The thyroid seems to be one of those great mysteries of the human body that no one really understands and often ignores. I did, too, until I discovered I was living with a thyroid disorder.
Like many women reaching a certain age, I began to feel less energetic and started gaining a few pounds. I simply wrote it off as getting older and thought it was just a lovely gift of menopause. Other than the extra weight and feeling more tired than usual, I continued to feel OK.
Were it not for a co-worker noticing that something wasn’t quite right, I might have kept going the way I was.
My short-term memory disappeared. I would forget things five minutes after a conversation. It got to the point that I could not recall some conversations, even after a reminder. As one could imagine, this was frustrating not only for me, but for my co-workers as well.
As time passed, the more forgetful I became. I also began to get so fatigued I could barely walk to the end of the building before feeling as though I could fall asleep standing up. Finally, my co-worker suggested I talk to my doctor about it, so I made an appointment.
Because I go to the doctor regularly, my doctor already knew about the weight gain and that I had been feeling tired, but he had convinced me it was just menopause. However, when I mentioned the memory loss, he immediately wanted to check my thyroid. Sure enough, hypothyroidism, an underactive thyroid, was the cause.
Left untreated, hypothyroidism can cause a number of health problems including obesity, joint pain, infertility and heart disease. Other symptoms are increased sensitivity to cold, dry skin, hoarseness, muscle weakness, elevated blood cholesterol levels, pain in joints and muscles, thinning hair, depression and impaired memory.
Reading through the list of symptoms was a shock because with the exception of heart disease, I have every symptom.
Thyroid disorders can affect anyone, but the good news is both underactive or overactive thyroids can be managed under the care of a physician.
January is thyroid disorders awareness month and I urge anyone experiencing unexplained symptoms to visit with their doctor to be tested and to get more information. Take it from one who knows.