More than 10 million Americans have been diagnosed with thyroid disease, and another 13 million people are estimated to have undiagnosed thyroid problems. Women however, are at greatest risk, developing thyroid problems seven times more than men do.  The thyroid hormone regulates metabolic rate, so low levels can cause low energy, cold intolerance, and weight gain.  Excess thyroid hormone can cause the reverse – higher energy levels, a feeling of being too warm all the time, and weight loss.  What most commonly affects women during the perimenopausal and post-menopause years though is hypothyroidism, or low thyroid.

In his book, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause, Dr. John Lee discussed how thyroid supplementation among his female patients was especially common in those with estrogen dominance.  He additionally talked of a cause and effect relationship between hypothyroidism in which there were inadequate levels of the thyroid hormone and estrogen dominance.  In summary, when estrogen and progesterone are not balanced, estrogen can block thyroid hormone action. So even though the thyroid itself may be functioning just fine, it cannot deliver its cargo to the cells, and the tissues go wanting.  As Dr. Lee stated, the thyroid hormone never gets to complete its mission, creating the hypothyroid symptoms despite normal blood levels of thyroid hormone.

Blood spot testing can show that estrogen dominant women often have menopausal symptoms combined with low thyroid symptoms.  Among the most common are cold hands and feet, weight gain and/or inability to lose weight, thinning hair, sleep disturbances, fatigue, irritability and/or depression, mental confusion, and low libido.  If you are suffering with symptoms of low thyroid, estrogen dominance may be a factor, and hormone testing can help identify the imbalance(s).

ZRT Laboratory’s Female Blood Profile II can measure levels of estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA, cortisol as well as Thyroid hormones, all which can assist in detecting the cause for low thyroid, and provide a rationale for correcting the imbalance. The convenient collection of blood from a tiny nick of the finger, allows for flexibility of testing at the right time of day, month or following hormone therapy.  Blood spot testing provides results on par with those from serum tests but without the cost and inconvenience of conventional blood draws, making it beneficial for both patient and practitioner.