Home » 10 Signs you may have an Underactive Thyroid Problem

Here are the 10 signs you should look for which may mean that you are suffering from an under active thyroid. Separately, they could obviously indicate other things but all together, it may be a useful way of finding out early if it is likely you are hypothyroid.

Remember, your doctor or endocrinologist is the best person to be able to confirm that you have got a thyroid problem. This guide is intended to help you recognize the symptoms of hypothyroidism.

Do you find that despite following a low fat diet and working out regularly, you're not losing any weight and if anything, the weight is slowly creeping on? Your clothes are staring to feel a little tight and your stomach feels constantly bloated. You often find yourself undoing the top button of your trousers half way through the day just to get comfortable.

Most likely you notice this after showering or brushing your hair. A lot more hair left in the brush than normal and small patches of your head are starting to look thin. The outside part of your eyebrows may also be thinning.

Do you find yourself unable to get warm - have you started wearing bed socks and feel constantly chilly even when you are indoors. And then sometimes at night, feel incredibly hot and sweaty for short periods of time.

We can all be forgetful from time to time but do you find that this has increased lately where you feel a little vague and 'foggy brained' when trying to think about things. Often forgetting what you were going to say half way through a sentence or just finding it difficult to concentrate and focus.

Do you feel constantly fatigued regardless of how much or how little sleep you have had? The kind of tired that makes you feel that you constantly need to lie down and ideally would take naps during the day if you could. One of the very early symptoms of hypothyroidism can be feelings of insomnia despite feeling exhausted, you just can't sleep for more than a few broken hours a night.

This can be mild for some people and pretty extreme for others depending on your nature. Do you find yourself unable to find joy in life and see the fun side of things and instead feel pessimistic and low for no apparent reason?

Your lack of passion for like can also be seen in your lack of passion for affection and sex. Do you feel a little disconnected from your urges and unattractive?

This can become very obvious after consuming alcohol but do you have a general puffiness around the face that makes you look unwell and as though are bloated or retaining water?

Have you noticed a change in your complexion, especially on your face. Do you have dry patches around your face?

Hypothyroidism can make conceiving very difficult for various reasons. It can upset your ovulation cycle making it difficult to get or stay pregnant. If you've been unsuccessful so far when trying to conceive and all avenues have been explored, it's worth talking to your doctor about getting your thyroid tested so you can review you TSH numbers. Higher TSH numbers ideally need to be brought down to below 2 to have a safe and successful pregnancy.

All these symptoms can be very frustrating to live with because they can creep up on you and add to your general sense of not feeling like yourself but they could be prevented if you are indeed suffering from an under active thyroid. A blood test and the correct dosage of medication can make these symptoms go away so don't suffer in silence - if you feel that you suffer from at least 7 of the symptoms above, make an appointment with your doctor to get yourself checked out.