IT IS NOT PREGNANCY

A young female notices increasing fatigue, weight gain and general feeling of unwell, other changes characterized by a disruption in what use to be regular menstrual cycle that is now delayed, and milk discharge from the breasts. Sounds like pregnancy right?  She may not be necessarily pregnant. Thyroid disease, particularly low functioning thyroid will cause these clinical symptoms. In this condition, pregnancy test is usually negative and additional tests may reveal a low thyroid level. Not only can thryoid disease mimick pregnancy, thyroid disease especially low functioning thyroid hypothyroidism, in a reproductive age female can be the cause of infertility among married couples. A treatable and reversible cause of infertility. Early identification or exclusion of thyroid disease as a contributor to infertlity can help avert the sometimes tortous and expensive search for the cause of childlessness in a couple starting a family.