Hypothyroidism – what is it?

The other day, I wrote about the overdiagnosis of hypothyroidism, underactive thyroid. This disorder is a very real problem, for those who have it, their lives can be severely effected. But what exactly is hypothyroidism?

Your thyroid is a small gland in your throat, just below your voice box. The thyroid is a vital gland that plays an important role in regulating your metabolism – how your body creates and uses energy. The thyroid secretes, lets out, hormones that controls that metabolism.

If you have hypothyroid, you may have these symptoms:

• Constant fatigue, exhaustion
• Feeling of being cold all the time, unable to warm up
• Forgetfulness
• Thickened skin, puffy
• Muscular weakness
• Constipation
• Goiter (enlarged thyroid)
• Weight gain, regardless of how little food is eaten

As you can imagine, symptoms of hyperthyroid, overly active thyroid, are the opposite of hypothyroid.

What causes hypothyroidism?

There are many reasons why a thyroid may stop producing enough hormones over time. Sometimes it’s due to age, other times it’s due to a malfunction in the thyroid, or even a diet that is too low in iodine – an essential source for the thyroid. And then, there are those who have induced hypothyroidism. If someone has hyperthyroidism or has been diagnosed with cancer of the thyroid, the thyroid may be destroyed with radiation, or removed, making it so there are no thyroid hormones available any more.

Treatment

Treatment for hypothyroid is almost always medication in the form of a synthetic (man-made) thyroid hormone. The medications are *very* sensitive and must be titrated exactly to what each individual needs. This is not a medication that you can try to adjust on your own, as the results could be catastrophic.

Usually, once someone with hypothyroidism gets treatment, they can’t believe how much better they feel.

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Images: Stock.xchg, MorgueFile.com