| If you suffer from polycystic ovarian syndrome and | | | | Make sure your doctor does a complete thyroid test |
| autoimmune thyroiditis, you are likely exhausted much | | | | along with your PCOS tests. Be sure they test your |
| of the time. You are not alone! One study showed that | | | | thyroid antibodies as well as your TSH (thyroid |
| 40 percent of women with PCOS also have | | | | stimulating hormone) levels. I spent years begging |
| autoimmune thyroiditis. Women with PCOS are six and | | | | doctors to help me with the crushing fatigue I lived with. |
| a half times more likely to have autoimmune thyroid | | | | They kept telling me I needed an antidepressant. I |
| damage than women without PCOS, according to a | | | | finally saw a good endocrinologist who tested my |
| study in the March 2004 European Journal of | | | | thyroid antibodies and found them to be so high the |
| Endocrinology. | | | | test could not register a final number. When I started |
| In a 2001 report at the annual meeting of the Endocrine | | | | taking thyroid replacement hormones my life changed. |
| Society, German researcher Dr. Roland Gaertner | | | | Suddenly I could do things like go to the grocery store |
| suggested that the increased risk of autoimmune | | | | without needing a nap afterwards. |
| thyroiditis in women with PCOS may be linked to low | | | | Make sure your doctor is using the NEW TSH |
| progesterone levels. Gaertner suggested that low | | | | standards as well. Many, many women have been told |
| progesterone in women with polycystic ovarian | | | | they do not have a thyroid problem when in fact they |
| syndrome might lead to overstimulation of the immune | | | | DO have low thyroid under the new guidelines. |
| system. This may also explain the increased risk of | | | | It is especially important to get your thyroid checked if |
| inflammation and other autoimmune disease in women | | | | you are trying to conceive. Low thyroid levels can |
| with PCOS. | | | | cause infertility. If you are successful in getting |
| Thyroid hormones are important to almost every | | | | pregnant, make sure your doctor closely monitors your |
| major function in your body. They impact your | | | | thyroid level as low thyroid levels can also lead to |
| cardiovascular system, metabolism, fertility and energy | | | | problems with the developing fetus. |
| levels. | | | | |