It is one thing to read articles about hypothyroidism symptoms online but quite another to hear the symptoms straight from real people. These are real people, like you and me, struggling with a collection of symptoms so hard to pinpoint that they baffle doctors in every country of the world. While we don’t know one another personally, the truth is that we are connected, just the same, in a particularly powerful way. We are living in the trenches together fighting a battle against this thing called hypothyroidism.
The number of potential symptoms that can accompany hypothyroidism is not surprising, frankly, but rather obvious given the sheer power of thyroid hormone over the entire body.
What is your worst hypothyroidism symptom? That’s the question I asked my one million followers on the Hypothyroid Mom Facebook page. It was in the form of a poll and the results may very well surprise you. A simple, 6-word question uncovered the truth about what lurks behind this wretched disease.
And here are the results, in the order of the highest to lowest number of votes. Most people responded that it was impossible to list only one symptom and that several were equally devastating. Some of the categories, like skin problems, were broad and many mentioned specific conditions in those categories which I included below. They are quite telling, really.
418 C. Hair loss
Don’t know what it means, but outside a thermoneutral zone of ambient temp (about 19 -23°C), my feet are either “burning” (higher temp) or “freezing” (lower temp), even the they feel normal to the touch.
Also, if I go outside or walk on concrete or gravel in the wee hours, 20 mins later, (yes, sounds like delayed hypersensitivity), my soles get so itchy I have to scrape them hard with a knife/scissors or other metal object to get any relief.
I’ve been dealing with hypothyroidism for about 3 1/2 years now. My thyroid problems came right after the birth of my daughter and I have never been the same. I’m curious if there is anyone out there suffering with “brain fog” as severely as I am. I can’t focus, I feel like I’m looking through things, I’m forgetful, It’s hard for me to go back to school because I can’t retain anything new, I’m even scared to drive because I am so out of it all the time. My thyroid has done a number on my mind and mental health. I can’t seem to find any relief with any medications. The medications come with their own set of side effects that are unpleasant for me. Is this normal? Will I ever feel myself again?
I suffered the same. The first real change in the brain fog came when I stopped eating gluten which reduced the fog by 75% and I felt great. Then I stopped all other grains followed by cutting out ALL sugars except for a small amount of honey. I had terrible gut issues and found the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. No supplement, medication or diet has ever restored my hair loss or reduced my weight but I live in hope. The upside is I feel so much better and can function well with energy for family and life.
I dealt with Hyperthyroidism for 3 years with no relief of leveling out…ever! Can we say up and down and up and down on the medication and hormones, never knew right from left either! After fighting breast cancer on 2 different journeys (6 years apart) and than 3 yrs of being cancer free I was than diagnosed and blessed with Hyperthyroidism and I was just plain out tired of fighting, not just for my over all health and well being but also my endocrine system. I’m a fighter folks and I don’t quit, not without a good fight, but I made the hard call to radiate my thyroid in November of 2019….I mean why not, after chemo and radiation therapy how could this be any harder or worse…right!? When I was Hyper my hair loss was frightening, I just grew it back for Peters sake! Until I read a blog of a lady who told about a supplement change she tried and it worked! I began taking a multi vitamin, Iron, Collagen (I was drinking a broth…yucko, until I found capsules, and biotin. I also started using a hair product called Avalon hair thickening shampoo n conditioner (inexpensive ladies)and began adding essential oils to it, a concoction really. My hair not only stopped falling out after a month it grew! And still today it is growing, believe me I check my comb and hair brush after using them just to make sure I’m still not imagining such great results! Granted, I’m still a newbie in this Hypo stage and so far no hair loss, but let me tell you about my poor nails! Biotin? Collagen? The poor digits are brittle! My next search is going to be essential oils, those oils are awesome folks. If I find and use any I will come back and share my findings and my personal results.