McCall McPhersonFounder, Modern Thyroid Clinic.

thyroid problems in women... how common is this?

9 Jul 2024 · 2 min

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2:11

McCall McPherson argues thyroid disorders in women are vastly underdiagnosed, with true rates likely much higher than the cited 5-8%. She lists ten symptoms from fatigue to hair loss, criticizes doctors who test only TSH and T4, and says a full panel should include free T3, reverse T3, and Hashimoto antibodies.

Questions this video answers

About 5–8%.

TPO (thyroid peroxidase) and thyroglobulin antibodies.

Free T3 and reverse T3, in addition to antibody testing.

Fatigue, brain fog, weight gain, dry skin, hair shedding, low libido, low/flat mood or depression, sluggish digestion, brittle hair/nails, and loss of the outer portions of the eyebrows.

Chapters

Thyroid problems in women. Let's talk about it. So general research shows about 5 to 8% of women in America will develop a thyroid condition. I completely disagree. So in my opinion, if you are a woman, especially if you are a woman with children, the likelihood that you will have a thyroid disorder in your lifetime, in my opinion, is almost 100%. It is not a matter of if, but when. However, when we are using outdated, antiquated labs to diagnose people with thyroid conditions. Absolutely. There is a massive under diagnosis, which I think accounts for the discrepancy between what statistics say versus what I see. I'm sure it probably falls somewhere in between. Right. Women are more likely than men to have a thyroid condition, in part because of Hashimoto's. Hashimoto's is the autoimmune condition where your body attacks your thyroid gland, erodes away that thyroid gland, and leaves you with hypothyroidism. Women in general are more prone to autoimmune diseases. We are especially prone and vulnerable when we are in the postpartum period, when our immune system is rapidly changing. This is why it is so incredibly important. If you are a woman and you are having symptoms of fatigue and brain fog and weight gain and dry skin and hair shedding and low libido and flat mood, mood or depression, sluggish digestion, breaking of your hair, fingernails, or loss of the outer portions of your eyebrows, that we get a full thyroid panel. A full thyroid panel is not your TSH. It is not your TSH and your T4. Those two things account for very little of the information we need. You also need your free T3, most importantly, as well as your reverse T3, in addition to checking you for antibodies for Hashimoto's, which are TPO and thyroglobulin antibodies. So what's our lesson? If you're a woman, we need to be screened for thyroid conditions thoroughly, frequently. And if you have thyroid symptoms, you need to find someone who is able to interpret those labs in the appropriate and effective way.