Is fatigue is wearing you down It could be your thyroid.

Is fatigue part of your daily life?  Do you think to yourself “if I could just get a good night’s rest I would feel a lot better”, but the days and weeks pass and you still feel wiped out?

For millions of adults around the world, fatigue is a serious lifestyle issue that severely compromises quality of life, work and health.  Fatigue is an easy symptom to diagnose, but treating it is a different story altogether.  Traditional medicine often overlooks or glosses over the impact that fatigue has on our lives.

Fatigue goes beyond ‘just feeling tired’.  It is an insidious condition that can lead to a host of medical problems including insomnia, mood disorders, digestive disorders and headaches.  Dr. Pansak Sugraroek, Medical Director for the Vitallife Clinic at Bumrungrad International Hospital, says that fatigue is a “very slippery slope” that can cascade into real health problems if left unchecked.

 

Dr. Pansak says one largely undiagnosed cause of fatigue is the thyroid.  The thyroid gland is a hormone-producing gland located in the middle part of the neck that regulates the body’s metabolism, and affects virtually every function in our body from our energy levels to heart rate.

To put things into perspective, over 20 million people in the United States suffer from thyroid disease, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and 60% are unaware of it! Restated, more than 12% of the American population will develop a thyroid condition during their lifetime.

 

Dr. Pansak says that “fatigue” or feeling “low energy” is the number one complaint of patients who visit the clinic for the first time.  “It the chief complaint for over 25% of our patients,” says Dr. Pansak a Board Certified Obstetrics and Gynecology doctor at Vitallife and Bumrungrad International Hospital.

 

Dr. Pansak says that people with hormonal imbalances often exhibit signs of fatigue, lethargy, moodiness, muscle and joint pain, and changes in body temperature and weight.  While the precise cause of thyroid disease is largely unknown, he notes that there are four main contributing lifestyle factors that may be causing your thyroid gland to malfunction and produce symptoms of chronic fatigue.

 

Stress and diet
Food intolerances particularly to gluten and dairy
Exposure to radiation and toxins
Deficiencies in iodine and selenium

Thyroid disorders are typically managed by endocrinologists, who specialize in conditions like hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid production) and hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid production).  A hyperactive thyroid supercharges the body’s normal process and leads to rapid heartbeat, hand tremors, anxiety, and excessive sweating while a hypoactive thyroid that causes the body to slow down and leads to weigh gain, lethargy, hair loss, irritability, and decreased libido.

 

Dr. Pansak says that many women suffer silently and unknowingly from thyroid hormone deficiency.  It is estimated that 10% of women in America have a thyroid hormone deficiency and many do know about it.  The approach that Dr. Pansak and his colleagues at Vitallife take when treating fatigue revolves around identifying the root cause driving fatigue, which are often lifestyle rather than medical in nature.

 

Lifestyle tips that Dr. Pansak recommends are proper diet, a regular exercise regimen, stress management through practices like yoga and meditation, and restful sleep are key factors to maintain healthy hormone levels and feel balanced.  He recommends women who experience the symptoms of an over or under-active thyroid should consider getting their hormone levels checked.

The Vtallife Clinic at Bumrungrad International Hospital specializes in helping men and women achieve hormone balance.