84 Burnett St Bundaberg
Could a thyroid condition be underlying the symptoms you’ve been experiencing lately? We’ve been seeing more and more thyroid cases here at Burnett House. While each client is unique in terms of their contributing factors and symptoms, there are 5 major areas that come up when the thyroid is struggling.
Let’s take a closer look at how your thyroid can influence your health.
One of the first signs of thyroid dysfunction is low energy levels. This is because the thyroid is the master of your metabolism, including your energy production.
If you’re not producing enough thyroid hormone to run your metabolism, the function of your cells slows right down. This includes energy production that takes place in the cells. As a result, you feel sluggish, exhausted and run-down even when you’ve been taking it easy.
Low energy is most common with an underactive thyroid. But you may also experience fatigue as a side effect of an overactive thyroid.
Most people look to caffeine to get them through a tired day. But if you have a thyroid condition, multiple cups of coffee won’t alleviate your fatigue for long. You need to work on rebalancing the thyroid if you want to feel energised again.
Your gut health is the foundation of your wellbeing – if your gut is unhappy, the rest of the body suffers. But your thyroid can make it difficult for you to get a hold on your digestive health.
Symptoms such as constipation, bloating and low stomach acid/digestive enzymes are common when your thyroid is underactive. But these aren’t just unpleasant side effects – they can actually contribute to digestive conditions such as small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (or SIBO).
Similarly, an overactive thyroid not only causes symptoms such as diarrhoea – it can also contribute to an imbalance in gut microbes, known as dysbiosis.
If you’ve been working on gut symptoms for a while with no real improvement, your thyroid might be contributing to the issue.
Have you noticed you don’t handle stress as well as you used to? Don’t just write it off as a sign of ‘getting older’ – this could be a result of a thyroid condition.
When it comes to an underactive thyroid, the impaired function of the body also affects your nervous system. This results in symptoms including low tolerance of stress and feeling overwhelmed or unable to cope.
For an overactive thyroid, the sped-up metabolism can ‘burn out’ the nervous system. As a result, your stress tolerance plummets because your nervous system simply can’t take on anymore!
This goes both ways, as stress is a big contributing factor to both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. So, it doesn’t really matter which comes first – managing your stress has to be a top priority if you have a thyroid condition.
Your thyroid hormones influence your reproductive hormones. So if you’re suffering from symptoms such as PMS, mood swings, perimenopause issues or even fertility concerns, it’s time to check your thyroid.
When the thyroid is underactive, you may notice symptoms such as heavy, painful periods and depressive symptoms in the lead-up to your period. Studies have found that many women with PMS symptoms have subclinical hypothyroidism – and treating the thyroid issue completely relieved their PMS symptoms.
An overactive thyroid tends to cause light periods, irregular periods or even absence of menstruation (amenorrhea). Both low and high thyroid hormones can contribute to fertility issues.
More people are struggling with mental health concerns than ever. Although there has been an increase in stress, financial worries and the like, part of this increase may be due to thyroid disease.
An underactive thyroid often goes hand in hand with depression, although anxiety symptoms are not uncommon. The opposite goes for an overactive thyroid – anxiety is more common, but depression can also be a symptom. Studies show that up to 40% of people with mental health conditions like anxiety and depression have an underlying thyroid condition.
Mental health conditions have many contributing factors, so addressing your thyroid might not be a complete fix. However, if you have thyroid dysfunction, restoring balance could alleviate these symptoms.
Do you suspect your thyroid is contributing to your health struggles? The team at Burnett House are here to help you.
Our acupuncturist Jamie combines acupuncture with other tools such as dry needling and remedial massage to relieve symptoms such stress that could exacerbate your thyroid issues.
Our naturopath Trish can look at diet and lifestyle factors that can help to support thyroid function. She can also assess whether nutrient deficiencies are contributing to your thyroid symptoms.
To book an appointment with Jamie or Trish at our Bundaberg clinic, book an appointment online here or call us on (07) 41522372
