Thyroid Menopause Effects - Things Every Woman Should Know


When you read a term like "thyroid menopause" you will wonder whether you are speaking of one of two diseases. To make things clearer, this article will look into the overlapping of the thyroid problems over the menopause problems and draw conclusions on how to differentiate and treat each one in the shortest possible time.

What is thyroid problem?

Usually when we speak of thyroid problem we refer to the problem where the thyroid works less with the result that the woman (or man) gains weight even with the least intake of food. There is an opposite effect to this affliction where the thyroid over-functions and then person stays thin like a rail in spite of eating like an ogre.

During the menopause the malfunction of thyroid which causes weight gain is most common. However, because the onset of pre-menopausal stage will give almost the same symptoms as the malfunctioning of the thyroid for which one will hide the other. This is the reason why, if you experience acute weight gain in spite of the best medications against the pre-menopausal symptoms, you will need to check for thyroid function. You might be having the thyroid menopause.

The thyroid symptoms include most of those present in pre-menopause stage, i.e. mood swings, anxiety attacks, lack of sexual interest, change in sleep pattern, change in skin color and texture, and so on.

How to differentiate the thyroid menopause from simple menopause

There are fortunately a few ways to separate the two from one another. Women who have thyroid problems will experience edema of legs and arms, neck pain, loss eye brows and lashes, extreme weight gain (which should actually clinch the recognition). These are some of the symptoms that are definitely not replicated in menopause.

The existence of even one of the above described symptoms should immediately make you rush to the medical practitioner for a thyroid test. Actually the thyroid problems is highly aggravated by the onset of menopause and hence it is imperative to fist check it before proceeding in treating the symptoms of the pre-menopausal stage.

The thyroid menopause is actually much more dreadful when coupled with menopause than when encountered singly. This is because the thyroid is a hormone producing gland itself and the imbalance of hormones that is created by the ovaries shut down creates havoc in the signals that the malfunctioning thyroid glands reads and interprets. This is why efforts should be first made to treat the thyroid first.