What do you do when you have symptoms of hypothyroidism, but your doctor says your thyroid levels are normal? You may have one of three lesser known causes of this frustrating condition.

If you are like many of the patients who I work with to track down the elusive culprit, your many symptoms are often treated with medications. Some of the most common hypothyroid symptoms are:

• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Weight gain or increased difficulty losing weight
• Difficulty swallowing
• Coarse, dry hair
• Dry, rough pale skin
• Thinning hair on scalp/hair loss
• Loss of body hair
• Cold intolerance (you can't tolerate cold temperatures like those around you)
• Muscle cramps and frequent muscle aches
• High Cholesterol
• Constipation
• Depression
• Irritability
• Memory loss
• Inability to concentrate
• Abnormal menstrual cycles/Heavy period
• Infertility
• Decreased libido

Hashimoto's was the first disease recognized as an autoimmune disease. It was first described by the Japanese specialist Hakaru Hashimoto in Germany in 1912. Hashimoto's is also known as Hashimoto's Thyroiditis or HT. In this autoimmune disorder the body produces an antibody that attacks the thyroid gland resulting in inflammation, and often decreased thyroid function (hypothyroidism).