Birth Control or Hormone Replacement Therapy - Can These Affect Your Thyroid Function

Are you being treated for low thyroid symptoms, and are you also on birth control pills or undergoing hormone replacement therapy? If so, it's very important to ask your physician about the possible effects birth control pills or HRT might have on your thyroid, especially if you are suffering from low thyroid symptoms.

Today, experts in diagnosing and treating thyroid conditions know that therapies such as hormone replacement for menopause symptoms and birth control pills may actually exacerbate problems with the thyroid.

High levels of estrogen can interfere with thyroid function, as well as, hormones used in HRT. Such treatments may in effect further shut down the thyroid and cause a whole host of problems.

Ironically, HRT and birth control pills are often prescribed to alleviate hormonal complaints associated with menopause or menstruation problems, including hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disturbances and excessive or irregular periods. Although many of these symptoms are hallmark traits of menopause, they are also symptoms that may be caused by or related to a low thyroid condition.

Ask your primary care physician the all important question, "Can my birth control pills or my hormone replacement therapy be causing my symptoms?" If the answer you receive is "no," or "there's really no connection between this and the thyroid," you should really consider other options available to you.

You should ask this question for another very important reason.

Although it may seem highly unlikely, the physician treating your low thyroid condition may not even be aware you are taking birth control pills or undergoing HRT. If a gynecologist or other medical care provider is prescribing these treatments, it's possible that it may not be included in your physician's medical records. Vice versa, the health care provider, may not realize you are being treated for low thyroid either.

Your treatment for low thyroid is unlikely to be successful or have your symptoms alleviated if these key factors that may be having an effect are not addressed. You and your physician must arrive at a solution that works for your health.

It's very clear in the research available today that the hormones in birth control pills and HRT can disrupt the thyroid function and cause you to have low thyroid symptoms. It's crucial that you evaluate all the options and all of the aspects of why you might have a thyroid problem. This is the only way to get the answers you need for your own health and wellness.