Thyroid Health in Men
Finding the middle of the road.
Thyroid health is tricky. Too much of the thyroid hormones and you feel weak and anxious, can’t sleep and easily run out of breath. Not enough and you gain weight, feel exhausted, get dry skin and can’t handle the cold. Either way, you’re losing your hair! It’s like driving blindfolded and trying to keep your car in between the lines. We’ll set your thyroid on cruise control and help keep you on course.
Thyroid: What does it do?
Thyroid hormone levels in men are controlled by the thyroid gland and have a strong influence on male metabolism. The thyroid hormones consist of triiodothyronine (T3), reverse triiodothyronine (Reverse T3) and thyroxine (T4). The thyroid gland uses iodine found in the foods men consume to produce these essential hormones. Stress, imbalanced hormones and nutritional deficiencies can inhibit or exacerbate the production of these hormones; both of which can cause severe problems in the male body.
Thyroid Information: Hyperthyroidism in Men
An overly high thyroid level in men indicates an overactive thyroid gland, also known as hyperthyroidism. Hyperthyroidism in men increases metabolism and produces such symptoms as:
- Muscle Weakness
- Breathlessness
- Heart Palpitations
- Anxiety
- Osteoporosis (in severe cases)
- Trembling Hands
- Hair Loss
- Insomnia
- Weight Loss
- Fatigue
- Heat Intolerance
- Increased Bowel Movements
Initially, these symptoms of high thyroid hormone levels may be difficult to perceive, over time however, the symptoms grow gradually more severe. As age increases hyperthyroidism in men becomes more difficult to detect because the number of symptoms often decrease, often with only weight loss and depression remaining. The increased metabolism may result in weight loss, which may in turn cause weight gain. This is because a man’s appetite grows and he begins to eat more than his body can keep up with, actually resulting in weight gain.
Thyroid Information: Hypothyroidism in Men
When men possess low thyroid hormone levels, meaning an underactive thyroid gland and low metabolism, men experience such symptoms as:
- Hair Loss
- Fatigue
- Dry Skin
- Weight gain
- Constipation
- Cold intolerance
Having an underactive thyroid gland, referred to as hypothyroidism, occurs with a considerably higher frequency (as many as 1 in 7 adults) than having an overactive thyroid or hyperthyroidism. In 2002, the Society of Endocrinologists announced that the standard testing ranges for thyroid hormone levels were inaccurate. As a result, hypothyroidism in men has been under diagnosed; men who were told that their thyroid hormone levels were normal may actually have been misinformed and misdiagnosed. To this day, many thyroid lab tests have not been corrected to test for the accurate range of thyroid hormone levels.
Comparable to hypothyroidism, fibromyalgia causes similar symptoms in men. This chronic pain illness causes extreme muscle and joint pain and fatigue. While not completely understood, there seems to be a connection between the two diseases when considering that many men who have hypothyroidism have afterward been diagnosed with fibromyalgia.
Thyroid Information: Thyroid Hormone Levels in Men
The main hormone produced by the thyroid gland is the minimally active T4. T4 in turn is converted to T3 which is much more active. Several factors can lower this conversion rate (as found in hypothyroidism) or heighten this conversion rate (hyperthyroidism). Among these rate altering factors are the high cortisol levels found in stress which will cause low conversion. In fact, this stress causes the male body to convert T4 into reverse T3 which possesses no activity. Reduced conversion is also caused by diminished levels of vitamin A, selenium, and iodine. As you can see, several factors attribute to imbalanced thyroid hormone levels in men.
Another cause of the under diagnosing of the thyroid hormone levels in men is the fact that the majority of doctors test only TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) which stimulates the adrenal gland to produce the T3 and T4 hormones. Several factors can level this test, making it a poor indicator of an imbalanced thyroid level in men. BodyLogicMD offers free T4, T3 and reverse T3 tests in addition to TSH to accurately diagnose hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism.
The Solution
BodyLogicMD treatments used to balance the thyroid hormone levels in men vary upon which condition the patient is suffering from. Levoxyl and Synthroid, T4 hormone variations, are two options that are often effective when the body does not have difficulty converting T4 to T3. For those who do have difficulty with T4 and T3 conversion, Armour is often used which is a combination of both T4 and T3.
No matter your thyroid imbalance, a compounding pharmacy will individualize a treatment specifically designed for your body. This natural bioidentical hormone replacement therapy will be paired with a customized nutrition, supplement and fitness plan designed to optimize the results. At BodyLogicMD, we help you live better, longer.
Contact the BodyLogicMD bioidentical hormone therapy physician nearest you to schedule an appointment and learn more about thyroid hormone levels and how bioidentical hormone therapy can be used to treat both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism.
