How Your Period Problems, PMS, and Pregnancy Exhaustion Can Reflect Poor Thyroid Health
The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland that produces thyroid hormones that all play key roles in a number of functions and processes in your body.
The thyroid has a direct affect on your reproductive health too. A growing body of evidence confirms that thyroid problems are more common in women than in men.
The American Thyroid Association reports that women are five to ten times more likley to develop a thyroid disease.
According to the American College of Endocrinology, thyroid disease is more common than diabetes or heart disease, effecting as many as 30 million Americans. But more than half of those people are unaware of their condition, they have no idea they have a thyroid condition.
Misdiagnosed Thyroid Imbalance
Thyroid illnesses are EXTREMELY common among women, but we’re being misdiagnosed.
I’ve seen such a huge increase in women coming into my practice over the past several months who are struggling not only with their menstrual cycles and periods, but who also have hypothyroid or Hashimoto’s (an autoimmune condition of the thyroid).
I've found this same phenoma to be true in pregnant women as well.
Majority of these women have undiagnosed thyroid illnesses, that’s until I uncover it during our consultation and then take a holistic approach to treat it naturally.
It is not unlikely that a woman reporting symptoms of depression, anxiety, fatigue, insomnia and “brain fog” will mistakenly receive a diagnosis of major depression, general anxiety, or bipolar disorder.
Women are likely prescribed antidepressants, mood stabilizers, sedatives or all three, when in fact what is needed is a functional treatment for thyroid dysfunction.
This is a real problem. And so to help you not get caugt up in this cycle, I'm going to tell you what ignored thyroid symptoms often look like:
Period Problems and PMS
Irregular menstrual cycles, absent menstrual periods, infrequent menstrual periods, spotting between periods, heavy menstrual bleeding, painful cramps, anovulation and/or uncontrollable mood swings can be a sign of thyroid disorder. Having chronic premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is too.
If you have other hormonal imbalances, such as estrogen dominance and/or insulin resistance (both seen in PCOS) it can enhance the inflammatory process of your immune system and contribute to the attack of your thyroid.
Fatigue After Birth Control Use
There is a very real connection between birth control and your thyroid. As I alway teach, birth control depletes your body of several vital nutrients. Some of those nutrients are what your thyroid requires to synthesize thyroid hormone, as well as the nutrients your cells need to utilize your hormones.
Selenium, zinc, copper and several B vitamins are all key nutrients that help your body produce, synthesize, convert and use your thyroid hormones. Depletions in any of these critical nutrients interfere with your body's ability to use thyroid hormone at the cellular level.
If you've used birth control or are on birth control, your first step to protect your thyroid function is to take a quality prenatal or multivitamin to replenish these crucial thyroid nutrients. I do recommend you purchase real quality herbal supplements from the apothecary. They provide you with bioavailable nutrients, which are nutrients that your body can easily absorb, assimilate and use.
Major Exhaustion First Trimester of Pregnancy
The pregnancy hormone hCG stimulates your thyroid production during the first half of pregnancy. If you're pregnant and struggling with fatigue, constipation, dry skin, hair loss, or depression it may be hypothyroidism. This is why it is wise for women with certain health conditions to have their thyroid checked before becoming pregnant, early in their first trimester, and postpartum.
Postpartum thyroid disease affects one in twelve women worldwide, and it's often misdiagnosed as postpartum depression!
Here's a good article to read, 3 Reason You May Feel Tired During Pregnancy.
Vision Changes and Eye Disorders
Hashimoto's thyroiditis or Grave's disease can cause eye disorders. Imbalanced thyroid hormone levels can stimulate eye growth, causing your eyes to protrude or stick out, which can damage your cornea. If your eyes are often itchy, you experience a delay when you try closing your eyelids, or you notice changes in your vision, it's time to take a deeper look into your thyroid function.
The good news is that whichever symptoms you're experiencing from thyroid imbalance I can support you in many ways naturally. You can purchase and book your consultation to get started.
Products from apothecary you should look into purchasing are Thyroid Support Extract or Thyroid Support (capsules), Women's Multivitamin, and Womb Support.