Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Low Thyroid Hypothyroidism is also common condition in CFS patients, that is often ignored or left untreated. The thyroid gland is the body's primary regulator of metabolism. Because it controls the body's metabolic rate - and the rate at which energy is produced, imbalances of thyroid hormones can have a profound effect on an individual's energy levels. Causing a symptom of weakness and exhaustion. Hypothyroidism is one of the most common hormone disorders. It occurs with greater frequency in women between the ages of 40-50, and may affect as many as 10% of women over age 50.(1) In hypothyroidism, low levels of thyroid hormones T4 (thyroxine) and/or T3 (triiodothyronine) drastically slow the body's metabolic rate, causing fatigue and sleepiness, muscle weakness, and decreased blood flow. At sub-clinical levels, imbalances may trigger vague complaints of persistent, low-grade fatigue; overt clinical hypothyroidism may be characterized by more extreme forms of exhaustion, as well as cognitive dysfunction, cold intolerance, weight gain, and constipation. To compensate for low levels of T3 or T4, the pituitary gland may secrete higher amounts of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in a futile attempt to "jump-start" the thyroid gland into producing more thyroid hormones. I suggest that anybody that has a diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue go to a specialist that would treat hypothyroidism. Standard lab tests aren’t accurate when diagnosing low level hypothyroid. About 90 percent of Chronic Fatigue Patients have undiagnosed hypothyroidism because the doctors are just looking at TSH. The most common condition I encounter in CFS patients is hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid function), or a condition known as autoimmune thyroiditis. If you're tired all the time, if you go to sleep and wake up tired, feel cold and lethargic, have dry, coarse skin, poor memory, hair loss, menstrual problems, constipation, depression, low sexual urge, poor concentration and/or recent memory loss, you may be a candidate for a thyroid disorder -- particularly if your morning temperature taken underarm for 10 minutes upon arising is less than 97.8[degrees]. How to home test vedio http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt-lCSEnFrA