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 Imbalances in Men
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.
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.
