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About Rachel
Start Here!
- Symptoms of Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s
- Order Your Own Thyroid Tests
All Articles
Newsletter
My Books
- About My Books
Store

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News

Keep up to date with the latest news from Rachel Hill and The Invisible Hypothyroidism.

The Invisible Hypothyroidism’s First Book: Be Your Own Thyroid Advocate is Out!

My first book is officially released and available to the world! Be Your Own Thyroid Advocate:…

I Have Been Nominated for the WEGO Health Awards 2018!

I am honoured to say that I’ve been nominated for the WEGO Health Awards 2018!

I Was Interviewed by the BBC About Gigi Hadid but Here’s What We Need to Remember

Today has been a bit manic; waking up late morning due to my current Hashimoto’s flare…

One of My Articles Has Been Made in to a Video!

One of my articles, which has also been republished on The Mighty, has been turned in…

Liothyronine is Under Attack From The NHS Again

Just last year, T3 medication for hypothyroidism came under attack in the UK, due to its…

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theinvisiblehypothyroidism

🥶 How is everyone coping with the temperatures

🥶 How is everyone coping with the temperatures in the uk dropping below 0 and snow aplenty? I’m definitely feeling the impacts of the cold and many thyroid patients do.

🧊 As the main purpose of thyroid hormone is to run the metabolism, people with an underactive thyroid or hypothyroidism may have symptoms associated with a slow metabolism, such as cold intolerance.

❄️ The thyroid gland has to be functioning properly to burn calories and create heat and fuel. This is your metabolism. Creating heat and fuel is obviously very important, in particular for your body heat and energy level.

❄️ Cold intolerance is not an illness, it is a symptom of an underlying condition, such as poorly treated hypothyroidism. Most people seem to feel best with optimal thyroid levels, as opposed to just being ‘within range’, so getting your thyroid levels optimised could really help improve cold intolerance.

🧊 People with normal thyroid function can produce more thyroid hormones to generate more heat. Those who rely on daily thyroid medication can’t do this. So some thyroid patients find they need to increase their thyroid medication dosage slightly at colder times of the year (though this should always be done by a doctor, not by yourself).

👇 Did you know this? Do you perhaps experience it?! How are you doing this winter?!

- Rachel Hill, thyroid patient advocate 🦋💙

😓 Ever wake up with painful feet, as if you’r

😓 Ever wake up with painful feet, as if you’re walking on glass?!

🦶Possible Causes of Foot Pain in Thyroid Patients🦶

🦋 Low Levels

Ruling out causes for joint and muscle pain, such as low Vitamin D levels, low B12, low magnesium, as well as thyroid hormone levels, is crucial.

Ensuring that thyroid levels Free T3 and Free T4 are optimal (as opposed to just ‘in range’) can make a huge difference too.

I personally found that my foot pain stopped once Hashimoto’s was in remission, thyroid levels optimised, and the high cortisol adrenal dysfunction was addressed.

As a part of this, I raised my B12, Vitamin D and magnesium levels to be well within their ranges, as well as reducing my thyroid antibodies to almost zero (reducing inflammation).

🦋 Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome

Those with hypothyroidism are also more vulnerable in developing a medical condition called tarsal tunnel syndrome, which is specific to the foot.

This syndrome may develop as the result of a pinched nerve or muscle damage in the foot.

🦋 Fluid Retention

Another somewhat common hypothyroid symptom, it cause pain, too. It’s most often seen around the ankles and feet and worsens with physical activity. This is also often solved with optimal thyroid and vitamin levels.

🦋 Plantar Fasciitis

This painful foot condition can also develop in the feet, caused by fluid buildup around the nerves.

❓If you’ve explored all of the above and are still suffering with foot pain, it may be time to talk to a rheumatologist for further evaluation. Rheumatologists are experts in joint and muscle problems, and treat arthritis, carpel tunnel, some autoimmune conditions, various musculoskeletal pain disorders, fibromyalgia and tendonitis.

👇 Let me know below: did you know foot pain can be linked to thyroid issues?

- Rachel Hill, thyroid patient advocate🦋💙

🥄 Have you heard of the spoon theory? It’s a

🥄 Have you heard of the spoon theory? It’s a very popular term in the chronic illness community. And yes, thyroid disease can be a chronic illness.

🥄 What is The Spoon Theory?

The spoon theory is a metaphor those with a disability, chronic illness, health condition, autoimmune disease etc., use to explain the reduced amount of energy available for activities of daily living and tasks.

🥄This can be in day to day living or just during times of flare ups. E.g thyroid flares caused by stress, other physical illness, overexertion and more

🥄 ‘Spoons’ are a unit of energy. Each activity uses up some ‘spoons’ and so Spoonies need to plan their energy usage wisely, so as to make it through the day.

🥄 People without health issues probably don’t need to worry about running out of energy, but many with chronic illness do.

🥄 If you imagine that each activity requires a certain number of spoons, which are only replaced when they rest, then it’s easy to grasp that if you run out of spoons, you have no choice but to rest until your spoons are replenished. Forced rest.

🥄 The hashtag #spoonie has been used on social media to connect people living with reduced energy levels and raise awareness of the constraints of the health conditions we live with.

🥄 It takes balance, patience and a lot of practice to learn how to pace our energy to avoid a flare.

🥄 Sometimes we try and it’s still out of our control. Sometimes we have less spoons on some days compared to others, for example, if we’ve had a bad nights sleep or have a cough or cold, then we’re starting the day with less energy already.

🥄 We often have to juggle and manage a lot, and many of us also have families and children to juggle, alongside our health condition/s. It’s an ongoing balance.

👇 Let me know your experiences with this and comment “BOOK” for a link to my number 1 bestselling thyroid patient book which covers how to get your life back and thrive again! 💕

- Rachel Hill, thyroid patient advocate 🦋💙

😣 Mornings can be hard for those with hypothyro

😣 Mornings can be hard for those with hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s.

🦋 In my worst days, I would wake up feeling very fatigued, achey and brain fogged. I would feel nauseous and sweaty. Like I had the flu or a bug.

🦋 Getting ready for work (showered, dressed) was hard but walking to work was even harder.

🦋 Even sitting at a desk in an office job was difficult some days, so I applaud anyone who works a more manual and active job with a thyroid condition.

🦋 But many of us wade through the fog and do the best we can without other people knowing the struggle.

🦋 If you’re battling your hypo symptoms this morning, feel free to share and vent below. Others may not, but I and our thyroid family here believe and understand you.

🌟 You can find so much support on this on the resources linked in my bio as well as the highlights at the top of my page. I haven’t experienced this in years, after implementing the things I mention in my posts.

- Rachel Hill, thyroid patient Advocate 🦋💙

© Rachel Gask and The Invisible Hypothyroidism, 2015-2024. All Rights Reserved.

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