Are heavy periods and hypothyroidism related?

If I take Armour Thyroid will it interfere with drinking celery juice everyday?   Julie

Hi Julie, 

First of all, it depends on how you are taking your meds and when you are taking them. Do you take it first thing in the morning with water? Or do you take it sublingually (under your tongue)? Most thyroid meds need to have time to absorb when taken orally so I wouldn’t drink your celery juice and then take your pill. Personally I take my Armour by chewing it up and putting it under my tongue and letting it dissolve directly in to my blood stream. Then you don’t have to wait to eat. I can’t speak to how this works with T4 only medications though. 

Celery in general is really good for us. It has never really been a favorite of mine but I do eat it- mostly as part of the onion/carrot/celery base for soups but I have been drinking some celery juice too. I cannot stand the taste by itself though so I have to do a mixture of celery, cucumber, lemon or apple. 

Celery is anti-inflammatory, especially protecting the digestive tract from inflammation. Celery contains pectin which forms a gel like substance and can help move things along so to speak. It can also help lower cholesterol. 

Celery is a good antioxidant containing vitamin C and flavanoids. You should eat your fresh celery within 5-7 days to be sure you are getting all the good stuff before it loses all the nutrients you are buying it for. 

It is high in vitamin K, molybdenum, folate, potassium, B vitamins, fiber and several minerals. 

Celery can decrease oxidative damage (damage to cells) too. So all in all it is a really good thing to have in your diet. Go ahead and enjoy it. 

I had a question a while back about how menstrual cycles are affected. I misplaced the actual question because I got so busy with school but if I am remembering right, it was about heavy periods. If you asked this question which would have been months ago and this is not correct, please email me at stephanie@outofthewoodsnutriiton.com and clarify what you wanted to know. I’ve been down a rabbit hole of scientific research which is really time consuming so I spent the better part of yesterday trying to find some good information on how hypothyroidism affects a woman’s menstrual cycle. If you are a guy who is listening- this is for you because you likely know a woman or two and it won’t kill you to know this information. 

It seems like everything I research boils down to not enough free T3 when it comes to problems and hypothyroidism. 

How does thyroid problems, specifically hypothyroidism affect a woman’s period?

• not enough thyroid hormone, ovaries might not make enough progesterone which helps keep flow low

• not enough thyroid hormone, you might not make enough of the coagulation factors that prevent heavy bleeding

• not enough thyroid hormone, you make less sex hormone binding globulin and are exposed to more estrogen which can lower progesterone. progesterone thins the uterine lining and prevents heavy menstrual flow.

Weeks AD. Menorrhagia and hypothyroidism. Evidence supports association between hypothyroidism and menorrhagia. BMJ. 2000 Mar 4;320(7235):649.

Menorrhagia is the medical term for heavy menstrual periods which can be common for women with hypothyroidism. It has been suggested that diagnosing hypothyroidism as a cause for menorrhagia is not happening as often as it should be. One study tested for thyrotrophin releasing hormone (a signal from the brain to release TSH which tells the thyroid to make T4) in 67 women with heavy periods that had normal blood levels of thyroixine (t4) and TSH. The women treated with thyroxine saw an improvement in their periods/flow to what is considered normal. So if you are on medication and still having heavy periods, your medication may not be optimized. This was me from the get go. I finally went to the doctor for heavy periods and she put me on the pill plus an IUD and then offered to remove my uterus because I was not a good candidate for ablasion. Once again- we should always be asking WHY. Why do you have heavy periods. Let’s stop getting bandaids for our problems and get to the bottom of the problem. Finding the root cause. 

Another study shows that low plasma levels of thyroid hormone shift the hemostatic system - the system that prevents or stops bleeding aka prevents hemorrhage- towards a hypocoagulable and hyper fibrinolytic state. Coagulation means that blood becomes more gel like instead of liquid. Hypocoagulable would mean that clots are slow to form. 

fibrinolysis means there is the break down of clots. Fibrin is a mesh like substance in the body that is broken down by the process of fibrinolysis. It is the body’s way of keeping blood clots from forming and becoming an issue. 

High levels of thyroid hormone in the blood create more coagulation and less breakdown of fibrin. In general, low T4 can lead to higher risk of bleeding and therefore higher blood loss.

Our body works well when all systems are working well together. Much of this dysfunction with periods really starts with managing blood sugar. I really wish I knew what I know now 30 years ago. So much of my life was just messed up. I almost said wasted but it wasn't really wasted but I did spend a lot of time not feeling good. Like just feeling unwell. Low energy, bad skin, sick all the time. Food is medicine guys. I can’t say that enough. 

Low plasma levels of thyroid hormone shift the hemostatic system towards a hypocoagulable and hyper fibrinolytic state. Coagulation means that blood becomes more gel like instead of liquid. Hypocoagulable would mean that clots are slow to form. 

Fibrinolysis means there is the break down of clots. Fibrin is a mesh like substance in the body that is broken down by the process of fibrinolysis. It is the body’s way of keeping blood clots from forming and becoming an issue. 

High levels of thyroid hormone in the blood create more coagulation and less breakdown of fibrin. In general, low T4 can lead to higher risk of bleeding and therefore higher blood loss.