5 Symptoms You Think Are Normal

How did we think these symptoms were normal? I am with you on this. I thought diarrhoea was normal until I was 24 ?!! It was just something I lived with, and over the years felt like it was just the way my gut functioned. No one said any different. So I totally understand you. 

Here are a few symptoms of low thyroid function that you think are normal:

• Low energy/fatigue:  This is the kind of tired and lethargy you feel every day (and need a coffee or 2, or 3 to get out of bed and/or through the day).. Without this, you would struggle, but you think that everyone goes through it, so it’s ok.

• Brain Fog/Memory loss: This feels like walking into a room and forgetting why you were there and what you were going to do? (Everyday!). Or struggling to remember words and feeling like your vocabulary is getting smaller. You need caffeine to be able to concentrate (and get focused) to get through your morning meeting with a sharp mind. But since you work pretty hard, you shrug it off as having a busy life and high functioning job.

•  Hair loss: You feel like you used to have more hair, and it's thinning, receding, it’s drier and more course, and you are consistently changing your hairstyle to cover your scalp these days. You think this could be genetic, or stress, and it might just be your fate to have thin hair.  Your mum/dad was bald? So it's in the blood right?! 

• Weight gain: You go to the gym, eat pretty well and still you don’t loose weight.  Instead your belly is getting flabbier and bigger. Or you notice that your clothes are tighter and you’re looking for larger sizes. You feel like it’s the normal thing to put on weight as you get older, and work more

• Digestive upset: This might present in different ways. You have altered bowel movements, (a combo of diarrhoea, constipation, gas, bloating etc) and since you have travelled the world, or eat a variety of foods, you feel like this is a normal thing. Who has normal poo’s anyway right?!

Actually…none of these symptoms are normal, and the good news is that you don’t have to live with them! There are more symptoms that can be related to thyroid dysfunction as well.

Your thyroid controls your body’s metabolism and when your thyroid slows down, you body’s ability to convert food to energy slows down, and your digestion and cognitive function can be affected.

Solutions:

•  You can find out if they are related to your thyroid (or not) with integrative testing, and other functional analysis. 

•  Use modalities from Naturopathy and ancient sciences such as Ayurveda eg. diet, nutritional, herbal medicines, lifestyle changes etc.

•  Focus on doing the right movements/exercises/yoga for your body type, at the right times of the day.

•  Work with preventative anti-inflammatory approaches to avoid symptoms from getting worse and create balance in your body/mind.

I'm living proof that you CAN make sustainable changes, and my clients would agree that you DON'T have to live with these symptoms. 

One of the first things you can do is stop, and analyse your current feeling - are your symptoms ongoing? Do they hinder your every day life? If you are not sure, speak to a holistic practitioner to discuss your symptoms and support you in finding ways to overcome them.