Features - The Menopause and Underactive Thyroid

Many symptoms of an underactive thyroid, can easily be confused with symptoms of the menopause. If you are suffering from some of the following symptoms at menopause, you may have an Underactive thyroid:

Weight gain (particularly round your middle) , Loss of sexual libido, Hair loss, Difficulty in concentration, Exhaustion, Poor memory, Anxiety or Depression, Constipation, Carpal tunnel syndrome, Coldness, Increased need to sleep, Thickening of the neck, Slowness, Dryness of skin and hair, Difficulty in hearing, Hot flushes continuing while you are on HRT.

The Thyroid is a bow shaped gland in the throat, it converts iodine into T4 (thyroxine), and T3 (Triiodothyronine). The thyroid is controlled by the pituitary gland which releases TSH ( thyroid stimulating hormone) to stimulate the thyroid to produce more T3 and T4. The pituitary gland is controlled by the hypothalamus in the brain, which in turn releases TRH (thyroid releasing hormone) to stimulate the pituitary to release TSH.

Every cell in the body requires thyroid hormones to regulate its metabolism. Progesterone helps the body to utilise thyroid hormones, and too much oestrogen has the reverse effect.You can therefore come up with a normal thyroid reading and still have symptoms of an underactive thyroid. Progesterone balances the effect of oestrogen. So if you are menopausal there are several ways in which you may be getting too much un-opposed oestrogen. You can get oestrogen from plants , an oestrogen only based HRT, or if you are overweight, oestrogen produced from fatty tissues. So if you think you are getting too much oestrogen,an option might be to supplement your progesterone.

Another possibility is to use Agnus Castus which helps to balance oestrogen and progesterone. It does this by its action on the pituitary gland, which controls and balances the hormones in our body.

If you think your thyroid may be underactive, get yourself checked at the doctor. However it is possible to come up with a normal reading of thyroid hormones, and still have the symptoms of an underactive thyroid. This may be because your body is not producing enough TSH.

Try the thermometer test first thing in the morning for 5 days.

Place it under your armpit for 10 minutes, keep as still as possible while doing this. Record your temperature each day. Anything below 97.6 F could indicate under active thyroid.

Diet for Underactive thyroid

Soya can suppress the action of the thyroid, if you are having symptoms of underactive thyroid cut out any soya products. Also avoid brussel sprouts, cauliflower, raw cabbage, broccoli, and swede. Eat plenty of fish and seaweed (Kelp tablets are an easy way to get seaweed.) Selenium, zinc and of course iodine are good.

Is natural best?

Another option with underactive thyroid is to use natural thyroid extract (Armour) instead of synthetic thyroxin T4. It's made from desiccated animal thyroid extract and contains both T3 and T4.

Jo Pitcairn(Web site Manager)

Page updated: 6 January 2009