping you ... perhaps it's time to dig deeper.

Unfortunately, there is minimal support ... I've looked. But I am always happy to answer questions as best I can based on my own experiences.

xx