Are you struggling with Thyropause? Getting to the bottom of your weight gain and low energy!
The hormonal shifts and changes that happen around peri-menopause can be to what we see at puberty, with estrogen and progesterone shifting significantly. We know that a low thyroid function can worsen menopausal symptoms. In this post, I’d like to take a closer look at thyropause and some of the testing you might want to look into having.
Are you struggling with:
Weight gain regardless of what you eat or how much you exercise.
Poor sleep- waking at 2-3 am or every two hours
Fluctuating moods- with low patience and tolerance for small things that would usually not bother you.
Brain fog- which is starting to impact your performance at work
Erratic gut function- fluctuating constipation, diarrhoea or significant changes in your gut and appetite.
Low energy- regardless of how much rest you take.
Hair loss or skin thinning.
Thyropause what is it?
Hypothyroidism is a condition where there is a reduction in the amount of thyroid hormone impacting your metabolism and the function of all of the cells in the body.
The fluctuation in estrogen and progesterone may make you more likely to struggle with your thyroid also. To read more on the hormonal changes that happen around menopause head across to this post.
Recently, researchers have found that oestrogen can impact thyroid receptors on cells. Thyroid receptors are the molecules on cells that allow thyroid hormone into the cell, a study found that lower oestrogen levels around perimenopause and post-menopause can therefore impact existing thyroid function.
To learn more about hypothyroidism and hashimoto’s head to this post.
A separate study has also found that women who have hypothyroidism also tend to suffer more with menopausal symptoms than women with normal healthy thyroid function. Interestingly, researchers have found that menopause symptoms improved once thyroid function was optimised.
Currently, the average age of menopause is around 50 years, however, for some women, this transition can start as early as 40.
What are the symptoms of a hypothyroid?
Increased sensitivity to cold/ cold hands and feet. Worth mentioning that sometimes the hot flushes of menopause can mask this common thyroid symptom.
Increased body fat, despite eating a similar diet and exercising.
Low mood- depression. Which is why it may be a good idea to have a full thyroid assessment before a diagnosis of depression is made.
Thinning of hair and skin.
Low energy, constantly feeling tired.
Poor memory and brain fog.
High lipids- cholesterol and triglycerides
Weakness in muscles and joints
If you’d like to take a look at the symptoms there is a fair amount of cross over between perimenopause and hypothyroid symptoms.
The key thing to note here is that if you’re thyroid is under active you are likely to suffer more through your peri-menopause, and unfortunately beyond.
Research has shown that low thyroid can also increase your risk of osteoporosis as can low oestrogen levels, it’s a perfect storm leading to chronic health issues.
Low thyroid function and menopause also significantly impact cardiovascular function and your risk of heart issues in later life.
Many women who come to my naturopathic clinic have lived with their symptoms for months or years hoping they’ll pass with menopause, have testing early and you may be able to avoid months and years of poor health.
Testing for thryopause
There are many things we can do to support optimum thyroid function, the clinical approach we take as naturopaths largely depends on the cause of the low thyroid. You need to look beyond your TSH levels on your blood results as this tells us very little about your actual thyroid health, request a full panel from your health care provider or naturopath. You might want to consider testing the following:
Iodine deficiency. Learn more about this mineral here.
Selenium status.
Thyroid anti-bodies- if there is an auto-immune component, there are many great herbal medicines we can use to help.
The gut function plays an integral role in total body health but also thyroid health and auto-immune conditions.
Cortisol and stress work to reduce this load as it can have a significant impact on thyroid health.
How does a naturopath help with thryropause?
If you are struggling with severe and ongoing menopausal symptoms, it may be worth addressing your thyroid first. If you’re considering pharmaceutical measures like HRT to help you get through the transition then taking the time to investigate and address thyroid can have significant benefits not just on your symptoms management but also long-term on your bone and cardiovascular health.
We know peri-menopause is a tipping point in a woman’s life where you can potentially avoid more chronic and long-term health complications, preventative medicine can be useful at this time.
Don’t wait months or years for symptoms to pass, the first step is often testing to get clear insights to what’s happening for you. From there, you may consider herbal medicine, nutritional support, diet and lifestyle changes to optimise your thyroid function and support your transition through menopause.
If you’d like to know more about how a naturopath can help with thyroid function, head across to this page.
If you have questions specific to your current health state, please feel free to book a complimentary call down below.