or, Could I Possibly Be Hypothyroid?

Yesterday as I was sitting outside chatting with my daughter and her friend, my daughter cocked her head and said, "You need to start using eyebrow pencil. Your eyebrows are gone on the ends."

I had been noticing them thinning over the years, even before I started low carb (so don't even start to tell me low carb caused this issue, I won't ever believe that). My mother, and her mother before her, had thyroid issues, and were on medications (Synthroid) for Hypothyroidism. I had read somewhere that the thinning of the outer ends of the eyebrows can be a sign of Hypothyroidism. I guess that would explain why it was never odd for me to see my mom and grandmother draw their eyebrows on with eyebrow pencil my whole life.

What I should do is go to the doctor and have him order tests. The only problem with this being I have no health insurance, and no extra money to pay out of pocket for a doctors visit and lab work, nor for prescriptions.

For now I am going to work under the assumption that I am more than likely Hypothyroid, and research and learn what I can do without prescribed thyroid hormone replacement medications.

I have done a few Google searches, and skimmed some symptoms, treatments, foods to avoid, and some supplements that are recommended to help with this condition.

Of the symptoms, the bolded ones that follow in the list are the ones I have:

Symptoms of Hypothyroidism include: (From this site)

Early symptoms

Poor muscle tone (muscle hypotonia)
Fatigue
Cold intolerance, increased sensitivity to cold
Depression
Muscle cramps and joint pain
Arthritis
Goiter
Thin, brittle fingernails
Thin, brittle hair
Paleness
Dry, itchy skin (from time to time)
Weight gain and water retention.
Bradycardia (low heart rate: less than sixty beats per minute)
Constipation

Late symptoms

Slow speech and a hoarse, breaking voice. Deepening of the voice can also be noticed.
Dry puffy skin, especially on the face
Thinning of the outer third of the eyebrows. (Sign of Hertoghe)
Abnormal menstrual cycles (had those until an endometrial ablation several years ago)
Low basal body temperature

On another site I also found other symptoms that are less common but still associated with hypothyroidism that I have including premature graying of the hair, migraines, and increased need for sleep.

I don't think I even need a test to tell me the signs point to hypothyroidism.

The bummer part is that many foods I love to eat are on the list of foods that can be associated with decreasing thyroid function:
Foods that depress thyroid activity are broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, spinach, turnips, soy, beans, and mustard greens.
I don't eat soy, or beans, and I don't like kale and turnips, so those aren't an issue. I absolutely adore Brussels sprouts, and really like broccoli and cauliflower. It looks like I am going to have to eliminate those from my diet for a while, though, to see if it helps.

Oh, and another thing that is associated with Hypothyroidism is carpal tunnel syndrome. I have had issues with that for years.

So I am reading that coconut oil can help (I am out at the moment), and Dana Carpender has stated that tyrosine, selenium, and iodine may be effective to improve thyroid function.

If anyone has any input on this subject, I am all ears.