Greenville SC Thyroid Clinic Shares 5 Signs You Might Have Low Thyroid
Are you concerned about low thyroid due to a family history of thyroid issues or advancing age? It’s smart to have thyroid function properly evaluated, because thyroid problems do often go undetected. Often there are no signs, or symptoms may be so subtle, they either go unnoticed or are attributed to something else entirely.
Although every individual is unique and you may experience your own unique set of thyroid symptoms or health effects, there are signs to watch for. People who have low thyroid commonly experience weight gain, fatigue, joint pain or stiffness, difficulties with sleep and low libido.
If you’re gaining weight and you can’t attribute it to a change in diet or lifestyle, it could reflect a thyroid condition. This is especially true if you’ve tried following a careful diet and are exercising more in an effort to lose weight with no results. A sudden, seemingly inexplicable weight gain does have a reason, and it could be due to a problem with your thyroid.
People who have low thyroid often experience signs of a sluggish metabolism. This is the case with weight gain, and also low libido and fatigue. If you’ve noticed you’re more fatigued than usual with the same level of activity, it could be an indication of low thyroid. Fatigue can creep up on you slowly or relatively quickly. It may start out as an apparent need for an extra cup of coffee in the afternoon, and progress to the point where you’re barely able to function at the end of the work day. An occasional night of insufficient sleep, a few days of an extra heavy workload or a busier than usual schedule are things you should be able to recover from relatively quickly. Fatigue that lingers or intensifies should be checked out.
Joint pain or stiffness that results from a thyroid problem can perplex individuals suffering with it as well as their health care providers. People attribute joint discomfort to everything from suspected arthritis to a bad mattress. But like other thyroid symptoms, it’s a sign of an underlying problem within the body that needs to be addressed. If you’ve been taking over the counter pain relievers for joint pain, or you’re trying to address the discomfort of stiffness in other ways, seek a comprehensive thyroid evaluation.
Sleep disturbances are among the most frustrating and even devastating symptoms of a low thyroid condition. Low thyroid patients may have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. Just a few nights of poor sleep can have a profound negative effect on your health, including cognitive function. Sleeping pills are not the solution.
A functional wellness practitioner can give you the benefit of the type of full evaluation thyroid symptoms and conditions demand. It’s always better for health problems to be addressed sooner rather than later. It’s possible you may be able to improve your condition without the need for medication if you do have a thyroid problem, especially if it’s properly managed early on.
