The thyroid and how it functions within the body involves a cascade of events that commence in the brain and target the cells. This all happens before your body acknowledges how your thyroid is functioning.
If we only look at the symptoms, it may seem like the thyroid is a problem… but like anything we need to ask, is it actually the root cause? How do we know which part in the chain is dysfunctional? Symptoms can often be non- specific in nature, and everything in the body affects everything else- its a closed system!
There are many factors that affect the thyroid, some of which include adrenaline, cortisol, insulin, calcitrol to name a few… its complex, and I don’t want to lose you, so here is the pre cede version of events.
Our body talks to us all the time, but often we don’t pay attention to it, you know its inconvenient and life prevails… until it stops us in our tracks!
But here are some of the things to be aware of for hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism…
Hypothyroid signs and symptoms:
Sluggish Achilles tendon reflex- with your toes over the edge of the bed ask someone to tap your achilles
Your skin is dry, pale or cracked
Your hair has become coarse, dry and/or thinning
The hair on the rest of your body is thinning, particularly the outer third of your eyebrow
You feel cold, have a low body temperature and/or have cold hands and feet
Not sweating so much
Your eyes feel dry
An enlarged tongue
Slow or irregular heartbeat
Unexplained weight gain , particularly around your middle that you cant seem to get rid of
Altered digestion, may lead to constipation
Unexplained muscular and joint aches and pain
Numbness and tingling in your fingers and toes
Thin, brittle, or ridged fingernails
Oedema / water retention/ swelling, especially around the eyes and in the ankles
Irregular menstruation or excessively heavy periods
Infertility/ PCOS/ low libido
Fatigue (mental and physical) and lethargy
Sluggish movement, even of eyelids, or diminished reaction time
Depression or low mood or lack of motivation
Brain fog, difficulty concentrating or memory loss
Hyperthyroid signs and symptoms:
Can’t gain weight no matter what you try or you have unexplained weight loss
Separation of the nail from the nail bed at the top of the finger, especially for the ring finger and pinkie
A goiter
Eyes that appear as though they bulge out from the eye sockets
Intolerance for heat- often causing irritability
Excessive sweating
Excessive bowel movements, which may seem a bit like diarrhoea
Osteopenia, osteoporosis and increased risk of bone fracture
Tremors, palpitations or inward trembling
Poor fertility
Insomnia
Anxiety and nervousness
If you have 4 or more symptoms in either list, it is worth exploring further to determine if your thyroid is the root cause of your health issues- you will need to get some testing done to confirm this, either via your GP pr privately.
You should note that having ‘normal’ TSH and T4, doesn’t mean that your cells are receiving enough T3- so you may still have low thyroid symptoms.
Also remember that stress has a huge influence on your thyroid, so if you can reduce your stress, this has a positive effect on thyroid function- the immune system which adapts to stressors may also be boosting TSH and T4 so they appear normal, but actually are masking low function.
Your system is being overly stressed and getting mixed/ incorrect signals, which in the longer term will lead to a bigger issue.
What tests should you get?
Your thyroid is interconnected with many parts of the body, so a full thyroid test will help determine if your thyroid is functioning well throughout the system. Tests you should look into are:
TSH
Free T4
Free T3
Reverse T3
Antibodies (Ab, TPO, TG, TSHR, TR) are also helpful.
Most doctors will only check the TSH and maybe the T4 levels in your blood- they are checking that your pituitary is sending the right message to the thyroid and that the thyroid is producing enough of the inactive hormone. But this isn’t the whole picture. If your GP won’t order your tests- here is a good starting point for private and affordable testing.
Other things that affect your results are: if thyroid binding globulin production increases in the liver, it binds to T3 and T3, so they are not ‘free’ and useable the cells, the T3 receptors in cells may reduce their acceptance of T3, and the antibodies there to support immunity, may be slowly attacking your thyroid.
So some further tests may benefit you if your thyroid is sub optimally performing:
Low blood B12- B12 deficiency is linked with dysfunctional thyroid.
High blood cholesterol, and triglycerides- low thyroid hormone levels increase TSH and cholesterol levels
White blood cell count- lowered levels of WBC, with increased inflammatory markers.
Hypertension
Anaemia
Low blood iron levels
High phosphorus and low sodium levels
So some further tests may benefit you if your thyroid is over performing:
Calcium levels- high calcium can affect kidneys (kidney stones), constipation and muscle weakness.
Elevated HbA1c, fasting glucose and insulin levels
High ferritin
Liver function- high levels of liver functioning enzymes
Low blood pressure
Low cholesterol and triglycerides
Anaemia- low Hb and Hct
Low white blood cell count
Your GP can read the results and will tell you what your range is, and whether you are ‘normal’.
The good news is if your TSH and T4 levels are normal, you don’t have thyroid antibodies and are not on hormone treatment, then the thyroid may be OK!
However, if TSH is off then your pituitary gland sends signals to either increase or decreases production. If T4 is off the thyroid is either doing too much or not enough. If T3 is low and reverse t3 is high, then liver, gut, brain and muscles are not readily converting T4 to T3. If T3 is high this indicates hyperthyroidism. If theres no issues with the tests, but you have symptoms, then your cells may not be taking the T3 on board- reverse T3 may be inhibiting it.
If your thyroid is off then what can you do?
See your GP or get some private tests to help you figure out exactly where the problem in the system is.
Check out my previous BLOG about things you can do to support your thyroid.
Hire a health and wellness practitioner (like me!) who can help you figure out what is happening in your body and giving you personalised support and suggestions on how to facilitate a positive change.
References
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(11)61568-1/pdf
http://www.thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/About_Us/study-report-5.01.12.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30224316
https://academic.oup.com/bmb/article/99/1/39/298307
https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/99/3/923/2537300
https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/thyroid-disease
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8051643
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23998691
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3113168/
Disclaimer: It is obviously important to be assessed by a physician who can make a diagnosis. This is not intended to provide medical advice or to take the place of medical advice and treatment from your personal physician. Readers are advised to consult their own doctors regarding the assessment of medical conditions, so as there is no misunderstanding or misuse of the information provided and discussed here- this is for information purposes only.
Please reach out or enquire if you need more support and guidance.
