Thyroid Quiz

In their book, Thyroid Power: Ten Steps to Total Health Richard L. Shames, M.D., and Karilee Halo Shames, R.N., Ph.D., have the following quiz:

Do you . . .

have unusual fatigue unrelated to exertion?

feel chillier than most people, often needing to wear socks to bed?

dress in layers because of needing to adjust to various temperatures throughout the day (sometimes too hot, sometimes too cold)?

have feelings of anxiety that sometimes lead to panic?

have trouble with weight, often eating lightly, yet still not losing a pound?

experience aches and pains in your muscles and joints unrelated to trauma or exercise?

have increased problems with digestion or allergies?

feel mentally sluggish, unfocused or unusually forgetful, even though you're not old enough to have Alzheimer's?

know of anyone in your family who has ever had a thyroid problem (even yourself at an earlier age)?

suffer from dry skin or are prone to adult acne or eczema?

go through periods of depression and/or lowered sex drive, seemingly out of proportion to life events?

have diabetes, anemia, rheumatoid arthritis or early graying of hair? Does anyone in your family?

experience your hair as feeling like straw, dry and easily falling out?

experience significant menopausal symptoms, including migraine headaches, without full relief after taking estrogen?

have a history of whiplash or other neck injuries (which may have damaged your thyroid)?

have significant exposure, now or in the past, to chlorine, bromine or fluoride (which compete with iodine in your thyroid)?

feel utterly exhausted by evening, yet have trouble sleeping?

wake up tired?

If you answered yes to four or more of these questions, you could be one of millions of people with an undiagnosed or under-treated low thyroid problem.