Is It Your Thyroid? Top Symptoms of Dysfunction
Far too many women are dealing with thyroid dysfunction- often without even knowing it.
Which means they’re often left feeling miserable every day and aren’t getting the help they need.
They might bring up some of their symptoms to their doctor only to be told something like:
“You’re a mom now, so that’s normal.”
”Try eating less and exercising more.”
”But your labs are normal.” (Even though they only checked your TSH which isn’t even a thyroid hormone!)
The truth? If you’re not feeling your best on a daily basis, you might want to look into your thyroid function. Read through to find out if it’s an area worth exploring for you.
Here are 6 of the most common symptoms of thyroid dysfunction:
1) Feeling exhausted
Fatigue is a top sign of thyroid dysfunction, namely sluggish activity (i.e. hypothyroidism).
The thyroid gland controls the metabolism, which is basically all of the processes that make and supply the body with energy.
Feeling chronically tired is not normal (despite it being normalized) and is a top cue to assess the thyroid as well as other areas that impact it like nutrition, stress, gut health, and more.
(The flip side: Anxiety, restlessness, and insomnia are common symptoms of excess thyroid activity- i.e. hyperthyroidism.)
2) Always being cold
The thyroid acts like the metabolic thermostat- it regulates body temperature.
Internal heat = energy!
Feeling intolerant to cold temperatures, always needing multiple layers or blankets, having cold hands and feet, and not sweating even when it's hot or during exercise are signs of decreased thyroid activity.
The flip side: Always feeling hot and/or excessively sweating are common symptoms of hyperthyroidism.
3) Having little appetite
There's a lot to unpack with this one- mostly the fact that we've been incorrectly taught that hunger is bad and something we should suppress or ignore, especially for the sake of making our bodies smaller.
The reality is that so many women have been doing this and/or under-eating for so long that their appetites are now down-regulated due to sluggish thyroid and metabolic function.
Having a robust appetite is a sign of efficient energy production and usage by the body.
Meaning having zero to none points to inefficient energy.
The flip side: An insatiable appetite is a common symptom of hyperthyroidism.
4) Losing hair
Some minor hair shedding is pretty normal actually but excessive hair loss is a red flag. It has many potential root causes but the first place to look should be the thyroid and metabolism.
Hair growth is dependent on energy so when there's an abundance for the body, hair thrives.
When the body is in survival mode, it wants to get rid of what requires energy but isn't vital for keeping you alive (including hair). Blood flow can also be impacted, meaning less nutrients brought to nourish follicles.
Prolonged shedding, thinning, breakage, dryness, and slow growth can be tied to decreased thyroid function.
The flip side: Hyperthyroidism can also cause hair loss but not always. Excessively oily scalp/skin can also occur.
5) Not pooping every day
This one comes as a surprise to so many women but constipation- not eliminating your bowels at least once every day- is a problem and even a root cause itself. (This is how the body gets rid of wastes and toxins, including excess hormones like estrogen).
Digestion is a metabolic process that requires sufficient energy. Constipation (and other symptoms like reflux, bloating, and gas) is a sign of slowed digestion.
Over time, sluggish digestion can lead to other gut issues like growth of parasites and other pathogens, liver and gallbladder dysfunction, and more which can make symptoms worse.
The flip side: Too-frequent bowel movements and/or diarrhea are common symptoms of hyperthyroidism.
6) Unexplained weight gain/struggles to lose weight
It’s absolutely true that your weight does not dictate how healthy you are. Sometimes, weight gain allows for improved health. But when weight gain does not correlate with improved symptoms and feels unnatural and even out of your control, it can signal underlying thyroid dysfunction.
If your body is having trouble making energy, it will want to conserve whatever you have. Metabolism slows, fat storage increases, and muscle tissue decreases. This doesn’t mean something is wrong with you— and it definitely doesn’t mean you’re lazy or should just eat less and exercise more. It means your body is just doing what it knows how to do in order to protect and keep you safe.
In fact, all symptoms are just communication from your body. They are signs that something is amiss and your body is taking action to try to stay in balance. You have more power to help yourself than you may have been lead to believe.