Advice for Men With Underactive Thyroid

The thyroid gland, which is located in your neck, is the primary control center for your metabolism. Eraxion/photos.com

When it comes to hypothyroidism—an underactive thyroid—we usually think of women. Women, after all, are at least eight times more likely than men to develop thyroid problems. This explains why so much of the information, advocacy, websites, and research are focused on thyroid problems in women versus men.

But that doesn’t mean that men can’t develop an underactive thyroid. As an integrative physician, I treat men all the time who have been struggling with a host of symptoms that end up being diagnosed as hypothyroidism.

Getting Diagnosed

The symptoms of hypothyroidism in men are similar to those in women. Some of the most common include exhaustion, weight gain, and depression. Other common symptoms include feeling cold, constipation, muscle aches and pains, and low resistance to infection. These are not all the symptoms by any means. They’re just the tip of the iceberg.