Are you cold all the time, fatigued, and have brittle nails and hair that keeps splitting? If so, you may have a sluggish thyroid gland that is not producing enough of the vital thyroid hormone for proper metabolism in your cells. If these symptoms weren’t bad enough themselves, research is now showing that symptoms of hypothyroidism in women increase the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease later in life. The good news, however, is that this condition can be easily corrected if you can just get a proper diagnosis. We’ll review here just how that can be done.

A large study five years ago showed women with a TSH (the blood marker Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) below 1.0 or greater than 2.1 mIU/L had a more than two-fold greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s during the 13-year study. The results were the same regardless of whether the women took a thyroid hormone medication.[1] Interestingly, this range is significantly more narrow than what most doctors use in their offices to diagnose hypothyroidism (low thyroid).

Symptoms of hypothyroidism in women include:

• Fatigue
• Sluggishness
• Increased sensitivity to cold
• Constipation
• Pale, dry skin
• A puffy face
• Hoarse voice
• An elevated blood cholesterol level
• Unexplained weight gain
• Muscle aches, tenderness and stiffness
• Pain, stiffness or swelling in your joints
• Muscle weakness
• Heavier than normal menstrual periods
• Brittle fingernails and hair
• Depression

Many doctors diagnose hypothyroidism using a wide TSH range of 0.5 to 5.0 mIU/L, even though the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists recommended years ago the range should be 0.3 to 3.0 mIU/L.[2] As a result, countless numbers of patients with hypothyroidism slip through the cracks of the health care system and continue to not only suffer with low thyroid symptoms, but also a raised risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s later in life.

Hypothyroid symptoms in women – How to protect your brain health:

Although the revised TSH ranges are narrower and result in more hypothyroidism diagnoses, they are still too wide according to many thyroid experts. Even the study mentioned above showed women with a TSH higher than 2.1 mIU/L had a greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Experts say a healthier range is 0.5 to 2.0 mIU/L, with some even advocating a TSH under 1.5 mIU/L for optimal thyroid function. A key to regaining your thyroid health is to find a doctor who understands these issues.

Do you have autoimmune Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism?

In addition to TSH ranges that are too wide, looking at TSH in isolation fails to diagnose many hypothyroid patients. Other thyroid markers can be helpful for indicating a hypothyroid condition. For instance, for many Americans, hypothyroidism is a result of Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune disease that attacks and destroys the thyroid gland. To screen for Hashimoto’s, your doctor’s blood lab test for you should include TPO and TGB antibodies; and TSH should be checked more than once as it can fluctuate with Hashimoto’s. Positive TPO or TGB antibodies confirm the thyroid condition is autoimmune and the immune system, not the thyroid gland, should be the main target for healing.[3]

What about other thyroid markers?

Symptoms of hypothyroidism in women can also be related to and revealed by other useful thyroid markers. These are especially important for you to use when you have a normal TSH reading but are experiencing many of the typical symptoms of hypothyroidism in women that we discussed above. Ask your doctor about a thyroid panel that looks at the entire thyroid spectrum, including free T3 and free T4. T4 is the hormone released by the thyroid gland into the bloodstream. However, it is not the active form of thyroid your body can use. T4 must be converted by the body into T3 before it can be used. Many people do not effectively convert T4 into T3 for a variety of health related reasons. But the end result is that you may have plenty of T4 and be very low in T3 levels, which is then the cause of all the hypothyroid symptoms. So measuring Free T3 levels in your blood test can reveal if you are one of those who has plenty of T4 but is not adequately converting it to T3.

Get educated about your thyroid:

Symptoms of hypothyroidism in women are more common than you might think, and they should not be overlooked. If you frequently experience any of the symptoms listed above, it is important you have your thyroid levels and other thyroid markers checked in order to stave off your risk of Alzheimer’s as well as other significant health problems. To find an integrative physician in your area who is keenly aware of the hypothyroid misdiagnosis problem and can perform the necessary tests to give you an accurate diagnosis, click here to view our online physician directory. 

[1] Thyroid Function and the Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease: The Framingham Study. Arch Intern Med. 2008 July 28; 168(14): 1514–1520.