Low production of the thyroid hormone by the thyroid gland can lead to serious problems if allowed to progress. It can lead to goiter, a swelling of the thyroid gland, which can cause problems with speech, skin condition and even effect basal body temperature. It is also a base cause for thyroid-related depression. For this reason, it is important to have an annual physical, and to consult with your low thyroid in Portland physician to make sure that the appropriate test are ordered as part of the lab testing for the physical, if the physician deems this necessary,

There are a range of symptoms that can indicate the early onset of a low thyroid problem. Unfortunately, many of them can also be indicators of a range of other sources, and so the onset of early hypothyroidism is considered asymptomatic. However, a patient who maintains a healthy lifestyle and pays attention to the normal, balanced operation of his body can often detect clues that can lead him and his low thyroid in Portland physician to diagnose and cure this problem before it reaches a serious level.

When a patient has a steady program of cardiovascular exercise, heart rate becomes a major metric. The person will become familiar with their resting heart rate, the beats per minute of their normal heart rate before exercise. Then they will have a warm-up rate, perhaps 10 to 20 bpm higher, which stays under control for the duration of the warm-up. Then the actual exercise starts, and the person modulates effort to maintain a target cardiovascular heart rate which is determined by his age. After the workout, the heart rate is monitored to see how quickly it returns to resting rate. For a healthy, toned person, this will happen within a minute. However, if this person notices that the heart rate begins to drop to steadily lower levels, or that resting heart rate has been dropping steadily over a period of months, this could be an indication of early onset hypothyroidism. The cutoff point for this indication is a heart rate less than 60 bpm, also known as Bradycardia. This is an excellent time to consider visiting your local low thyroid in Portland specialist.

Exercise mavens can also get a head’s up when they begin to experience fatigue more often than they expect. Fatigue will be affected on a short-term basis by a variety of causes, many a part of the normal metabolic cycles of a healthy person, but steadily increasing fatigue over a period of months is probably a good reason to contact your low thyroid in Portland physician.