Menu
Informational Posts / Supporting a Thyroid Patient

Symptoms of Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s

Symptoms of Hypothyroidism
Originally published on 12th January 2016
Last updated on 29th October 2018

Do you suspect you have an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) or Hashimoto’s? Or do you have one that you’ve been told is ‘optimally treated’, yet still have symptoms?

A white and black butterfly on pink flowers

The following symptoms have been reported by patients on a large scale.

I myself have had most of these.

If you are on thyroid medication and still having these, you are likely not optimally treated, or have other things you need to address.

See also: Signs Your Thyroid Medication May Need Adjusting

A properly treated thyroid condition should have no or very few symptoms. Of course, other illness, conditions and deficiencies can cause the below too. So explore them all where possible.

As well as optimising my thyroid medication, I also had to work on some other things to resolve all my symptoms.

Related Articles: What is the Difference Between Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s? and Why It’s Important to Know if You Have Hashimoto’s

A black and cream striped butterfly

(Not every thyroid patient will have all of these, but please let me know if I’ve missed any. Some of these reported patient symptoms listed below can be reflective of other conditions. An adequately treated underactive thyroid/hypothyroidism usually shows no or very little symptoms. These symptoms typically reflect an inadequately treated thyroid condition).

Click on a symptom to learn more about it’s cause and how to resolve it.

Many people find that they have their own combination of this long list of symptoms or even experience something not shown here. In fact, this list is by no means exhaustive; I’m always hearing about new symptoms. As thyroid hormone is required for every cell and every function in the body, when we don’t have enough of them, the effects are far reaching.

Read about my 14 Missed Signs of a Thyroid Condition Before I Was Diagnosed.

You can click on the hyperlinks in the above post to learn more and see references to information given.

Do you have any symptoms to add to the list? Let me know in the comments section.

About Author

Rachel Hill is the highly ranked and multi-award winning thyroid patient advocate, writer, speaker and author behind The Invisible Hypothyroidism. Her thyroid advocacy work includes writing articles, authoring books, producing her Thyroid Family email newsletters and speaking on podcasts and at events about the many aspects thyroid disease affects and how to overcome these. She is well-recognised as a crucial and influential contributor to the thyroid community and has a large social media presence. Her bestselling books include "Be Your Own Thyroid Advocate" and "You, Me and Hypothyroidism".

19 Comments

  • JT
    March 5, 2024 at 6:03 am

    I’ve had hypothyroidism for 12 years, discovered when I was 23 due to fatigue and menstruation absence. I was able to balance my hormones without hormone therapy. I haven’t experienced those symptoms since. Truly, I don’t feel like I experience symptoms at all. The last round of testing my TSH was very high, but I remain pretty symptomless. I don’t understand.

    Reply
  • Tricia
    November 28, 2023 at 9:34 pm

    Hi, I have dry skin in my ears which are also itchy. Dry skin all over my body; kept in check by a soft water system and thick shower creme especially for dry skin. If I shower with ordinary water my skin sheds.

    Recently I have a real problem with my feet. The peroneal tendonitis has returned in my left foot and the fat has migrated from the balls of both feet causing peripheral neuropathy, a feeling of standing on lumps, loss of balance and pain/discomfort.
    I wonder if this is also due to the Hashs hypothyroidism?

    Reply
  • Michael Jon
    October 21, 2023 at 7:31 pm

    Hello and thank you for your web site! Has anyone ever had a metallic taste, runny nose, and horse voice? Initially, I went to doctors for a tender neck. It took 3 different doctors to find out it was my thyroid.. Thanks to your suggestion, I ordered the full panel thyroid test and hormone test from LetsGetChecked.com. Only my TSH was high by 25%, which is s big improvement from prior tests. I’m hoping this will cycle out so I can avoid going on medication.

    Reply
    • Tricia
      November 28, 2023 at 9:36 pm

      Yes I’ve had all three. I have Hashimotos hypothyroidism

      Reply
  • Katie
    September 19, 2023 at 10:19 am

    The one thing I haven’t located on your site is anything about the Broda Barnes temperature test. I’m sure you know about it already and I’m not looking in the right place so apologies for any repetition. But my case study might be interesting for your other readers because it is how I eventually got a diagnosis: I had been to a number of GPs in the UK, most of whom were dismissive (“you’re tall and thin, not the right body shape for hypothyroidism” / ‘your TSH and T4 are normal. so no problem” etc etc.). But I’m a qualified nutritionist and, with great luck, one of the tutors on my course told us about Broda Otto Barnes, the American physician who studied endocrine dysfunction and thyroid in particular (so ahead of his time!) which is listed in the American Physician’ Desk Reference and is an approved test in the U.S. (Sadly UK medics usually don’t know about Dr Barnes or dismiss the test as a waste of time – NO IT ISN’T!). I took recommended basal temperature test (10 days, first thing in the morning before getting up. Write them down and after 10 days divide by 10 to get the average. Details are on the Internet, just search Broda Barnes basal temperature test). Mine was 35 which, according to my doctor here in Spain is pretty conclusive of hypothyroidism even without any other symptoms showing. My detailed blood tests had all come back as normal so the doctor asked for a 24 hour urine test which showed a BIG problem with T3. Instead of thyroxine, she found me a glandular supplement (1/4 grain) manufactured in Germany. This has helped enormously. I used it before but had to give up because of the cost but now find I have no choice. It works, so I buy that instead of new clothes, holidays, etc. Health is more important than anything. Hope this info is useful to other sufferers.

    Reply
  • Lorraine
    July 24, 2023 at 7:46 pm

    I can’t stand up for long just seen it’s one of the symptoms, what is the reason for it?

    Reply
  • Breege
    July 17, 2023 at 8:03 pm

    Skin lesions on face and hands
    Muscle spasms in legs
    Zero Blood sugar control
    Starving but thought of food makes me nauseous
    Very strong and fast heartbeat after eating
    Weakness after eating

    Reply
  • Annemarie Loy
    May 21, 2023 at 2:23 pm

    Hi Rachel, I have ticked 95/97% of symptoms on this list, most I have accumulated over many years (now 46 years young) these symptoms up until now have been attributed to other conditions I have, asthma, Crohns, sinus issues. Interesting recently experiencing hearing loss but again attributed to sinus issues. Bruising easily, my son just joked the other day that he could fart on me and it would leave a bruise 🤭 But it is the fatigue that took me to the GP and she felt it was thyroid related. That cannot lift your head off the pillow no matter how many naps you have…horrendous! Glad to have found you, already have picked up on the tip to book early blood draw and take my medication straight after, so thank you .

    Reply
  • V
    May 7, 2023 at 4:22 pm

    As an African American woman who is caramel colored, I noticed the back of my hands , inside of my hands, and bottom of my feet began to turn darker , months before my diagnosis of hypothyroidism. It was very unsightly and once I began taking the Levothyroxine, I noticed it cleared up in about a month or so.

    Reply
  • Lynne
    September 20, 2022 at 8:43 pm

    Sue, what kind of vision problems do you have. I cant stand bright light, or reflective light. I cant go out on a sunny day because it makes my dizziness worse.

    Reply
  • Lynne
    September 20, 2022 at 8:40 pm

    I get something that I call brain zaps. They were really bad back in 2019 but are better now. They usually occur during the night and can range from barely noticeable to really intense and it changes from day to day. I did start to get these just after I quit citalopram but that was back in 2019 and I had been on citalopram before and not experienced them when I quit that first time. Not really sure if its actually inside my brain or if it’s just very fleeting muscle spasms, because sometimes i get a body jerk along with them, and at the same time I get a wooshing noise in my right ear, which is not tinnitus, because I also have that ( since I was 30 and I am now 60). When they were really bad my eyes would be involved and feel like they moved very tiny bit. Also the worse they are I would then have a really bad headache when I woke up in the morning. I also have problems with my vision. I cant stand bright reflective light and going outside on a sunny day is really bad. I have dizziness also and the light sensitivity makes it worse. My dizziness is hard to describe I sort of feel like I just got off a boat. the room is not spinning, but I feel like I am wobbling back and forth. I am much better now than I was back in 2019. I did just get diagnosed back in March of this year, so still getting used to medication. Also for several years until about 6 months ago, I think I had tensor tympani syndrome or something like it. I would have tapping in my right ear sort of like someone typing. It usually happened when I was lying down trying to fall asleep or if I was talking to someone on the phone. that has gone away.

    Reply
  • Sue
    August 31, 2022 at 10:59 pm

    Bad tremors, unfounded abject fear, vision issues, Restless Leg Syndrome, excessive sweating, worsening of high BP, headache, change in taste buds.

    Reply
  • barbara crawford
    May 7, 2022 at 1:26 pm

    dry inner ear canal . also dry scalp , skin behind ears dry .and crack.

    Reply
  • Karen Taylor-Brown
    July 24, 2020 at 3:01 pm

    I tick around 97% off that little list you’ve come up with & have done since I was finally diagnosed back in circa 2003/04. All I have the energy for is, just to say, it’s just ridiculous beyond words & yet they call themselves educated!

    Where else in the world does it take just 1 singular blood test to find a serious health problem…?
    Where else in the world does it take just 1 singular medication to solve/manage that health problem…?

    Reply
  • Catheryn Ching
    February 13, 2018 at 3:52 pm

    Nice blog here!

    Reply
    • Rachel Hill
      February 21, 2018 at 9:29 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  • David Pippingham
    March 18, 2016 at 6:25 pm

    Didn’t know there was so many!

    Reply

Leave a Reply