How do I know I have hypothyroidism?

Question

When I was a kid I was skinny, but i started putting on weight after puberty, but my weight was still okay, until after college, when I put on alot of weight around my tummy. I was wondering what's the cause of this, is there any intrinsic cause, or is it due to lack of exercise.

I hate to exercise, but I don't eat very much either, except before going to bed, which I heard was bad for weight loss.

However, I'd like to know how do I find out if my thyroids are working properly?

Thank you

Are there any self tests besides the doctor's
Thanks

Answer 1

There are no home tests for hypothyroidism. You must go to a doctor and get labs done. Specifically a TSH, a Free T3 and a Free T4. So many people blame their weight gain on hypothyroidism when in fact it's a lack of exercise and poor eating habits. You can't lose weight by not eating much, that messes up your metabolism by making your body think it's starving. Eating anything three hours before bed is not adviseable to anyone, much less someone who is trying to lose weight.

Answer 2

http://www.wilsonssyndrome.com/

Study the info on this website carefully. The most common form of hypothyroidism is FUNCTIONAL hypothyroidism. Your body makes plenty of thyroid hormone but it is of a type that has low biological activity. A standard thyroid test shows you as normal while only an expensive, more specific test, reveals what is going on. Effective treatments exist. However, most doctors are unacceptably ignorant of this extremely common disease (lol, until they get around to treating one case of it, then suddenly they notice a huge number of their patients have this and they never knew).

Answer 3

My friend has hypothyroidism. The symptoms are

Your hair gets super thin.
You have little brittle nails.
You have dry/yellowish tinted skin.
You have slow speech/body movements.
You can't stand the cold.
You always feel tired/weak.
You have memory problems, depression, or difficulty concentrating.
You're constipated
anddd you have heavy or irregular menstrual periods that may last longer than 5 to 7 days

good luck :(

Answer 4

It has to do with simple blood tests. My mom had hyperthyroidism (too much thyroid), was treated for it, and developed hypothyroidism (not enought thyroid) because she had to have her thyroid destroyed. I have had weight problems all my life. It was like I always had baby fat. My weight fluctuates like crazy and, my doctor does not know why. I weigh 10 lbs more now that I did in July, and in July I weighed 20 lbs less than I did in March. With thyroid problems things to look for are hot flashes, chronic fatigue, sick to stomach. Those are some symptoms my mom had.

Answer 5

Go to the doctor. He can perform blood test to see is your thyroid is functioning properly. Do you have any of the followng symptoms?
Fatigue
Weakness
Weight gain or increased difficulty losing weight
Coarse, dry hair
Dry, rough pale skin
Hair loss
Cold intolerance (can't tolerate the cold like those around you)
Muscle cramps and frequent muscle aches
Constipation
Depression
Irritability
Memory loss
Abnormal menstrual cycles
Decreased libido

More than likely you just need to lower your caloric intake and exercise.

Answer 6

Go to your doctor and ask them to run a blood test to check your thyroid levels.

Answer 7

Some pharmacies offer the thyroid test. There are home TSH test available, but I don't know how cheaper it will be.

Answer 8

one way you could know is if your on a diet for like about 5 to 4 months and your not noticing that much of weight loss that could be one way. Going to a nutritionist can be another way.

Answer 9

I would check the docter, I was skinny to, I am 14 now, and after puberty I got a little chubby, I am going to check.

Answer 10

You cannot test your thyroid level without a blood test