Do you have any of the following Symptoms of Hypothyroidism?
- Fatigue
- Cold extremities – feet, hands
- Decreased sweating
- Muscle and joint pain
- Menstrual irregularities
- Miscarriages
- Recurrent infections
- Decreased mental sharpness, brain fog
- Hoarseness
- Dry skin
- Constipation
- Skin pallor, pastiness, and puffiness
- Brittle fingernails with ridging
- Low blood pressure
- Low basal body temperature
- Elevated cholesterol and triglycerides
- Weight gain
- Cold intolerance
- Headaches
- Enlarged thyroid gland
- Infertility
- Depression or mood swings
- Slow speech
- Hair loss
- Fluid retention
- Enlarged tongue with tooth indentations
- Loss of hair on the outer edge of the eyebrows
- Slow pulse rate
- Tingling and/or numbness in extremities
- Loss of libido
- Allergic disorders
Clinical Management of Hormone Therapy – THYROID
1.Normal Thyroid function tests do not rule out clinical hypothyroidism
2.Rather than an all or none phenomena, we should think in terms of grades of function
3.Optimal blood levels are usually different for different patients
4.Signs/symptoms of poor thyroid function are many and non specific
5. Absence of these may not rule out sub optimal function
- The Broda Barnes Basal Temperature Test can be used to assess thyroid hormone deficiency. Axillary Temperature reading for 10 minutes immediately upon awakening. Normal is 97.8 to 98.2 degrees F- below signifies hypothyroidism
- MD should order Reverse T3 Blood Test – Do not always go by the test results. Really listen to the patients symptoms.
Labs that are drawn:
TSH
Free T3
Free T4
Reverse T3
Anti-TPO
