Thyroid or Menopause?
It’s easy to assume that symptoms like hot flashes, fatigue, insomnia, and weight issues are related to menopause if you are a middle aged woman. Those symptoms, however, may indicate you have a thyroid issue instead of or along with periomenopause concerns.
Both perimenopause and thyroid issues can begin in women who are in their 30’s and 40’s, so it’s important to determine which condition is causing your symptoms before treating them. Using hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to treat supposed menopause symptomsmay not helpful if you problem is really your thyroid.
Menopause and thyroid problems have a number of similar symptoms:
- fatigue
- dry skin
- depression
- anxiety
- sore joints
- weight issues
- brain fog
- cholesterol issues
- sleep concerns
- hair issues
- sweating
- temperature issues
If you have both menopause and thyroid issues, HRT can affect the amount of thyroid medication you will need. Thyroid issues can also exacerbate menopause symptoms. Being in menopause can also increase your risk for developing thyroid issues.
As there can be some slight differences in symptoms, keeping a symptom diary can help you and your medical team determine if your symptoms are related to thyroid issues or menopause. You can also have your thyroid levels checked to see if there are some thyroid concerns.
This content was written by staff of HysterSisters.com by non-medical professionals based on discussions, resources and input from other patients for the purpose of patient-to-patient support. Reprinted with permission: Thyroid or Menopause?
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