Is there a significant relationship between low thyroid and
increased menopause difficulties?

Although the use of hormone replacement therapy has decreased over the last several years, some women taking HRT have found that they still suffer menopause difficulties despite taking hormone replacement therapy.

Low thyroid  is often the ignored factor in far too many women who are simply treated with estrogen and/or progesterone. If you have placed a lot of confidence in your HRT treatment and have not found complete relief, perhaps the underlying problem of low thyroid has not been addressed. Not only are you still experiencing your menopause symptoms, but you have also risked your health with the possibility of endometrial and breast cancer, and even possible gall bladder disease and stroke.

This underlying problem of hypothyroidism can have many of the same symptoms of menopause. It should be noted low thyroid becomes more common as women mature, and in addition, menopause and perimenopause are transition situations which require more than the usual amount of thyroid hormone.

A borderline low thyroid woman might have well-compensated for most of her 30’s and 40’s, and then slip into overt hypothyroidism with the onset of menopause. Moreover, with HRT administration of estrogen causes an increase in thyroid-binding globulin, which “ties up” in the blood stream more thyroid hormone than ever before. The bound thyroid is now not as free to enter the cells, and perform the needed metabolic work, however, it still exists in the bloodstream, and therefore the standard tests for it (T-3 uptake, Total T-4, Total T-3, and even the sensitive TSH) will be normal.

Just how common is low thyroid in women of menopausal age?

Unfortunately, it happens to be extremely common. Doctors at Harvard Medical School, and surveys done by University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, have estimated that by age 50, one out of every ten-twelve women has some degree of hypothyroidism. By age 60, it is one woman out of every five or six! This is clearly a runaway epidemic. Furthermore, it is striking these women at a time when they can least afford any loss of energy or decrease in coping mechanisms.

Could you be confusing your low thyroid symptoms
with menopausal symptoms?

Yes, but it’s a complex issue. The symptoms of hot flashes, insomnia, irritability, palpitations, and the annoying “fuzzy thinking” so common in menopause can sometimes be the result of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, the most common cause of hypothyroidism. But the real complexity comes when actual symptoms of menopause are simply magnified and exaggerated because of the low thyroid situation that is now coexistent with menopause. As many thyroid sufferers are aware, low thyroid makes any illness worse. And while menopause is not an illness, it can certainly begin to feel that way when symptoms of low thyroid exacerbate the already long list of menopause and perimenopause symptoms.

What should you do if you feel you might be experiencing
hypothyroidism and menopause together?

The first thing to do is to have your thyroid tested. While many lab tests come up negative you still may have  low thyroid. Make sure you’re tested for thyroid antibodies  in addition to the free T-3 and free T-4 tests, which may serve as a better indicator of your actual status.  Anything suspicious with these last three tests, should at least warrant a trial of thyroid hormone.

If you don’t have health insurance, lab tests can be an expensive venture. Consider ordering the proper lab work yourself through MyMedLab, to save money,  before you see your doctor. Labs to order recommended by Mary Shomon ( thyroid patient advocate) are the following :

Personally I always felt I had low thyroid symptoms but my test always came back negative. That was until the proper blood-work was ordered.  It was then my doctor discovered I had Hashimoto’s disease. This is an autoimmune disease where you body creates antibodies to your thyroid. I couldn’t believe it, I finally felt validated that I wasn’t imaging all these low thyroid symptoms for years. When I complained to feeling extremely tired they gave me antidepressants. When I told him I wasn’t depressed he simply  responded, “There are different levels of depression”……………….. blah, blah blah…………it felt so hopeless back then.

If you feel that low thyroid is a controlling factor for you and your doctor’s not listening, keep insisting or find another doctor who will listen.  It won’t hurt to know your low thyroid symptoms.

Other useful facts that he or she may consider will be whether any of your family ever had an autoimmune disease, for this increases your risk. Being left handed or prematurly gray also means a greater risk of autoimmune disease including  thyroid problems. 

When I found out I had low thyroid I couldn’t believe how many symptoms I was experiencing in my life that I had just attributed to menopause when quite possibly they could have been related to my low thyroid. All my symptoms like crashing fatigue, insomnia, hot flashes, low sex drive and more, were they due to menopause or low thyroid?  Only time will tell. I’ve begun to take thyroid medication and my initial results have been sleeping better and not gaining weight any longer. Yeeeeeeah!

So if you’re experiencing excessive menopause symptoms make sure you check your thyroid.

To A Happy Menopause Time, symptom free!