Hypothyroid & Weight Loss

By Dr. Kevin Dobrzynski


People suffering from hypothyroidism often find losing weight a common battle. If you have been trying to lose weight but failed, your thyroid is to be blamed.

Around 27 million Americans are thought to have a hypothyroid weight loss condition, and many of them don't even know they have this disorder. The most common thyroid dysfunction is hypothyroidism. This is when your thyroid is underactive. The condition does not just affect Americans, but also those living in developing countries.

Hypothyroidism results in a low metabolism, making hypothyroid weight loss a never-ending battle. To make matters worse, low-calorie diets can depress your metabolic rate further causing permanent damage to your metabolism.

This is the real issue

People with this disorder often go undiagnosed or even misdiagnosed. You may experience all the symptoms of the disease but your physician may not recognize the problem.

One of the reasons why the diagnosis of hypothyroidism is often missed is due to it's many symptoms. Hypothyroidism affects every system of the human body.

Another reason why doctors miss the correct diagnosis of this condition is that the blood test is often inconclusive. The test is called TSH, and it has up to 80 percent chance of not recognizing the disorder.

If you suspect that you are suffering from a thyroid issue, you must do something about it right now!

Start by monitoring your symptoms. Keep a journal and grade your symptoms on a scale of 0-3 (0 = not present or not applicable, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = severe). Keep a journal for a minimum of a week and up to a month, dating all your entries.

Now you are ready to perform the at-home body thermometer test. Body temperature is one of the most obvious signs that your metabolism is depressed.

To test your body temperature, place the thermometer by your bedside at night. When you wake up in the morning, before even getting out of bed, place the thermometer under your armpit for around 10 minutes or so. Make sure you sit still as any movement will affect the accuracy of the test.

Measure your body temperature for three consecutive days. If you're a female and menstruating, do the test on the second and third day of your period. Also, be aware if you have any current infections because this can make the test inaccurate.

Normal readings should be between 97.8 to 98.2. If the reading is below this point, you have a thyroid disorder. Your weight loss battle will continue until your body temperature and metabolism rate become normal again.

You should take your daily journal list and your body temperature test to your ear, nose and throat specialist. These doctors are more experienced in the field of endocrinology than general physicians.

Hypothyroid and weight loss struggles go hand-in-hand. If you're convinced that you have a problem, yet your doctor disagrees, or your lab tests don't support your suspicion, don't give up. Try another doctor and keep looking until you find one that will listen to you. You are your own best doctor and you know your body better than anyone.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment