by Life in Flintville under CC BY

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Thyroid problems may occur five times more frequently in females than in males. This is not to say that men should relax and think that chances of their having these problems is practically nonexistent.

Males can still acquire such problems, and this can be an indication of an even more dangerous and life-threatening disease. Hypothyroidism is the most common problem men usually encounter.

This is a disease wherein your thyroid glands are under-active, not producing enough hormones that your body needs. Having hypothyroidism causes your metabolism to slow down since the thyroid hormones are responsible for keeping your metabolism at a steady rate. If you are worried about having this disease, here are some of the symptoms you might experience to help you identify it.

Warning signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism in men

• Feeling lethargic and lack of energy – hypothyroidism can cause one to feel lethargic all the time and don’t have enough energy throughout the day. Since your metabolism functions slower than normal, food stored in the body is not converted into energy.

  Thus, you have a low supply of energy, but more fat stored. You will often feel fatigue and tiredness as there is an insufficient amount of energy for you to use. According to some studies, people who have this disease may also have poor memory or develop depression.

• Weight and diet changes – with hypothyroidism, you will notice an increase in your weight despite eating less food. Since the metabolism of the body is working slower than normal, your body will then store more food in the body in the form of fat.

  You will hardly have any appetite to eat at all since you have a substantial amount of fat in your body that has not been converted into energy yet. It can also result to having constipation most of the time due to inactive bowel movement.

• Sensitivity to cold temperatures – this disease causes one to sweat less because of less metabolic activities in the body. This can make one feel extremely uncomfortable and sensitive especially to cold temperatures. Despite having more fat stored in the body, it is hardly converted into energy that can keep you warm under cold temperatures thus you feel extremely cold and uncomfortable.
• There are also physical signs you can observe to determine if you have hypothyroidism. One of them is having unusually dry skin. If you experience drier skin conditions than before and no amount of lotions, body butters, and moisturizers can counteract the dryness, then it could be an indication of this disease already.

  Another physical symptom is having coarse hair. If you suddenly develop coarser hair despite not doing anything on your hair that can cause it to be like that, it could be a sign of hypothyroidism already. In some cases, one might experience swelling of the face as an indication of the disease.

These are some of the symptoms of hypothyroidism in men. If you experience any of these signs, consult with your doctor immediately to treat it as soon as possible and probably prevent further diseases.