I was working out at the gym the other day and one of the trainers approached me and asked, “Why is my wife always so tired?” Two other men were standing close by, so they came over to listen.
“What do you mean ‘always tired’?” I asked.
“Well, she doesn’t have the energy to exercise, so she’s gained some weight—and that’s driving her crazy. She takes loads of vitamins but those don’t do a thing. I worry about her because she always seems down on herself. She’s not the same person I married anymore. Do you see any of that in your practice?”
Do I see any of that in my practice? Hmmmm….let me see. Of all the complaints women come into our clinic with, fatigue is by far the #1 complaint. Number 2 is probably anxiety and mild depression. These women are trying to fight it, but they are losing the battle. If they fight for very long without any success at all, they give up.
Typically, these women have already been to their doctor and very often they are told, “Well, everything looks good on your blood tests, so I think you’re probably just a little depressed. Here’s a prescription for an antidepressant. Come back next year and let’s see how you’re doing.”
We assure you that in most cases, lack of antidepressants is NOT the answer. Let’s look at a typical example:
Rachel is 35 years old. Four children and a busy lifestyle. But from the time she gets up in the morning until she goes to bed at night, she is tired. Sometimes she sneaks a nap in, but feels guilty doing that. She’s not keeping up. She sees her doctor and he says she’s getting older and should learn to live with it (don’t laugh—women tell us that at our clinic all the time).
The problem is, nobody has done the right testing on her. ere are some of the symptoms of having one particular hormone testing in the low-normal range:
- Constant fatigue
- Inability to lose weight, despite dieting and exercising
- Hair loss
- Constipation issues
- Depression/anxiety
- Stomach/gut problems (bloating and gas)
- Cold hands and feet
- Brain fog
These are all the most common symptoms of one thing that most often goes undiagnosed in women, despite the fact that the doctor ran a blood test. The hormone is thyroid, and all the vitamins and minerals and herbal concoctions won’t help the problem, nor will antidepressants. Another problem is this: most doctors don’t even test the correct things on the blood test.
This ends up being very frustrating for that woman who is suffering from so many of the above bullet points. But she has to understand: it’s not her fault. It just hasn’t been diagnosed properly.
When we test the blood, we do eight different tests on the thyroid. This gives us an in-depth picture of what is really going on. We also test the adrenal glands, because if they are weak, the thyroid will never work properly, and more fatigue is the result.
As I was looking at these three men in the gym, they all looked pretty concerned about their wives. I turned to the personal trainer and said, “I hope you’re not the kind of trainer that tells an overweight woman to just workout more often and harder—and eat less to lose weight, are you?”
For so many women, having a low thyroid function can ruin their lives . . . and the lives of their families.
If any of this article sounds familiar, and you are wondering whether your thyroid might be a problem, go to www.utahwellnessinstitute.com and take the hormone tests.
It’s been said that, “Man (and woman) are that they might have joy.” Living a life of constant fatigue, brain fog, and depression don’t cause much joy. Go to the website and take the short test. See if your hormones need balancing
(Dr. Jones is the Clinic Director at the Utah Wellness Institute and Center for Hormone Therapy in Draper, Utah. 801.576.1155, www.utahwellnessinstitute.com. They see patients from all over the U.S. at their clinic in Draper)