45 years old Mrs. Patel had been experiencing tiredness, sleeplessness and weight gain. She had seen her mother struggling with similar symptoms during menopause and naturally attributed all her own symptoms to menopause too. A couple of years passed by before Mrs. Patel sought out an appointment with her Gynaec doctor. Her doctor noted that her complaints were common underactive thyroid symptoms in women, much to the surprise of Mrs. Patel.
Underactive Thyroid Symptoms in Women:
The thyroid gland has an effect on various systems like our brain, heart, reproductive system, muscles etc. An under productivity of this thyroid gland is more common in ladies, especially older women. An underactive thyroid means that there is a reduced secretion of thyroid hormones. This can cause symptoms like dry skin, brittle nails, hairfall. One’s periods can become irregular or heavy. The digestion gets hampered leading to constipation. Tiredness, weakness, increased sensitivity to cold, depression and memory troubles are also common.
Menopausal Symptoms:
Menopause is a time when her menstrual cycle gradually stops. This is accompanied by a reduction in her female hormones. Like the thyroid hormones, these female hormones too have an effect on various organs of our body. Hence, women who are nearing menopause experience symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, tiredness, sleeplessness, depression, mood swings, dry skin, hair thinning etc.
No wonder Mrs. Patel mistook her underactive thyroid symptoms to be menopausal symptoms!
How to differentiate menopause symptoms from underactive thyroid symptoms in women?
As regards the temperature sensitivity, women with an underactive thyroid often experience continuous coldness. Menopausal women often have spells of heat followed by a temporary coldness as the sweat evaporates.
Sleep troubles for a lady with an underactive thyroid are typically that she doesn’t feel fresh in the morning even after sufficient sound sleep. Whereas a menopausal woman often complains that her sleep is disturbed in the early hours of the morning and often due to the night sweats.
Hence the tiredness in a menopausal woman is majorly due to this lack of sleep. In a lady with an underactive thyroid, she feels tired and has an unreasonable need for sleep.
In addition to symptoms, a doctor can differentiate if the complaints are due to menopause or underactive thyroid symptoms in women by gathering other symptoms and examining the lady. Your doctor may also advise blood tests. Underactive Thyroid can be detected by testing thyroid hormones – T3, T4 and TSH. Though menopause usually does not need any tests, your doctor may ask for female hormone levels to be checked – FSH and estrogen.
Homoeopathic treatment gives very good results in case of hormonal troubles in women. Ask us today how Homoeopathy can help treat your hormonal imbalance. A detailed consultation will help identify if your symptoms are due to menopause or underactive thyroid symptoms in women.
