1. More than 30,000 preventable deaths occur each year from heart attacks. Women with untreated hypothyroidism are more than twice as likely to have a heart attack.
2. More than 4,600 miscarriages occur each year after 15 weeks of pregnancy — countless more before. Six percent of miscarriages are associated with hypothyroidism, and in moderate to severely hypothyroid mothers, babies are more than times as likely to die soon after being born.
3. Children born to hypothyroid mothers have a lower IQ (by an average of seven points). They are almost four times as likely to have an IQ under 85 and over twice as likely to have learning difficulties.
4. Hypothyroidism contributes to millions being unnecessarily disabled. More than 6 million Americans have fibromyalgia and tens of millions more have chronic muscle pain. Undiagnosed or inadequately treated thyroid disorders contribute to these unnecessarily disabling conditions.
5. Hypothyroidism is a major cause of gaining and being unable to lose weight. It causes fatigue, dry hair, coarse skin, depression, and "brain fog" as well. Americans are currently treating hypothyroidism, which is often confused as being depression, with Prozac. This is an even bigger problem in the elderly who are being misdiagnosed with depression or Alzheimer's disease when what they have is hypothyroidism.
While only lab testing can determine with certainty that you have hypothyroidism, you can perform a simple at-home self-examination called the "neck check" to help you detect if you have an enlarged thyroid gland and should speak with your doctor about further testing.
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