Let’s continue our discussion of hypothyroidism or low thyroid, a situation that develops when the body does not get enough thyroid hormones.
We talked about common symptoms of low thyroid, such as fatigue, gaining weight, feeling colder than others, dry skin, excessive hair loss, constipation, depression and mental fog. Most doctors, when hearing these symptoms, will think of low thyroid.
But there are symptoms that are less well known. There are so many that I will need two lectures to mention all of them. Today is lecture one of the 2 lecture series about low thyroid symptoms.
It will be easier to understand why there are so many symptoms if you remember that every cell, every organ needs enough thyroid hormone to produce energy, so they can function properly. The hallmark of low thyroid is that there is not enough free T3 available. The result is that every part of the body slows down and will show it, but in a different way. In other words, every organ becomes more sluggish, and depending on what that organ does, it will produce a different set of symptoms. This is why there are literally dozens of them.
One more important thing about the symptoms is that while every organ and tissue suffer from low thyroid, some organs produce more symptoms, while other produce fewer or none at all. That’s why nobody has all the symptoms I am going to mention. People may have a few, or many, but not all.
Another important thing is that there is no symptom that is diagnostic of low thyroid, in other words there is no one symptom that only people with low thyroid have. Each of the low thyroid symptoms may happen in people who have other conditions, not just hypothyroidism. It’s the combination of symptoms, the overall picture that helps us make the diagnosis.
Keep in mind that hypothyroidism does not happen suddenly. It can, if a person had her thyroid removed or destroyed by radiation, in which case thyroid stops working right away. But usually, like in Hashimoto’s, the symptoms develop gradually and slowly, over many months and even years. That’s why the patient doesn’t immediately notice the changes and slowly gets used to the “new normal”. Typically, it takes a long time for things to become really bad, when a patient realizes that something is wrong and starts noticing the symptoms. Many people don’t even get to this point, they think they are OK and are discovered by a routine blood test.
I’ve mentioned the common symptoms before, so I’ll just go over them quickly.
The most common and the most familiar symptom is general fatigue. A patient wakes up tired even after 7-8 hours of sleep, and even a small exertion will make her tired.
Because heat production is reduced, another common symptom is feeling colder than others and intolerance to cold. A person notices that she needs another layer of clothes to be comfortable. Your body temperature may be 1, 2 even 3 degrees below normal.
Weight gain is common. If you eat about the same amount of food but burn less of it, more of it will stay in your body as fat. It’s sort of like if you start spending less but earning the same, your bank account will get larger.
Constipation is a common symptom, depression is another and so is high cholesterol.
These symptoms are common but remember that every organ and tissue produce their own symptoms. The underlying cause is the same - reduced metabolic activity, reduced energy production.
I will now go through the body from top to button and see what symptoms different parts of the body produce. I’ll have 2 lectures about the symptoms because there are so many. I’ll start at the top, the head, with hair and skin, then move to the brain, eyes, ears and mouth. I will cover the other organs in the next lecture.
Skin may be pale and puffy. Puffiness is the result of water accumulation because the kidneys and the heart are not working optimally. Puffiness may be under the eyes, or in the whole face, or hands and ankles. In some patients there is a yellow discoloration of the skin, almost like jaundice. Some people may develop irritation, like in psoriasis or eczema.
There is less sweating or no sweating at all. Hair follicles do not work properly, so hair becomes coarse and brittle, and there is a lot of hair loss on the head, on the body and the outer third of the eyebrow.
Brain and nervous system. Brain performs many different functions, conscious and unconscious. Conscious cognitive functions include thinking, decision making, mood and so on. Brain also controls autonomic unconscious functions that we don’t think about, like heart beats, how often you take a breath, your blood pressure. It also regulated hormones through hypothalamus and pituitary. Nerves control muscle movements, they also make it possible to feel things like touch, pain, temperature, and other things.
People with hypothyroidism often have depression, lack of motivations, lack of desire to do anything, low interest in anything that is going on. Planning and decision-making get worse. There is a tendency to procrastinate. There is mental fog, memory gets worse, sometimes so bad that symptoms can get confused with dementia.
There can be sleep problems, from sleeping too much, to insomnia and sleep apnea.
Nerves can get damaged, developing neuropathy, pain, burning, tingling, numbness, usually in hands and feet. Restless leg syndrome and carpal tunnel syndrome can develop.
Eyes. Because of reduced activity of tear glands (lacrimal glands), there is lack of lubrication, which causes dryness, so eyes feel dry and gritty. The white of the eyes may be irritated. There may be a swelling or puffiness around the eyes. Blurry vision or even double vision may develop. And there may be drooping of the eyelids and increased sensitivity to light.
Ears can develop a few problems. There may be a feeling of fullness or clogged ears like when you fly in an airplane. There may be ringing in the ears or buzzing or some other noises. This is called tinnitus. Sometimes there is a complete hearing loss. People become more prone to ear infections. And there may be a feeling of lightheadedness or even dizziness because of the vestibular apparatus that is located in the inner each ear.
Mouth symptoms are several. Low thyroid leads to reduced production of saliva, which can give a feeling of dry mouth. But that’s not the worst of it. Saliva contains immune elements that protect the mouth from inflammation and infections. Without enough saliva there can be mouth sores, gingivitis, periodontal disease, gum inflammation, cavities, and bad breath.
Healing may take longer after a dental procedure, like a tooth extraction. There may be bone loss in the jaw.
Tongue can become enlarged because of swelling. Most of the time it’s a mild swelling and can be seen only as teeth marks on the tongue. But in more severe cases it can interfere with speaking and eating. Some people complain that their sense of taste has changed, the food tastes differently.
In this lecture I have briefly gone over the common symptoms and described the symptoms of low thyroid in hair, skin, brain, eyes, ears and mouth. I’ll continue the travel through the body in the next lecture. I’ll start with the heart and go all the way down to reproductive organs and immune system.
If you know someone who might be interested in low thyroid, please refer them to LowThyroidDoctor.com so they can download this ebook. Also, if you have questions or comments, please email to DrTeplisky@gmail.com.
As an additional bonus, while available, you can get a free, no obligation 30 min phone consultation with me to see if I can help you figure out if you have low thyroid and what I can do to help you. Just book it online or call my office at 718-769-0997.