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Mental Health Awareness Week 2019, Hypothyroidism and Body Image

Mental Health Awareness Week 2019, Hypothyroidism and Body Image

TW: Mental Health, Depression, Body Image, Disordered Eating Hosted by the Mental Health Foundation, UK Mental…

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😩 Feeling a bit ‘off’ lately? 🦋Thyroid

😩 Feeling a bit ‘off’ lately?

🦋Thyroid function can fluctuate and often does over time, so dosage adjustments may be needed to keep up with this.

•••

🦋When it comes to a change in TYPE of thyroid medication, you may start to notice that your thyroid meds don’t seem to be working as effectively as they used to if old symptoms are returning or you’re collecting new ones.

📢 Remember: a full thyroid panel is the most accurate way to review thyroid hormone levels and function, and manage a thyroid condition. Including managing medication. This includes Free T3 and Free T4.

1️⃣ You’re Getting Sick More Often

When you are low in thyroid hormone, immune function can be affected.

2️⃣ You’re Feeling Tired All The Time

If you’re feeling fatigued and unrefreshed after sleep or rest, it’s time to check your thyroid levels again.

Often, thyroid fatigue creeps up on us overtime and we start to feel as if we’re always a little tired, which can soon turn in to pure exhaustion.

3️⃣ Symptoms Are Mounting Up

There are many recognised symptoms of hypothyroidism, including:

Tiredness
Sensitivity to cold or heat
Weight gain
Constipation
Depression and anxiety
Muscle aches, pains and weakness
Dry and tight feeling skin
Brittle hair and nails
Loss of libido
Brain fog
Migraines/headaches
Hoarse voice
Thinned or partly missing eyebrows
Poor stamina
Struggles to exercise
Acid reflux
Hair loss

You may have noticed some symptoms creeping back in, or worsening again.

Or perhaps you’re experiencing new ones.

4️⃣ You’re Experiencing Menstrual Changes

Changes to menstrual cycles E.g. length of cycle, length of period, heaviness of period or frequency/regularity of periods, can all indicate a change in your thyroid hormone levels.

5️⃣ More Flares

Flares usually last a day or two, possibly a week. If it’s going on for much longer it may not be a flare but instead a drop in thyroid hormone. After all, flares are not associate with a drop in thyroid hormone levels, but are more a reaction to overexertion.

•••

Let me know below - what are your signs of a dosage adjustment being needed?

- Rachel 🦋💙

👟Exercising with thyroid disease can prove diff

👟Exercising with thyroid disease can prove difficult and if you used to be a very active person before the onset of your thyroid condition, it can be hard to accept that your exercise regimen may need to change so as not to make yourself more unwell.

•••

😫 The ability to withstand the same exercise as before can be affected, So the important first step is learning how to adapt your exercise by listening to your own body.

🙌🏻 No two thyroid patients are the same, but we can all benefit from going at our OWN pace.

🏋️‍♀️Still enjoying the same exercise as you did before your diagnosis with no negative consequences? Great! But it’s not the same for all of us.

🥴 Over exercising is a real issue for many thyroid patients, and doing this can cause you more harm than good, actually hindering your recovery from thyroid symptoms and stopping you from getting your thyroid condition under control.

😱 Repeatedly engaging in overly demanding exercise can cause a surge of biochemical imbalances to occur within the body which can further affect thyroid function.

👂 Listening to our bodies is crucial and taking things at our own pace will help us to avoid overexercising or doing the wrong kind for our bodies.

🚶‍♂️ Exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle and can help us to feel better with our thyroid condition as long as we get it right.

🏊‍♀️ Exercise options that tend to be popular among thyroid patients include yoga, Pilates, walking, swimming, gentle cycling and dancing.

🔑 The key is to find something that can be done at your own pace and gradually increased in terms of frequency and intensity until you find the right match for you.

❓How will you know when you’ve got it? The right exercise will be promoting more energy instead of draining you further. You should feel energised after exercise and not worse off or worse thyroid symptoms such as fatigue.

•••

👇Let me know in the comments what exercise works for you! and remember that you can find this kind of info & so much more useful stuff in my bestselling book ‘Be Your Own Thyroid Advocate’, available on Amazon! 📖

- Rachel 🦋💙

Hi! 👋 I’m Rachel Hill, and I am… •••

Hi! 👋 I’m Rachel Hill, and I am…

•••

👋 A thyroid patient (I have Hashimoto’s - in remission - and hypothyroidism)

👋 The leading UK thyroid advocate - which means I represent the thyroid patient experience, advocate for better treatment and diagnosis, spread awareness and generally want to share what I have learned as a thyroid patient myself!

👋 I am multi-award winning. ☺️ Having won awards that recognise my advocacy efforts in the online world!

👋 I have authored 3 books for thyroid patients and their friends and family! All became instant bestselling status and number 1 new releases on Amazon.

👋 I speak at events about thyroid disease. I am also frequently on podcasts and have been on radio and tv.

👋 I write (email newsletters, online articles).

👋 I have many social media communities - this Instagram page, a busy Facebook page, as well as a bustling Facebook group of 125,000+ people.

👋 I have been on various boards, councils and more (non-profit, judging awards, patient leadership council)

👋 I have worked with UK thyroid charities and US thyroid organisations.

👋 I am a mother of two young boys, born two years apart, which has been interesting on my thyroid health (which I’ve documented!)

👋 I have gone from barely living with thyroid disease to thriving again - and all the ups and downs in between! Combining conventional and functional / lifestyle medicine, which I share all about online and in my books.

👋 I believe there is no one-size-fits-all thyroid treatment. So I share all about this! I’m on Armour + Levo myself, but also needed a lot of lifestyle changes / support to recover.

👋 You will always find me being honest about these experiences!

👋 I love reading, walking, growing plants, cooking and baking, retro fashion, games nights and travelling. I turn 31 this year.

•••

👀 Anything else you want to know?

- Rachel 🦋💙

😴 Does this feel familiar?! ••• The typ

😴 Does this feel familiar?!

•••

The types of sleep issues I am asked about frequently include:

💤 Not being able to get to sleep. Feeling ‘Tired but wired‘.

💤 Waking up frequently during the night.

💤 Waking up at 3am and not being able to get back to sleep.

💤 Waking up feeling unrefreshed or perhaps ‘more tired’ than when you went to bed the night before.

💤 Thyroid symptoms keeping you awake, such as muscle cramps and aches and pains.

💤 Sleep apnea.

💤 Night Sweats.

•••

If you’re experiencing any of these, be sure to check:

✅ Adrenals: cortisol levels. Too high especially and it can really disturbed your sleep.

✅ Thyroid: non-optimised Free T3 levels can impact sleep and feeling well-rested. Having Hashimoto’s can also be linked to having sleep apnea. Keeping thyroid antibodies low can help with this.

✅ Getting in some exercise, sunlight and fresh air during the day.

✅ Having a consistent bedtime routine. Make it a time to unwind and turn off screens a couple of hours before!

✅ Diet: alcohol and caffeine are notorious for affecting sleep but you can also look at your blood sugar. Try a protein focused snack just before bed.

✅ Vitamin levels: iron, ferritin, b12, D etc.

✅ Sex hormones: oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Imbalances can cause night sweats as well as sleep disturbances.

•••

👇 Let me know your experiences with this in the comments and as always, follow me for more thyroid info and please check out the resources linked in my bio for more support!

- Rachel 🦋💙

© Rachel Gask and The Invisible Hypothyroidism, 2015-2024. All Rights Reserved.

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