At first I thought I was just aging as I became fatigued, gained weight, and started losing my hair…
… but when those became extreme, when I put on 32 lbs in less than a month… when I started losing wads of hair, I had a gut feeling that something else was wrong…
I was experiencing many hypothyroidism symptoms like:
#1 Fatigue
#2 Weight Gain
#3 Hair Loss
#4 Brain Fog
#5 Dry skin
#6 Low Sex Drive
#7 Inability to sleep and stay asleep
#8 Joint & muscle pain
#9 Depression & Anxiety
#10 Digestive issues
… and more
#1 Fatigue
It’s one thing to feel tired… but thyroid fatigue is only understood by those who experience it.
You’re exhausted all the time. Even though you are tired you have a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep…
You require more than 8 hours of sleep… and you’re craving a nap throughout the day even if you nap all day…
When you do have energy, you know you have less energy and stamina than others.
I finally figured out how to get my energy back by doing a mix of things like resetting and balancing my hormones, detoxing, and making my body more conductive.
#2 Weight Gain
I had just bought new jeans size 34 (up from size 32) and within a month they fit tight with my belly hanging over my belt. This was quite depressing in and of itself!
I’ve never gained so much weight so easily… 32 lbs in a month.
I would go on diets, “starve” myself”, but no matter what I did, I gained weight.
I found that losing weight with hypothyroidism is nearly impossible unless you jumpstart your hormones.
#3 Hair Loss
I was lathering up my hair in the shower and I remember feeling a weird texture in my hands… when I opened up my eyes to look I saw hair all over my hands, the wall, the curtain and all over the bathtub!!
It was not normal hairloss and it was the first time I really questioned my health. I knew something was going on inside my body and I didn’t know what it was at the time.
Not only was my hair falling, it had become coarse, dry and brittle. It would literally just break and fall off.
I also noticed my eyebrow hair thinned at the outer edges.
#4 Brain Fog
I was having such a hard time staying focused and concentrating I couldn’t even work. I became very forgetful to the point that I thought I had short term memory loss.
I remember when I started reading about hypothyroidism, I’d pick up a book and 20 minutes later, I’m still on the same page, spaced out. I remember turning a page, reading the first sentence and having to flip the page back because I had already forgot what the last page was about…
#5 Dry Skin
Just like my hair, my skin became coarse, dry, scaly, and thin. I noticed it particularly on my face. Not only was my facial skin thinner, it was puffy and swollen around my eyes… I had heavy eyebags and dark around my eyes.
#6 Low Sex Drive
I was experiencing low sex drive.
As embarrassing as it is to publicly admit this, I had a hard time maintaining an erection…
… but I now understand that fertility issues are common when you have hypothyroidism…
This wasn’t just with men… most women with hypothyroidism I talked to also experienced infertility related symptoms like having low sex drive, a hard time conceiving a baby or in some cases had a miscarriage.
#7 Inability to Sleep or Stay Asleep
This was weird and frustrating… I was so exhausted all the time that I could not wait to go to sleep, but for some reason I had a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep.
I felt the constant need to nap all day and couldn’t function without an afternoon nap.
I felt like I needed more than 8 hours of sleep. I’d wake up feeling like I hadn’t slept at all… ready for a nap.
#8 Joint and Muscle Pain
My muscles started to feel weak. I was no longer able to work out. Even without working out my muscles were still in pain. My joints hands and feet were achy.
Some days were worse than others.
Feet would sometimes burn and sting with pain with every step. Other times I’d feel numbness and weakness in my arms and legs. I could no longer live an active lifestyle.
#9 Depression & Anxiety
I had to stay home, mostly between the couch and my desk whenever I had enough energy to try to research my health issues. The longer I stayed indoors, the more depressed I became remembering the days when I used to live an active lifestyle.
I also remember having anxiety which I’d never experienced before… my mind would think obsessively and compulsively about stuff that could happen if I didn’t find a way to feel better.
#10 Digestive Issues
I remember I used to eat out a lot, but no matter what I ate, my gut would become bubbly and gassy. I felt like I had a hole in my stomach and food was leaking into my body without digesting. This was before I understood digestion…
Poor digestion was due to an imbalance in my gut flora… an unhealthy gut. Healing my gut was key to feeling better and getting my energy back.
I found that having digestive issues meant my body wasn’t breaking down protein. One day I tried making a smoothie with pineapple and papaya which have a lot of protein digestive enzymes and I felt a much needed relief.
It turns out that when the body doesn’t get the protein it needs it releases cortisol to break down muscle so it gets the amino acids it needs for various functions including thyroid hormone production…
All of the sudden things started making sense. When I got my cortisol levels back to normal I started to sleep better, my hair stopped falling off and it was the beginning of my success story.
If you want to learn more comment “info” below
16 replies to "10 Hypothyroidism Symptoms That Made Me Feel Miserable"
I was trending toward hypothyroidism and was on a low dose of [edited] and my levels came down but I was having crazy symptoms . Just saw my Endo and he now has me off [edited] but still not feeling great
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I desperately need info on my condition as I’ve almost stopped living life b/c I feel so miserable. I’m barely able to perform my daily tasks
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I have al.ost every symptom except for hair loss. I need help!
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I had every symptom, was diagnosed. I take [edited]. My hair started growing again, felt better. They never monitored me. I got lazy and started taking it with breakfast. I have been feeling awful again. Do you think taking it with food makes that much of a difference?
I’m not a doctor so I can’t comment on your specific question, but what I can say is that getting your body to produce its own hormones involves paying attention to your diet, eating more healthy fats, adequate protein and lowering the amount of sugar… but also making sure that you can digest food, since most people with hypothyroidism have gut issues…
Info please. I have all the symptoms except hair loss.
Hi, please send info. I have all the symptoms of hypothyroidism, but the symptoms mimic other autoimmune disorders, so I’ve not been able to get a diagnoses. Whenever I list my symptoms/issues being experienced, my doctor simply says they are related to my Lupus or Fibromyalgia or diabetes…all of which I have been daignosed with years ago. But I’ve had two different doctors state that my thyroid is enlarged, and I believe that regardless of my autoimmune disorders I could possibly have undiagnosed hypothyroidism. So I would appreciate any information or advice you can offer. Thanks, and best of luck to you.