So what are the symptoms or problems that people tend to get when something is wrong with their thyroid hormones? Most people that get thyroid problems have issues with low thyroid. But a few get a high thyroid problem. Interestingly, people can get some of the same health problems whether they are low or high. The problem only goes away when the thyroid hormone level is right in the middle. Right in the “sweet spot.”
The thyroid is called the “great mimicker” because when the thyroid is off almost anything can happen. Thus, you should always be suspicious of a thyroid issue when you have a lot of different health issues, large or small, effecting many body parts at the same time.
An easy way that I have found to get a sense of whether a person has problems related to thyroid hormones is to simply have them do the “Signs and symptoms of low thyroid” sheet. I simply took just about everything that the scientific literature has already identified as being caused by thyroid problems and I made a list.
The list is 2 pages long! When you see 2 pages of symptoms that can happen when the thyroid is off you will probably say “Oh, now I see why they call thyroid the great mimicker.”
So, I just ask people to circle all that applies to them. The more items on the list that you circle, the more you should feel confident that your thyroid hormones are a big part of why you are not feeling your very best. You will also get a sense of what will get better when you fix whatever is going on with the thyroid hormones.
So here is a copy of the 2 pages I have used for quite some time in my practice. Circle all that apply to you. Share this list with someone else who suspects they have a thyroid issue. Especially, if they have always been told “your thyroid results look fine.” Share this list with someone you know who is already on a thyroid medicine but still has some of these (or a lot of these) symptoms.
I hope these last 4 blog posts on thyroid have been helpful. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or would like me to elaborate on any specific aspects of thyroid management.
How does the sushi photo to start this blog post go with thyroid issues? Low iodine levels in our highly processed foods can lead to an inability to make thyroid hormones. Remember the iodine atoms on the thyroid hormone molecules we discussed in the previous blogs? The seaweed wrapping the lovely sushi in our favorite sushi place in town is high in iodine.
