Hypothyroid Testing: What You Need to Know and Ask for

Hypothyroidism (Underactive Thyroid)

What Is Hypothyroidism?

Hypothyroidism, also chosen underactive thyroid disease, is a common disorder. With hypothyroidism, your thyroid gland does not make enough thyroid hormone.

The thyroid gland is located in the front end lower part of your neck. Hormones released past the gland travel through your bloodstream and touch nearly every office of your body, from your heart and brain, to your muscles and skin.

The thyroid controls how your body's cells use energy from food, a process called metabolism. Among other things, your metabolism affects your body'due south temperature, your heartbeat, and how well you fire calories. If you don't have enough thyroid hormone, your body processes dull down. That means your body makes less free energy, and your metabolism becomes sluggish.

Symptoms of Hypothyroidism

Symptoms of hypothyroidism may be vague and tin often mimic other atmospheric condition. They may include:

• Changes in the menstrual bike
• Constipation
• Low
• Dry hair and pilus loss
• Dry out skin
• Elevated cholesterol
• Fatigue
• Greater sensitivity to cold
• Hoarse vocalisation
• Joint hurting, stiffness, and swelling
• Problems with retentivity
• Muscle aches and stiffness
• Muscle weakness
• Puffy face
• Slow heart rate
• Swelling of the thyroid gland (goiter)
• Unexplained weight gain or difficulty losing weight
• Carpal tunnel syndrome

Babies with hypothyroidism may take no symptoms. If symptoms do occur, they can include:

• Cold hands and feet
• Constipation
• Extreme sleepiness
• Hoarse weep
• Lilliputian or no growth
• Low musculus tone (floppy infant)
• Persistent jaundice (yellowing of the pare and whites of the eyes)
• Poor feeding habits
• Puffy face
• Stomach bloating
• Swollen natural language
• Umbilical hernia

Make an engagement with your health intendance provider if y'all or your baby has whatsoever of these symptoms. It's important to annotation that these symptoms tin be due to other medical conditions.

Children and teens may as well have hypothyroidism with the signs and symptoms seen in adults. Kids and teens may also accept:

• Delays in puberty
• Delays in growth and shorter stature
• Slow mental development
• Slower development of permanent teeth

Causes of Hypothyroidism

The most common crusade of hypothyroidism is Hashimoto'south thyroiditis. "Thyroiditis" is an inflammation of the thyroid gland. Hashimoto's thyroiditis is an autoimmune disorder. With Hashimoto's, your torso produces antibodies that attack and destroy the thyroid gland. Thyroiditis may also exist caused by a viral infection.

Other causes of hypothyroidism include:

• Radiation therapy to the cervix area. Treating sure cancers, such as lymphoma, requires radiation to the neck. Radiation damages the cells in the thyroid. This makes it more than difficult for the gland to produce hormones.
• Radioactive iodine treatment. This handling is commonly prescribed to people who have an overactive thyroid gland, a condition known every bit hyperthyroidism. All the same, radiation destroys the cells in the thyroid gland. This usually leads to hypothyroidism.
• Use of certain medications. Certain medicines to care for heart problems, psychiatric weather, and cancer can sometimes affect the production of thyroid hormone. These include amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone), interferon alpha, and interleukin-2.
• Thyroid surgery. Surgery to remove the thyroid will lead to hypothyroidism. If only part of the thyroid is removed, the remaining gland may notwithstanding be able to produce plenty hormone for the torso's needs.
• Too niggling iodine in the diet. The thyroid needs iodine to produce thyroid hormone. Your trunk doesn't brand iodine, so you need to get it through your diet. Iodized tabular array table salt is rich in iodine. Other food sources of iodine include shellfish, saltwater fish, eggs, dairy products, and seaweed. Iodine deficiency is rare in the U.Southward.
• Pregnancy. The reason isn't clear, but sometimes, inflammation of the thyroid occurs after pregnancy. This is called postpartum thyroiditis. Women with this condition commonly have a severe increase in thyroid hormone levels followed by a precipitous drop in thyroid hormone production. Nigh women with postpartum thyroiditis volition regain their normal thyroid function.
• Problems with the thyroid at nascency. Some babies may be born with a thyroid gland that did not develop correctly or does not work properly. This type of hypothyroidism is called congenital hypothyroidism. Nigh hospitals in the U.S. screen babies at birth for this disease.
• Pituitary gland impairment or disorder. Rarely, a problem with the pituitary gland tin interfere with the product of thyroid hormone. The pituitary gland makes a hormone, called thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), which tells your thyroid how much hormone information technology should make and release.
• Disorder of the hypothalamus. An extremely rare course of hypothyroidism tin occur if the hypothalamus in the brain does not produce plenty of a hormone called TRH. TRH affects the release of TSH from the pituitary gland.

Primary hypothyroidism is caused by a problem with the thyroid gland itself.

Secondary hypothyroidism occurs when some other problem interferes with the thyroid's ability to produce hormones. For example, the pituitary gland or hypothalamus produce hormones that trigger the release of thyroid hormone. A problem with one of these glands tin can make your thyroid underactive.

Sometimes, an underactive thyroid that results from a trouble with the hypothalamus is called tertiary hypothyroidism.

Hypothyroidism Chance Factors

Women, particularly older women, are more likely to develop hypothyroidism than men. You are also more likely to develop hypothyroidism if you have a close family unit member with an autoimmune disease. Other risk factors include:

• Race (being white or Asian)
• Age (growing older)
• Prematurely graying hair
• Autoimmune disorders such as blazon ane diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, celiac disease, Addison'southward disease, pernicious anemia, or vitiligo
• Bipolar disorder
• Downwards syndrome
• Turner syndrome

Diagnosis of Hypothyroidism

If you accept symptoms of hypothyroidism, your doctor will gild blood tests to check hormone levels. These may include:

• Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)
• T4 (thyroxine)

Lower-than-normal T4 levels usually hateful you have hypothyroidism. However, some people may take increased TSH levels while having normal T4 levels. This is called subclinical (mild) hypothyroidism. It is believed to be an early on stage of hypothyroidism.

If your test results or physical exam of the thyroid are abnormal, your physician may social club a thyroid ultrasound, or thyroid scan, to check for nodules or inflammation.

Hypothyroidism Treatment

If y'all have hypothyroidism, your doctor will prescribe a synthetic (human-fabricated) thyroid hormone T4. Y'all take this pill every day. Sure other medications can interfere with how your trunk absorbs synthetic thyroid hormone. Brand sure your doctor knows nearly all the medicines, herbs, and supplements you accept, including over-the-counter products.

You will need regular blood tests to check your thyroid hormone levels. Your physician may need to adjust your medication dose from time to time.

It may accept a trivial time to figure out the correct dosage of thyroid hormone that yous need. Your dr. volition requite you a blood examination to cheque your TSH levels 6 to 8 weeks after you start taking synthetic hormones, then once every 6 months.

If your dosage is besides loftier and you get too much hormone, you could accept these side effects:

• Appetite increases
• Can't sleep
• Heart palpitations
• Shakiness

People with astringent hypothyroidism or heart affliction may start out with a low dose of constructed hormone, and so gradually increase the amount then their heart tin can adjust to it.

Once you have the correct dosage, you shouldn't accept any side effects from your hormones. Only don't stop or skip your medication, because your hypothyroidism symptoms could come back.

If you gain or lose fifty-fifty as much equally 10 pounds of torso weight, you may demand to go your TSH levels checked again to see if your hormone dosage should be adjusted.

Complications of Hypothyroidism

Untreated, hypothyroidism may crusade complications, such every bit:

• Residual bug. Older women are at extra run a risk for remainder problems if their thyroid hormone levels are too low.
• Goiter. If your thyroid is always trying to produce more than hormones, the gland tin swell and change the appearance of your neck. You may also accept trouble swallowing.
• Heart problems. Hypothyroidism puts you lot at greater risk for heart disease and can raise your levels of LDL or "bad" cholesterol.
• Infertility. Too little thyroid hormone may disrupt your production of eggs (ovulation) and make it harder to conceive.
• Joint pain. Low levels of thyroid hormone can cause you to have aches and pains in your joints and muscles, also as tendonitis.
• Mental wellness issues. Low thyroid hormones tin cause retentiveness or concentration lapses, likewise as decreased interest in activities y'all used to savour. See your doctor if you notice these changes, as they could also be due to depression unrelated to your thyroid.
• Obesity. Although hypothyroidism may adjourn your appetite, you can gain weight considering your metabolism slows downwardly also, and you don't burn down enough calories.
• Peripheral neuropathy. Over time, depression thyroid hormones can damage your peripheral fretfulness. Y'all may notice hurting, tingling, or numbness in your limbs.

Thyroid problems in a pregnant woman can affect the developing babe. During the first three months of pregnancy, the infant receives all thyroid hormone from its mother. If the mother has hypothyroidism, the infant does not get enough thyroid hormone. This tin can lead to problems with mental development.

Extremely depression levels of thyroid hormone can crusade a life-threatening condition chosen myxedema. Myxedema is the virtually severe grade of hypothyroidism. A person with myxedema can lose consciousness or get into a coma. The condition can also cause the body temperature to drop very depression, which can cause death.

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Source: https://www.webmd.com/women/hypothyroidism-underactive-thyroid-symptoms-causes-treatments

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