Sunday, February 16, 2014

Information About Hypothyroid Weight Loss

By Dr. Kevin Dobrzynski


People suffering from hypothyroidism often find losing weight a common battle. If you have been trying to lose weight but failed, your thyroid is to be blamed.

It's estimated that 27 million Americans have a thyroid condition and many more go undiagnosed. The most common form of thyroid disease is hypothyroidism, which is a low thyroid or hypothyroid. This condition is not only affecting Americans but also anyone living in an industrialized country.

Hypothyroidism results in a low metabolism, making hypothyroid weight loss a never-ending battle. To make matters worse, low-calorie diets can depress your metabolic rate further causing permanent damage to your metabolism.

Here's the real problem...

People with this disorder often go undiagnosed or even misdiagnosed. You may experience all the symptoms of the disease but your physician may not recognize the problem.

The correct diagnosis of this disorder is often missed due to its symptoms. People suffering from this thyroid condition will tell you that their entire body is affected.

Another reason why doctors miss the correct diagnosis of this condition is that the blood test is often inconclusive. The test is called TSH, and it has up to 80 percent chance of not recognizing the disorder.

If you think you may have a thyroid problem, you will need to take action!

Start by monitoring your symptoms. Keep a journal and grade your symptoms on a scale of 0-3 (0 = not present or not applicable, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = severe). Keep a journal for a minimum of a week and up to a month, dating all your entries.

Next, perform an at-home basal body temperature test. One of the telltale signs of a low metabolism is a depressed body temperature.

To test your body temperature, place the thermometer by your bedside at night. When you wake up in the morning, before even getting out of bed, place the thermometer under your armpit for around 10 minutes or so. Make sure you sit still as any movement will affect the accuracy of the test.

Your body temperature should be measured for the next 3 days. Women who are menstruating can do the test on the second and third day of their period. However, if you have any infections at the moment, your test result will be inaccurate.

Normal readings should be between 97.8 to 98.2. If the reading is below this point, you have a thyroid disorder. Your weight loss battle will continue until your body temperature and metabolism rate become normal again.

Present your symptoms checklist and your basal body temperature test to your endocrinologist. Endocrinologists specialize in hormones and are much more knowledgeable about thyroid conditions than regular doctors.

Hypothyroid and weight loss struggles go hand-in-hand. If you're convinced that you have a problem, yet your doctor disagrees, or your lab tests don't support your suspicion, don't give up. Try another doctor and keep looking until you find one that will listen to you. You are your own best doctor and you know your body better than anyone.




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