When thyroid symptoms appear in your 40s and 50s, they are almost always blamed on hormones. But before we reach for the menopause explanation, it is worth asking a different question: is it really your hormones, or is it your thyroid — specifically your Free T3 conversion?
We’ve spent the week preparing for the first of a new MasterClass series on thyroid. With all the additional research, patient data reviews, and internal discussions, it became clear we needed to share a lot more about thyroid symptoms and thyroid dysfunction — specifically T3 hormone conversion.
The Symptoms of Thyroid Dysfunction
First, look at the symptoms of thyroid dysfunction. They include:
- Fatigue and/or lethargy
- Poor sleep
- Weight gain
- Fluid retention
- Change in heart rate
- Constipation
- IBS
- Brain fog
- Poor memory
- Hair loss or hair thinning
- Eyebrow thinning
- Poor circulation
- Feeling too hot or too cold
- Anxiety and/or nervousness
- Muscle aches
- Depression
- Irregular periods
- Dry skin
- Joint aches and stiffness
Most, if not all, of these symptoms are also found on the list of menopause symptoms. That overlap is exactly why the thyroid so often gets overlooked.
You see, the TSH is considered “normal” under 4.0. But subclinical hypothyroidism often starts when we see the TSH climbing above 2.0 — and nearly 80% of Australian women fall within these ranges.
It can take years, if not a decade or more, to climb above 4.0. And so many women suffer and try to push through, and it gets blamed on hormones until their TSH is bad enough.
Free T3: The Big Reason Rarely Tested
Free T3 is a big reason for all these symptoms, but it is rarely tested. Thyroid symptoms often start long before hormones get the blame.
Free T3 is our metabolically active thyroid hormone, but it doesn’t typically get tested in standard blood work. Most thyroid symptoms appear because the Free T3 conversion isn’t working as it should — and only 20% of T3 comes from the thyroid gland itself.
But Free T3 is impacted well before the TSH gets to 4.0.
Many women start to see:
- Cholesterol going up
- Vitamin D going down
- Liver enzymes going up
- Histamines going higher
- Bloating intensifying
- Night sweats creeping in
- Temperature dysregulation
- Poor muscle recovery
These are all early signs that Free T3 is suboptimal.
Free T3 is a metabolically active hormone that relies on 60% of the liver and 20% of the gut to convert into the cell into the active Free T3 hormone.
In our last two Sunday deep dive articles, we’ve spotlighted liver recalibration and gut inflammation and hair loss. If any of the symptoms or challenges from these discussions resonated with you, there is a very high likelihood that your active Free T3 hormone is suboptimal.
Is It Really Hormones — Or Your Thyroid?
Few women realise that their thyroid hormones are often the first to be impacted. The question we want you to ask: is it really peri-menopause or menopause or hormones? Or is it your thyroid?
Tiaan has just done a massive update to our presentation, “Deeper Look at Thyroid: Gut, Adrenals, and The Free T3 Conversion”. It’s a bit more in depth than our normal webcasts, but it’s really helpful to see if your symptoms are a result of poor T3 conversion or thyroid dysfunction.
Looking at oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone is often one part of the picture. Thyroid hormones are often as big a part of the picture as sex hormones. This is why we encourage women to learn more about thyroid function.
The best part is that Free T3 conversion is a metabolic process highly impacted by our nutrient levels and nutrition. There’s so much you can do naturally to support your thyroid. That’s why we put the webcast together — to help you look deeper at your pathology and get answers.
If you would like further support and are ready to get started, please organise a free introductory consultation with us:
We look forward to connecting with you again soon.
Warmly,
Carrie
