Low Energy? Low iron? Low thyroid?

First thing to say is that THIS problem is what first drop-kicked me into taking action - made me study nutrition (I qualified as a Health Coach from IIN in 2012), forced me to ask all the questions and began my never-ending quest for the holistic answers to the interconnected problems that we have all been expected to put up with for so long.

I was wiped out, and I thought it was normal, I had a 6 month old baby, two small children and work to do…….

But one day I looked in the mirror and rang the GP thinking I had mumps as my face was so swollen. They tested me and sent me to bed with suspected mumps after prodding my puffy face and neck.

I was so relieved. That I had a ‘thing’ that meant I was allowed to stay in bed, give up and sleep for a week. Two days later they rang to say I had to come in, it wasn’t mumps, my thyroid had collapsed. I was rather disappointed - I thought Mumps was a good way out and thyroid sounded like not a big deal. When he told me that my numbers were so wild I could go into a coma at any moment (my TSH was 65) I went straight in to see him.

And after seeing almost everyone I think from a patronising Harley Street endocrinologist, a brilliant old school thyroid genius to naturopaths and everything in between - I have worked mine back into action. I have all the energy and the get out of bed-ness that I never thought I’d muster.

So I know how big a deal the thyroid is.

And I know what you can do to help yourself.

There is a thyroid receptor on EVERY CELL IN YOUR BODY. It is in charge of everything, The Master Hormone. So you need it to be working.

And you need to know how.

Women and teenage girls are suffering from low iron, low ferritin and / or low thyroid function in big numbers still, and often they stay in the same loop of low energy, low mood, hair loss and more with no effective solution and no help from their GPs.

It seems a lot of us are feeling one or all of these common symptoms:

• No energy

• Gaining weight / not able to lose weight

• Brain Fog / Low mood

So I have taken the time to find the best information, the forward-looking experts, with ancient wisdom we may have forsaken and crucially the original causes behind the symptoms. Because dealing with the reasons behind everything means no more masking and carrying on.

And then we can learn how we to help ourselves so we can all feel as we should be feeling; above par, brimming with energy and ready to go.

Feeling wiped out, not your sparky best, finding mornings tricky, more than a little foggy in the head, just like you’re endlessly wading through treacle. This is a version of what I felt, and what I know so many women and teenage girls are feeling. I have had an endless stream of them in touch since I talked about this.

They have blood tests and these come back “normal” or ‘borderline low’ in either haemoglobin or ferritin (iron stores). A version of ferrous sulphate is prescribed and testing is planned for a few months to see how the levels have increased.

They either have no thyroid issues flagged, or are told these are “on the lower end” but not to be looked into. And off they go thinking this is how they should continue to feel.

As this was a near replica of what happened to me for 20 odd years until I found out what was at the heart of it all and which came full circle when my daughter was so wiped out I pushed for all her iron and thyroid tests.

Some reasons your iron or thyroid (or both) may be depleted:

• Heavy periods

• High level of exercise

• Not eating enough iron rich foods

• Periods of growth

• Pregnancy and Post-partum periods

• Under-fuelling, long-term dieting

• Gut absorption / Coeliac disease

• Recent illness / inflammation

WHY THEY RELATE

These symptoms are common to both low thyroid and low iron, and this is why the two are conflated and often confused. Both impact our energy production and metabolism.

• Persistent Fatigue: Unrelenting tiredness that does not improve with a good night’s sleep - feeling utterly wiped out was my norm

• Hair Loss: Thinning hair, slow growth, or shedding.

• Brain Fog: Difficulty concentrating, memory issues, losing track of thoughts.

• Cold Intolerance: Feeling chilly, having icy hands and feet.

I lived with Iron deficiency Anaemia and low ferritin as a known for as long as I can remember. And was often prescribed the Ferrous Sulphate pills - that I found hard to stomach, they gave me constipation and ultimately didn't shift the needle.

This is everything you need to know to avoid all the pitfalls, see the best experts the right tests and the only supplements to bother with.