Symptoms of Hypothyroidism

When I first heard about Thyroid diseases, I was sitting in the doctor’s office. She asked me if I had any temperature intolerances and if I was overly tired. I told her that I was often cold when others weren’t and that I was usually tired, but I thought it was normal since I was trying to balance sports, school and friends. Doctor K. told me that my thyroid felt a little big and I have some symptoms of Thyroid Disease. She recommended me to an endocrinologist.
Before seeing the endocrinologist, Dr. S., I had to get blood work done to test my TH levels and I needed a sonogram so they could measure my thyroid more precisely. On my first visit into the endocrinologist, she asked me the same questions as the Doctor K. Doctor S. also asked me if I was noticing that my hair was falling out or if my skin seemed excessively dry. She felt around my neck and measured my thyroid. Afterwards, she told me about Hashimoto’s Disease, a type of Hypothyroidism, and put me on Synthroid to help balance my TH levels. Hypothyroidism is when your thyroid gland is enlarged. According to M. Sara Rosenthal, “your thyroid often enlarges because it’s inflamed-especially if you have Hashimoto’s Disease” (37).
The Thyroid Sourcebook, by M. Sara Rosenthal, states that hypothyroidism has eighteen symptoms; I will be discussing the most common ones in detail and listing most the others. People, who have Hypothyroidism, often find that there are many cardiovascular changes that occur. Their pulse is usually slow, they either have too high or too low blood pressure, and a more severe, prolonged case of hypothyroidism could raise the cholesterol levels. People with this disease also find themselves cold much of the time, due to your body trying to conserve heat by diverting the blood away from your skin (Rosenthal, 36).
Digestive changes and weight gain are associated with hypothyroidism. This is because “the lack of thyroid hormone slows down your metabolism, you main gain weight, but because your appetite may decrease radically, your weight often stays the same” (Rosenthal, 36). People who have hypothyroidism also suffer from fatigue and sleepiness. Their hair may become thinner, dry and brittle, or they may experience hair loss. There are also skin changes that can occur. The skin may become dry and coarse, cracked at knees and elbows, or may take on a yellowish tint due to the buildup of carotene. Carotene usually gets converted into vitamin A. However, hypothyroidism slows down this conversion (Rosenthal, 37).
Other symptoms include depression and psychiatric misdiagnosis, fingernail brittleness, hives, menstrual cycle changes, milky discharges from breasts, muscle aches and cramps, numbness and tendency to develop carpal tunnel syndrome. Children can get a stunt of growth, people can develop poor memory and concentration, and the enlarged thyroid can affect your vocal chords making your voice change (Rosenthal, 39).
In the next blog, I will talk about causes and treatments of Hypothyroidism.

I got my information for this blog from the book, The Thyroid Sourcebook, written by M. Sara Rosenthal.