BATON ROUGE — If you have been feeling tired and added some weight, it could be due to a lot of reasons. But it could be a symptom of hypothyroidism.

It is often called underactive thyroid and a blood test can confirm.

"Hypothyroidism is when the thyroid is making inadequate amounts of thyroid hormone,” Mayo Clinic endocrinologist Victor Bernet said.

If you have an underactive thyroid gland, the symptoms may not be noticeable early on, but they can include fatigue, weight gain, dry skin, constipation, muscle pain, and swelling in the hands and feet.

"You just have one of these symptoms, the chances of hypothyroidism is going to be less than when you have a conglomeration of these symptoms all developing — that can be a big deal,” Bernet said.

Over time, if hypothyroidism isn't treated, the symptoms can become worse and lead to other health issues, like high cholesterol and heart problems.

"The symptoms of hypothyroidism overlap with many other general medical issues. So it's important, if you suspect yourself of having hypothyroidism, to go see your doctor and have some appropriate thyroid blood testing done,” Bernet said.

Often, treatment is simply taking daily oral thyroid medication to return hormone levels to a typical range. And treatment likely will be lifelong.