If you have long, chronic headaches, if you spend almost every day with a headache, it is best to see your doctor to make sure you do not have hypothyroidism.
If you have hypothyroidism and experience headaches every day, read on, our specialist doctors will talk about Hypothyroidism headache every day.
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Interesting statistics on the relationship between headache and hypothyroidism:
- Twenty-one percent of people with chronic headaches have hypothyroidism.
- Forty-one percent of people with proven migraines have hypothyroidism.
It has not yet been proven that chronic headaches or migraines are the cause of hypothyroidism or vice versa.
In people with chronic and daily headaches, it is correct to check the function of the thyroid gland by an endocrinologist.
Hypothyroidism, if left untreated, can lead to poor quality of life.
- Daily headaches
- Mood swings
- And …
They can develop into hypothyroidism and impair your function.
What are the characteristics of headaches associated with hypothyroidism?
There is an international institution that determines the classification of headaches.
The international classification of headaches disorders
This is institution describes the features of hypothyroidism headaches:
Headaches in hypothyroidism are usually bilateral and non-pulsating.
Migraines are not common in people with hypothyroidism, but research has shown that treating hypothyroidism with medication and balancing thyroid hormones can reduce the frequency of migraine attacks by up to 78%.
Another thing about headaches in people with hypothyroidism:
Headache is one of the most common side effects in people taking levothyroxine pills. Headache is more common in people with hypothyroidism who need higher doses of levothyroxine. In other words, before normalizing the patient’s condition, levothyroxine tablets, especially in high doses, can trigger headaches.
Headaches improve with the end of treatment and the normalization of the person’s hormonal status.
Another cause that is rare, of course, is that sometimes thyroid hormonal disorders can increase intracranial pressure.
Elevated intracranial pressure can be associated with headaches.
Other causes of chronic headaches may occur in a person with hypothyroidism.
Chronic and daily headaches caused by a problem or disorder in the brain:
- Cerebrovascular problems
- Intracranial hemorrhage
- Stroke
- Meningitis
- Brain abscesses
- ..
What is hypothyroidism?
The inability of the thyroid gland to produce the hormone thyroxine is called hypothyroidism.
What are the signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism?
Some signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism:
- Fatigue
- hair loss
- Weight Gain
- Irregular menstrual cycle
- Unusual menstrual bleeding
- Constipation
- Mood swings
- Headache
(Twenty-one percent of people with all types of headaches and forty-one percent of people with migraines have hypothyroidism.)
If you suffer from chronic headaches, if the recurrence of headaches disrupts your life, be sure to see a doctor to investigate the cause.
Dr. Martin Says:
“Regardless ،physicians should be more vigilant in testing for hypothyroidism in person s with headache disorders.”
He is also co-director of the
Headache and facial pain center at the UC Garden Neuroscience institute