5 Common Warning Signs of an Underactive Thyroid

Your thyroid hormones regulate important bodily functions: They affect growth, metabolism, reproduction, and mood. If they’re out of balance, one or more crucial systems can go awry. 

Our board-certified nurse practitioner, Letrice Mason, at Her Down There, understands the critical role the thyroid plays in women’s health. This small gland at the front of your neck produces two key hormones. If your body doesn’t produce a sufficient amount of these hormones, you have an underactive thyroid, affecting several systems, from digestion to your bones and joints. The condition is called hypothyroidism.  

Who’s at risk for hypothyroidism? 

You’re most at risk for hypothyroidism if you’re a woman who’s past menopause. The female reproductive hormone estrogen drops precipitously during menopause. Estrogen levels affect thyroid hormone levels. After menopause, women are at increased risk of developing this thyroid disorder because of the tremendous fluctuation in hormones. 

Signs of hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism can develop slowly over a number of years. You might think feeling extra tired and gaining a significant amount of weight is just your fate after menopause, but that’s not true. Following are 5 common symptoms of hypothyroidism. If any of these describe you, call our office for an appointment. A simple blood test tells us whether you have an underactive thyroid. 

Chronic fatigue 

Do you feel fatigued much of the time? Perhaps you just don’t have the energy to go shopping, clean the house, or run errands — all normal daily activities. It’s normal to feel tired after vigorous exercise, but if you’re tired after you’ve slept all night, something’s amiss, and it could be thyroid disease. 

Your thyroid gland controls your metabolism by producing hormones that affect how your body uses energy. When your thyroid doesn’t produce sufficient hormones, your metabolism becomes sluggish, making you feel tired. 

Feeling tired can be attributable to a number of health conditions. That’s why it’s important to check your thyroid to see if it’s the culprit behind your chronic fatigue. 

Unexplained weight gain 

Have you gained weight even though you’re eating normally and going to the gym or getting enough exercise in other ways? Unexplained weight gain is another hallmark of hypothyroidism. Your body isn’t burning energy effectively. Your slow metabolism is the reason the numbers on the bathroom scale are rising. 

Joint pain 

When your metabolism slows down, fluid accumulates in your joints. It harms your soft tissue, causing inflammation and pain. 

Your thyroid not only regulates metabolism; the hormones it produces also aid bone and cartilage growth. A deficiency in these hormones can affect your joint health, causing pain and weakness. If you have osteoarthritis, it could worsen joint pain. 

Dry, brittle, and thinning hair 

You’ve always been proud of your hair — until now. Once lustrous and thick, it’s now dry, brittle, and worst of all, it appears to be thinning. Why is this happening?

Your hair grows in stages. Hypothyroidism can curtail the growth phase, leaving more hair in a resting stage, which eventually turns to a shedding phase. You’re shedding a greater volume of hair. 

Inability to tolerate cold temperatures

Do you feel cold all the time, even when others are comfortable in the same room? Do you need a space heater in the office when no one else does? 

Feeling cold even when others aren’t is a common symptom of hypothyroidism. Your sluggish metabolic rate slows your body’s ability to generate heat; your body temperature drops. 

We provide effective treatment for hypothyroidism. If you don’t feel up to par anymore, call or message Her Down There for an appointment. We provide state-of-the-art women’s health care at our Houston, Texas, office and telehealth appointments through our office in Arlington, Texas.