Health & Wellness

What are Early Warning Signs of Thyroid Problems in Females

Are you looking for what are early warning signs of thyroid problems in females? Weight gain, poor concentration, crabby, aches, and moodiness? What went wrong? Maybe, the tiny gland in your neck could have gone wrong. It’s nothing but the thyroid gland. When your thyroid isn’t working properly, it can impose dramatic changes in a variety of functions in your body.

Some many signs and indications show your thyroid is not functioning properly. Before looking into the Signs of thyroid problems in women, let’s take a brief overview of the thyroid gland.

In this Article

  1. What is Thyroid Disease
  2. Thyroid Effects in Females
  3. Types of Thyroid Disease
  4. Causes of Thyroid in Female
  5. What are Early Warning Signs of Thyroid Problems in Females

What is Thyroid Disease

The thyroid is the butterfly-shaped gland located in your neck. It plays a pivotal role in governing the metabolic activities in the whole body. It is a part of the endocrine system in the body, which secretes 3 hormones.

1. Triiodothyronine – T3

2. Thyroxine – T4

3. Thyroid-stimulating hormone – TSH

T3 and T4 are responsible for the regulation of metabolism, body temperature, and heart rate. TSH controls the T3 and T4 hormones.

So, even the slightest dysfunction of the gland causes a lot of disturbance in the body.

Thyroid Effects in Females

Studies suggest that females may be more sensitive to the effects of thyroid hormones on metabolism and weight. Obesity has been linked to an increased risk for thyroid problem in female. Some research suggests that females may be more prone to obesity if their thyroid hormones are not in balance.

Types of Thyroid Disease

As stated above, dysfunction or malfunction of the thyroid gland causes different disorders in the body.

The two common problems that your body encounter due to thyroid imbalance is,

1. Hypothyroid – Insufficient secretion of thyroid hormones

2. Hyperthyroid – Excessive secretion of thyroid hormones

Other types of thyroid problems include:

  • Thyroid nodules – Lump in the thyroid gland
  • Thyroiditis – Inflammation of the gland
  • Goiter – Enlargement of the gland
  • Thyroid cancer – the growth of cancer cells in the thyroid gland

Causes of Thyroid in Female

Some of the most common causes of thyroid problems female include:

  • Hormonal imbalances
  • Eating disorders
  • Genetics
  • Environmental factors
  • Illness
  • Thyroid surgery
  • Certain medications

What are Early Warning Signs of Thyroid Problems in Females

Early Warning Signs of Thyroid Problems in Females

So, how do you know that your thyroid is not working properly? lets see what are early warning signs of thyroid problems in females are-

1. Fatigue, where you are totally Exhausted

Fatigue or feeling tired is a common indication of many problems. You may feel tired even when you do not eat properly. However, fatigue is strongly linked with hypothyroidism.

You feel tired round the clock, regardless of what you sleep, how much sleep, and how long you rest.

If you feel totally exhausted even after a good meal or a good night’s sleep, it is an evident sign your thyroid isn’t working.

2. Unidentifiable State of being Sad/Depressed

Isn’t depression too common? Yes. An extended state of sadness aggravates depression. However, when you have no valid reason to explain why you are even sad, it signifies an underactive thyroid gland.

Why? Thyroid glands regulate the other hormones in the body. Serotonin is a feel-good hormone that is greatly impacted by the underactive thyroid. You hardly get the sense of that ‘feeling good’ moment.

3. Sudden Weight Gain with no Obvious Reasons

When you eat, and you don’t burn the calories, you gain weight. Weight gain is a gradual process. Yet, it is the name for poor thyroid functions. Weight gain happens suddenly and for unexpected reasons.

Sudden weight gain with no obvious reasons is the most common signs of thyroid problems in women.

However, you are likely to gain a lot of weight due to an underactive thyroid gland. You may follow a healthy diet, stick to the strict diet regime, and eat nutritious food!

Read Also: Benefits of coriander seeds soaked in water for thyroid

4. Hair Thinning

Hair thinning is an early sign of thyroid problems in women. Hair loss or thinning of hair associated with several problems. Poor diet and poor hygiene aggravate hair thinning.

However, when you lose hair in bunches, and it continues to grow thin, it is one of the signs your thyroid isn’t working.

Poor thyroid affects the absorption of nutrients, increase anxiety and stress, make you feel fluttery. All these lead to hair thinning.

5. Constipation and Unusual Bowel Movements

Constipation, for a longer period, is one of the solid signs of hypothyroidism. Many times, it is also accompanied by unusual bowel movements.

When you suffer from overactive thyroid hormones, you may visit the washroom frequently.

6. Feeling Cold Even During the Warm Days

Your thyroid gland is your body’s thermostat. It regulates and manages body temperature.

When your body doesn’t secrete enough thyroid hormones to keep the temperature under control (both increase and/or decrease as per the requirement).

Deficient thyroid hormones reduce both temperatures, and you are likely to feel cold, have an aversion to cold temperature.

7. Irregular Periods

This is one of the major signs your thyroid isn’t working. Lack of hormones affects your menstruation cycle.

The periods become irregular, longer, painful, and you may feel cranky.

8. Brain Fogging

Gone are the days when people call themselves affected by the ‘Brain Fog’ by too much creative thinking! It is indeed a sign of poor hormone secretion.

Brain fog is a common sign experienced by most underactive thyroid patients. It causes subtle loss of memory, reduces your ability to think properly, and make you gloomy.

9. Poor Concentration

An overactive thyroid gland with excessive secretion of thyroid makes you feel anxious and affects your concentrating ability.

You tend to have little to no concentration and appear aggressive most of the time.

10. Wakeup with Puffy Face, Swollen Neck, and Fluid Retention

Puffiness is one of the most common signs of hypothyroidism. Any malfunction to the thyroid gland, as mentioned above, causes puffiness and a swollen neck.

The thyroid gland enlarges as an indication of poor functional ability. Eventually, it leads to inflammation.

Most people wake up with a puffy face in the morning. Severe thyroid causes excessive enlargement of the neck, which appears with multiple folds.

Apart from this, if you are prone to fluid retention in the body for no obvious reasons, the culprit is your thyroid gland.

Also Read: Best Home Remedies For Neck Pain Relief

11. You Want to Sleep 24X7

When your thyroid isn’t working properly, you want to sleep 24X7. It causes an extreme level of exhaustiveness, which never wants you to wake up from the bed.

This is a sign of hypothyroidism. As stated earlier, even if you sleep for hours without any disturbance, you don’t feel fresh.

12. No Sleep

This is contrary to the above symptom. When you cannot sleep properly, it could be a sign of overactive thyroid glands, i.e., hyperthyroidism.

Even when you fall asleep, you are likely to wake up in the middle of sleep and find it difficult to sleep again.

13. Hoarse Voice

Imagine, when you catch a cold or throat infection, your voice turns coarse temporarily. Since an important part of your neck gets affected, it changes your voice.

Poor thyroid functions affect your voice badly. It turns rough and hoarse. Often, a change in voice is accompanied when you develop swelling in the gland.

14. Frequent Miscarriage or Infertility

Since the thyroid gland’s poor functions can cause irregular periods, it can dramatically impact the fertility rate (most common in women) or lead to miscarriage.

If you are trying to conceive but unable to make it, it could be due to your poor functioning thyroid gland.

Poor thyroid is one of the major causes of infertility, next to disorders in reproductive organs.

The thyroid makes you sluggish and creates a hormonal imbalance. It may lead to miscarriage.

15. Low Libido or No Sex-Drive

Thyroid spares nothing in your body when it fails to function normally. As so, it affects your sex drive and/or libido badly.

It impacts the production and regulation of healthy hormones in the body. Eventually, it also affects the sex hormones and reduces your libido.

16. Bulging Eyes and Poor Vision

This is one of the evident signs of hyperthyroidism, overactive thyroid glands. You develop dry eyes and prone to light sensitivity. It is prevalent to develop puffy bags around the eyes.

The above mentioned are the solid signs that indicate your thyroid isn’t working properly. Since most of the symptoms are associated with one or more health problems, it is difficult to diagnose thyroid disorder at an early stage.

However, it indicates poor thyroid functions when you experience a few or more signs together for more than two or three months.

Be sure to read: side effects of no thyroid

References

  1. Autoimmune Thyroid Disease in Women– JAMA Insights 
  2. Effect of thyroid disorder on female– Researchgate.net
  3. Hypothyroidism and women’s health – PubMed

Dr Maria

MD. Board Certified physician. Fellowship In Family Medicine UK. 8 years of medical experience in Lifestyle-related health disorders. Graduated from AIIMS – All India Institute Of Medical Science, INDIA

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