Are your heavy periods a red flag for a thyroid issue?

When I’m working with women who are experiencing heavy and/or painful periods, I always zoom out (of the uterus) and consider what may be going on elsewhere within her hormonal hierarchy.

I will always look ‘upstream’ to the thyroid gland function (aka the master gland) and also to the adrenal glands.

Put simply, a heavy menstrual bleed is a symptoms of a hormone imbalance. The key is identifying where this imbalance is stemming from and/or what’s driving this imbalance in the first place.

It may be driven by a thyroid imbalance or an adrenal imbalance, one or two of which will affect the hormonal balance and function of the ovaries.

This triad: the OVARIES ~ ADRENALS ~ THYROID axis (also known at the OAT axis) works together. Each effect each other and are constantly communicating with each other.

So, if you have an imbalance for example in your adrenal glands (like high stress/burnout), this can affect your ovulation, and/or, it can also affect your thyroid function, which in turn may be affecting your ovarian function.

Building on this; you have a thyroid issue (eg. hypothyroidism/Hashimotos) and this can affect your ovarian function, which can affect your ovulation, which can affect your production of progesterone which can affect the balance between oestrogen and progesterone, which can result in symptoms in your 2nd half of your cycle (ie. the luteal phase) such as a myriad of PMS symptoms - both physical and mental - and/or with your period itself (eg. heavy, painful periods, just to name a few).

It may sound complicated but once you understand the connection, you can never look past it. This is my job, seeking to solve the puzzle: find the drivers and identify the triggers to this imbalance.

This is why it’s not one treatment for one symptom.

This is why many women find relief in their period issues when they balance their thyroid health.

Or, their thyroid issues balance out when they support their adrenals.

Or, they begin to ovulation regularly and robustly with healthy progesterone levels, which lessens their PMS and menstual issues because their thyroid is balanced upstream.

This is just one example of the holistic approach I take with clients who present heavy periods.

You may also be interested in this blog, about how having low iron (from heavy periods) can also be effecting your thyroid function.