How You Know If Your Thyroid Is Off?

Your thyroid gland is perhaps the most important metabolic organ in your body.  The thyroid makes hormones that tell your cells to make energy and replicate.  It is among the most influential organs in the body for determining weight, body temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, menstrual regularity, digestive function, and energy level.  So, when the thyroid goes bad people tend to feel it.  Hormonally, the thyroid tends to go bad one of two ways:  it either makes too much hormone or it makes too little.

Too Much Thyroid Hormone: Hyperthyroid
If your body is making too much thyroid hormone you will experience these symptoms:

• Rapid heart rate
• Elevated blood pressure
• Jittery or nervous
• Sweating easily
• Overactive thoughts
• Anxiety and restlessness
• Panic attacks
• Difficulty gaining weight
• Feeling hot 
• Irregular periods

Too Little Thyroid Hormone: Hypothyroid
If your body is making too little thyroid hormone you will experience these symptoms:

• Feeling cold
• Hair falling out and nails brittle or not growing
• Tired and wanting to sleep a lot
• Difficulty losing weight
• Low blood pressure
• Constipation
• Dry skin
• Heavy periods 

The symptoms listed above speak volumes as indicators that your thyroid is acting up.  There are a lot of different reasons for the thyroid to be off, but the more symptoms on a list you have the more likely your thyroid is a problem.  As long as a thyroid problem exists it will be very difficult for you to feel well until it is corrected.
Tests:
The simplest home test for checking thyroid (especially for low thyroid) is to take your basal body temperature.  You do this by getting a thermometer and taking your temperature the very first thing in the morning before you get out of bed.  A low morning temperature of less than 97.5 is a near sure indicator of thyroid dysfunction.

Blood tests are available from your health care provider that look at the hormones involved in regulating your thyroid.  To give a true picture they need, at minimum, to include TSH, T4, and T3 levels.

Your health practitioner will help you choose the best options for correcting thyroid problems.

NatureWords for Your Health,
Mark Fredericksen, N.D.