January is Thyroid Awareness Month. Experts believe as many as 59 million Americans have thyroid problems and the majority don't even know it yet!
According to thyroidawarenessmonth.com:
Your thyroid is actually your master gland of metabolism and energy. And if it's not working properly, you can suffer from a long list of health problems -- everything from weight problems, to fatigue, to high cholesterol, to depression...even a low sex drive!
That's why, if you don't know where your thyroid is, or whether your thyroid is even working properly, you really do need to find out.
And what better time than now?
According to thyroid patient advocate and author Mary Shomon, "Even with the efforts of the past decade, we still have a long way to go in terms of thyroid awareness. People are struggling with obesity, depression, infertility, menopausal symptoms, low libido, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, and many other issues, and yet the majority of Americans have never had a thorough thyroid checkup. If properly informed, diagnosed and treated, some of these people would feel and live well, because they will discover that their symptoms were actually due to overlooked and untreated thyroid problems all along!"
Your Thyroid, and What Can Go Wrong...
Your thyroid is a small gland, located in your neck, and the hormone it produces controls the delivery of oxygen and energy to every cell in your body. You know how without a fuel pump, your car won't go, because gasoline can't get into the engine? Well, if your thyroid isn't functioning properly, YOU won't go, because oxygen and energy can't get into your cells, tissues and organs.
You may have heard the dumb jokes about people with thyroid problems, suggesting that "thyroid" is just a lame excuse for being overweight, but thyroid disease is no joke. Without thyroid hormone, everything -- and we mean everything -- eventually shuts down. The most common problem is insufficient thyroid hormone, known as hypothyroidism, "low thyroid" or an underactive thyroid. Without enough thyroid hormone, you can gain weight, lose energy, become depressed and exhausted, lose your hair and your sex drive, even find it hard to remember things or concentrate.
Sometimes, the thyroid can go into overdrive, and produce too much thyroid hormone, a condition known as hyperthyroidism, or an overactive thyroid. Think of this as a bit like the accelerator's gotten stuck, and the engine gets flooded. With too much thyroid hormone, heart rate and blood pressure can go up, you might experience anxiety, tremors, panic attacks, diarrhea, muscle weakness, eye problems, insomnia and rapid weight loss.
The thyroid can also get enlarged (known as a goiter), develop lumps (known as nodules), and in some cases, those lumps can even be cancerous. Thyroid cancer is, in fact, one of the fastest growing cancers in the United States.
Do You Know That You Should Always Rule Out a Thyroid Problem?
Here are some more Thyroid Awareness Month Tips to help you understand how important your thyroid is to staying healthy and happy.
Thyroid disease is often overlooked, or blamed on things like age and lifestyle, because the symptoms are common. It's actually shocking how often doctors do not test for thyroid, when it could be the cause of symptoms and condition.
According to thyroidawarenessmonth.com:
Your thyroid is actually your master gland of metabolism and energy. And if it's not working properly, you can suffer from a long list of health problems -- everything from weight problems, to fatigue, to high cholesterol, to depression...even a low sex drive!
That's why, if you don't know where your thyroid is, or whether your thyroid is even working properly, you really do need to find out.
And what better time than now?
According to thyroid patient advocate and author Mary Shomon, "Even with the efforts of the past decade, we still have a long way to go in terms of thyroid awareness. People are struggling with obesity, depression, infertility, menopausal symptoms, low libido, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, and many other issues, and yet the majority of Americans have never had a thorough thyroid checkup. If properly informed, diagnosed and treated, some of these people would feel and live well, because they will discover that their symptoms were actually due to overlooked and untreated thyroid problems all along!"
Your Thyroid, and What Can Go Wrong...
Your thyroid is a small gland, located in your neck, and the hormone it produces controls the delivery of oxygen and energy to every cell in your body. You know how without a fuel pump, your car won't go, because gasoline can't get into the engine? Well, if your thyroid isn't functioning properly, YOU won't go, because oxygen and energy can't get into your cells, tissues and organs.
You may have heard the dumb jokes about people with thyroid problems, suggesting that "thyroid" is just a lame excuse for being overweight, but thyroid disease is no joke. Without thyroid hormone, everything -- and we mean everything -- eventually shuts down. The most common problem is insufficient thyroid hormone, known as hypothyroidism, "low thyroid" or an underactive thyroid. Without enough thyroid hormone, you can gain weight, lose energy, become depressed and exhausted, lose your hair and your sex drive, even find it hard to remember things or concentrate.
Sometimes, the thyroid can go into overdrive, and produce too much thyroid hormone, a condition known as hyperthyroidism, or an overactive thyroid. Think of this as a bit like the accelerator's gotten stuck, and the engine gets flooded. With too much thyroid hormone, heart rate and blood pressure can go up, you might experience anxiety, tremors, panic attacks, diarrhea, muscle weakness, eye problems, insomnia and rapid weight loss.
The thyroid can also get enlarged (known as a goiter), develop lumps (known as nodules), and in some cases, those lumps can even be cancerous. Thyroid cancer is, in fact, one of the fastest growing cancers in the United States.
Do You Know That You Should Always Rule Out a Thyroid Problem?
Here are some more Thyroid Awareness Month Tips to help you understand how important your thyroid is to staying healthy and happy.
Thyroid disease is often overlooked, or blamed on things like age and lifestyle, because the symptoms are common. It's actually shocking how often doctors do not test for thyroid, when it could be the cause of symptoms and condition.
For example:
-Overweight, and can't lose weight despite diet and exercise? Before you go for weight loss surgery, you owe it to yourself to rule out a thyroid problem.
-If you are suffering from infertility or recurrent miscarriage, rule out a thyroid problem before you start costly assisted reproduction treatments.
-Overweight, and can't lose weight despite diet and exercise? Before you go for weight loss surgery, you owe it to yourself to rule out a thyroid problem.
-If you are suffering from infertility or recurrent miscarriage, rule out a thyroid problem before you start costly assisted reproduction treatments.
-If you have low sex drive, don't despair...rule out thyroid problems first. Feeling depressed? Before you start an antidepressant -- with all its potential side effects-- rule out thyroid problems.
-If you are feeling fuzzy-brained and having memory problems -- rule out thyroid problems. -High cholesterol? Rule out thyroid before starting a statin drug.
-If you've just had a baby and you're exhausted, losing hair, or having trouble breastfeeding -- rule out thyroid problems before you assume you're having normal "postpartum" problems.
-If you have erratic periods or hot flashes, rule out thyroid problems before you assume it's perimenopause or menopause.
-If you have panic attacks, muscle aches, joint pains, hair loss, puffiness, or constipation -- rule out thyroid problems!
KEY TIP: Don't assume that your annual physical or blood work (you know, the typical bloodwork that looks at cholesterol, etc.) includes complete thyroid tests. Most of the time, no one is looking at your thyroid during an annual check-up, and most bloodwork does NOT include a thyroid panel.
What you can do:
Get a full thyroid panel done to evaluate all the aspects of thyroid health and function.
You can take your morning temperature before you get out of bed for one week and see what your resting temperature is.
You can get a respiratory metabolic test to determine your resting metabolic rate.
KEY TIP: Don't assume that your annual physical or blood work (you know, the typical bloodwork that looks at cholesterol, etc.) includes complete thyroid tests. Most of the time, no one is looking at your thyroid during an annual check-up, and most bloodwork does NOT include a thyroid panel.
What you can do:
Get a full thyroid panel done to evaluate all the aspects of thyroid health and function.
You can take your morning temperature before you get out of bed for one week and see what your resting temperature is.
You can get a respiratory metabolic test to determine your resting metabolic rate.
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