The thyroid is a small gland in the front of your neck, shaped like a butterfly. It makes hormones which are responsible for various bodily processes, but most notably metabolism control. This is witnessed in the body through things such as how easily or fast you burn calories, or how fast your heart beats.

However, sometimes the thyroid gland stops functioning as well as it should. This can present symptoms which lead to a blood test which in turn leads to a diagnosis. However, sometimes people also have ‘subclinical’ thyroid problems, meaning they experience some of the symptoms yet a blood test won’t show it, or meet the threshold for thyroid treatment.

Women more commonly have problems with their thyroid than men, being five to eight times more likely to have a thyroid problem.

Your thyroid can be over or under active. It is more common to have an underactive thyroid, known as hypothyroidism. This is when the thyroid doesn’t make enough hormones. The opposite is an overactive thyroid, known as hyperthyroidism. This is when the thyroid produces too great a quantity of hormones.

Many people struggle to identify their symptoms as potential thyroid problems. Indeed, it’s thought that 60% of people with thyroid problems are undiagnosed. The symptoms can often mirror those of other conditions, or even mental health problems or that life is simply very busy and tiring.

Spotting the Symptoms of Hyperthyroidism

Symptoms of hyperthyroidism include:

• Increased appetite and weight loss
• Palpitations (feeling like your heart is pounding, beating unevenly or rapidly)
• Heat sensitivity
• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Fine, thin, brittle hair and thinner skin
• Bowel movement changes, including increased frequency and diarrhoea
• Insomnia
• Fatigue
• Muscle weakness

Rarely, those with hyperthyroidism may have Graves’ opthalmopathy which is the appearance of red bulging eyes which may cause blurred vision, light sensitivity and discomfort.

Spotting the Symptoms of Hypothyroidism

As we said earlier, hypothyroidism is more common. But again, it’s not always easy to spot the symptoms because they can mimic those of other conditions, or be mistaken for aging, mental health problems, or the effects of a busy life. The symptoms of hypothyroidism include:

• A sensitivity to cold
• Fatigue and tiredness
• Muscle weakness
• Bowel problems, most notably constipation
• Forgetfulness and memory loss
• Trouble concentrating
• Dry skin
• Thinning hair
• Depressive feelings
• Weight gain
• Raised cholesterol levels
• A hoarse voice

How to Get Diagnosed With a Thyroid Problem

A simple blood test is all it should take to find out if you’ve got a thyroid problem, particularly hypothyroidism. However, particularly with hypothyroidism, it’s possible for your hormone levels to be read as ‘normal’ and you still have symptoms. This could indicate subclinical hypothyroidism. With hyperthyroidism, the GP will also manually check the size of your thyroid gland and take your pulse.

The blood test can be arranged by your GP and will check the thyroid hormone levels in your blood. Occasionally, they may also recommend a scan.

How to Treat Thyroid Problems

Those with hyperthyroidism will be referred to an endocrinologist who will treat you with medication, radioactive iodine treatment or surgery depending on the best option for you and the severity of your illness.

With hypothyroidism, if your blood test has shown clinical hypothyroidism, you will be prescribed levothyroxine. Levothyroxine is a synthetic hormone replacement. Usually you’ll have regular blood tests whilst your doctor gets the dosage correct.

Levothyroxine replaces your T4 hormones. We explain in more detail why this may be insufficient in our Guide to T3 and T4 hormones.

Additionally, those with subclinical hypothyroidism won’t be prescribed levothyroxine. It’s worth noting that the ‘thresholds’ for diagnosis of hypothyroidism can vary from country to country. Furthermore, sometimes blood tests will only investigate your T4 levels, without looking at the T3 levels, which could be causing your symptoms, as your body may be struggling to covert T4 into T3.

How to Treat Subclinical Thyroid Problems

When you get a blood test, do ask that both your T4 and T3 levels are checked, but also your levels of TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone). When you get the results, ask for the actual readings, rather than simply a ‘normal’ or ‘not normal’ result. You can then do further investigations for yourself.

If your thyroid is only mildly underactive it may be assumed that it can’t be causing your symptoms. However, as Harvard Health explains, this may not be the case. This more subtle hypothyroidism is described as subclinical, but that doesn’t mean your symptoms are any less real or difficult. Unfortunately, though, you may find it harder to get the treatment you need.

If you feel that you are still struggling with symptoms of an underactive thyroid, despite taking levothyroxine or because you aren’t deemed to reach the threshold, it may be worth considering natural thyroid treatments. Natural thyroid medication, such as Armour Thyroid and NP Thyroid ensure you get both T4 and T3 hormones, which may better alleviate your symptoms.

Do check out our country pages to find out if there are any restrictions on ordering natural thyroid medication in your geographical area.