I explain what the thyroid is and where it's located in my blog post "What is a Thyroid and why should I care during Periomenopause ?". But thyroid health, particularly during menopause, needs to be closely monitored. Here's why:
Hormonal Interactions: Menopause involves significant changes in hormone levels, particularly estrogen and progesterone. These changes can affect thyroid function and vice versa. For example, estrogen levels can influence thyroid hormone binding proteins, potentially altering the availability of thyroid hormones in the body.
Symptom Overlap: Symptoms of hypothyroidism (such as fatigue, mood swings, weight gain, and cognitive changes) can overlap with menopausal symptoms. This can make it challenging to determine whether symptoms are due to menopause or thyroid dysfunction, necessitating careful evaluation of thyroid health.
Increased Risk of Thyroid Disorders: The risk of developing thyroid disorders, such as hypothyroidism or Hashimoto's thyroiditis, increases with age. Women going through menopause are at a higher risk due to age-related changes and the interplay of declining sex hormones with thyroid function.
Bone Health: Thyroid hormones play a critical role in bone metabolism. Hypothyroidism can contribute to bone loss, increasing the risk of osteoporosis, which is already a concern during menopause due to decreased estrogen levels.
Cardiovascular Health: Both menopause and thyroid dysfunction can independently affect cardiovascular health. Hypothyroidism can lead to increased cholesterol levels and a higher risk of heart disease, which is also a concern during menopause.
Metabolism and Weight Management: Thyroid hormones are key regulators of metabolism. During menopause, many women experience changes in body composition and metabolism. Ensuring thyroid health can help manage weight and metabolic changes more effectively.
Mental Health: Both menopause and thyroid dysfunction can affect mood and cognitive function. Maintaining good thyroid health can help alleviate some of the mood swings, depression, and cognitive issues that may be exacerbated during menopause.
Maintaining thyroid health during menopause is essential because the hormonal changes and health risks associated with menopause can complicate and amplify the effects of thyroid dysfunction. Proper thyroid function can help mitigate some of the challenges and symptoms associated with menopause, contributing to overall well-being during this transitional period.
It pays to get the 3 thyroid tests done, to get a good overall picture of your thyroid health. The 3 tests are TSH, T4 and T3.
Doctors will generally only test TSH and sometimes T4, many believing that everyone converts T4 into T3, so your T3 levels don't need to be tested. The conversion process isn't a one size fits all unfortunately, and lots of women cannot convert properly, leaving her feeling tired, overweight and feeling underpar.
If you need extra T3, you are not able to buy the synthetic version in NZ, however you are able to have T3 made into capsules by a compounding pharmasist in NZ. I do this and it works well.
You won't need a lot, however if you've been taking Thyroid hormone for a while and still feel tired and subpar, T3 may be the missing link.
Get all 3 tests done and go from there. If your doctor refuses to run all 3 tests, find a doctor who will. Your health and well being is worth far more than one doctors short sighted view on the topic. Take back your control, take back your life.
Once you're blood tests are done, get the results sent to both your doctor and YOURSELF. They're your tests, it's your blood. You're allowed to get copies of your tests. Don't be afraid to take control of your health.
If you need to read through the results with your doctor to get a good understanding of them, do that. If you'd prefer to research and look up what the meaning of each test result means, then do that. My point is - do something. Don't sit back and wait for a doctor who doesn't know you from a bar of soap to deem you important enough to make an appointment for you to go over your results with you. Because unless you've got a GREAT doctor, they probably won't do that. Take your health into your own hands and work WITH a doctor to get your health to where you want it to be.
Doctors can do amazing things for us and produce amazing results when they understand what they're dealing with. You, on the other hand, have been dealing with YOU for your entire life. You know you better than anyone else in the world, so get working with your doctor to get the desired outcome.
The thyroid is only a small part of the bigger picture, but understanding how it works, what the symptoms are and then how to fix the issue may help you close the gap if you have a thyroid problem. Good luck x
Comentarios