Thyroid and fatigue are connected, with hypothyroidism causing fatigue due to a lack of thyroid hormones, and hyperthyroidism causing fatigue due to disrupted sleep levels. Other conditions can also affect the thyroid gland and cause fatigue. Checking thyroid hormone levels with a doctor can help restore energy levels.
The relationship between thyroid and fatigue is sometimes simple, other times more complex. Anyone with hypothyroidism or even low normal values of various thyroid hormones is likely to suffer from fatigue because the body’s metabolism is not working properly. This is one of the main symptoms of hypothyroidism and leads to other symptoms such as low body temperature, depression, exhaustion and difficulty losing weight. Paradoxically, hyperthyroidism (too much thyroid hormone) is sometimes also linked to fatigue because it can dramatically affect sleep levels, resulting in an increasing lack of energy as the day progresses.
In the healthy person, the thyroid responds to the pituitary gland’s requests to create thyroid hormones that work constantly to convert chemicals in the body into energy that the body can use. If something happens that disrupts the production of these hormones, this automatically translates into less energy available. Depending on how much energy levels are reduced, people could feel anything from mildly tired to chronically exhausted. Most complain about sluggishness because they have to force themselves through each day and never feel well rested. Essentially, thyroid and fatigue are connected in one way, due to the absence of thyroid hormones almost always directly creating fatigue.
There are several ways hypothyroidism occurs. It can be congenital or it can be the result of autoimmune conditions such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis which causes the immune system to see thyroid hormones as foreign and attack them. Some people simply have low thyroid levels, a problem that can sometimes get worse with age and appears to be more common in women. Because the thyroid gland and fatigue are related, symptoms such as fatigue, difficulty losing weight, depression, and sensitivity to cold should be checked with a doctor. Many times, supplementing with thyroid hormones can restore normal energy levels.
Thyroid and fatigue can also be related when people have hyperthyroidism. This can lead to insomnia or expending too much energy, which makes people very tired as the day progresses. Having too much thyroid hormone is just as harmful as having too little, and this condition can be treated with medications, radiation of thyroid tissue, or removal of the thyroid gland. With the latter two methods, the body will not have enough thyroid hormone and people will have to take medication to replace it, or they will become hypothyroid and become fatigued.
The interrelatedness of the body’s systems means that other diseases and conditions can affect the thyroid gland. These could lead to problems with the thyroid gland and fatigue, even if the main condition was not initially hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. Clearly, anything that affects the gland’s ability to create energy for the body can affect a person’s energy. Continued fatigue is always a symptom worth reporting to doctors, as thyroid hormone levels can be assessed with a few simple blood tests.
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