Before understanding what hypothyroidism is it helps to know what the thyroid is and how it works. The thyroid is a gland in the lower front of the lower front of the neck just below the Adams apple. Think of it as the bodies thermostat. It impacts many parts of the body the muscles, bones, skin, heart, brain, liver, kidneys, digestive tract, and more. Millions of people have hypothyroidism and many or undiagnosed. Both women and men can develop hypothyroidism, but it is more common among women. In fact, women are five times more likely than men to suffer from hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism is a lifelong condition that can occur at any age. Your body gives you signals that something is wrong the way your body normal feels. This tells you the you need to go to see a doctor to explain your symptoms with him or her. This will give you a better or closer look to see what is causing this issue or change that you notice in your body. You will probably have to have test done to assist them in diagnosing your issue.
Hypothyroidism as stated on the Web Md website “also called underactive thyroid disease, is a common disorder. With hypothyroidism, your thyroid gland does not make enough thyroid hormone”. As stated on Synthoroid.com website “Hypothyroidism is when the thyroid doesn’t make enough thyroid hormone called thyroxine, which causes the body’s system to slow down”. This condition will make you feel tried or fatigue. One may even think that this feeling of tiredness or
Hypothyroidism, while a common disorder, is often misdiagnosed due to its ability to mimic other common health problems. A simple, yet specialized blood test, coupled with a complete medical history, will allow the experts at RCMC Medical Center to not only diagnose the problem in a timely manner, but also develop a treatment plan based on the results, and your personal lifestyle, with the end goal of returning you to the level of health and wellness you
The author Azeez Farooki MD in “Hypothyroidism: What You Should Know about Your Treatment”, focused on the drug levothyroxine which replaces the thyroid hormone that is not being produced in the body of people with hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism is very common and it affects more than 27 million people and mostly women and elderly. Levothyroxine is a synthetic medication and some people that take it have a more difficult time tolerating it or absorbing it the traditional way. The doctor might be able to prescribe a more natural “pure” levothyroxine formula to those people. The symptoms of hypothyroidism are very similar to many other diseases which sometimes can be overlooked and people become undiagnosed. It’s important to keep great communication with the doctor to have success in treatment. The treatment is usually a lifelong situation and the doctor
The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland. You would find it located in the lower neck, right below the Adam’s apple. The location is the same in both men and women. What the thyroid does is create and store thyroid hormone. It then releases the hormone in appropriate amounts to keep the body’s metabolism functioning at a normal level. If there is too much thyroid hormone, this is known as hyperthyroidism. In hyperthyroidism, the body’s metabolism increases. This condition can cause high blood pressure, high heart rate, nervousness, palpitations, and severe weight loss. Too little thyroid hormone, on the other hand, can cause tiredness, depression, memory loss, dry skin, brittle hair, and weight gain—among many other symptoms.
The history of hypothyroidism dates way back to the 1800s; seeing the symptoms in patients, even before the disease was able to be diagnosed. Later realizing that many of the cases of cretinism, later called hypothyroidism, were largely associated with the lack in function of the thyroid. Today, also realizing that there is not only internal factors that influence hypothyroidism but also external factors that can contribute. Hypothyroidism can present itself in many different ways from no symptoms at all to organ failure, in a severe enough case. Discovering and treating hypothyroidism with medication or alternative, if the patient chooses, can be very simple after confirming diagnosis with lab results. An optimistic prognosis is usually given to patients diagnosed with hypothyroidism.
The patient’s diagnosis is primary overt hypothyroidism. The patient presents with certain features such as weight gain, weakness, excessively dry flaking skin, dry hair, sluggish movements, constipation, bradycardia, diminished deep tendon reflexes, and bilateral edematous hands, which is classical signs and symptoms for primary hypothyroidism. The patient laboratory test reveals she has an elevation in serum thyroid stimulating hormone level along with low serum free thyroxin and triiodthyronine levels, which indicates it is a dysfunction or abnormality in the thyroid gland as opposed to the pituitary gland or hypothalamus (Gaitonde; Lohano; Porth, 2015, p. 780; Ross, 2014).
Commonly, problems with the thyroid involve an abnormal production level of these hormones. It is called hyperthyroidism if there the thyroid hormones are overproduced, and this can cause things like Graves’ disease, Toxic adenomas, and subacute thyroiditis (7). Hypothyroidism is the underproduction of the hormones which can be caused by an inflamed thyroid, iodine deficiency, a non-functioning thyroid gland and more. Hypothyroidism is especially dangerous in infants and newborns as the lack of these thyroid hormones can lead to mental retardation and dwarfism (7). However, in humans hypothyroidism can be caused by things such as a pituitary disorder, a defective thyroid or a lack of the gland completely. (7)
Hypothyroidism a common endocrine disorder resulting from deficiency of thyroid hormone which can cause symptoms such as fatigue, hair loss, and menstrual disturbances ("Hypothyroidism: Practice Essentials, Background, Pathophysiology," 2017).
Hyperthyroidism , part of the endocrine system, is a the gland that makes hormones that controls the way every cell in the body uses energy. Your thyroid is located in the front of your neck where the collarbones meet. Having this disease can affect some vital signs. Having hyperthyroidism can cause heart palpitations and high blood pressure. Therefore, because of having this disease, blood pressure and pulse need to be checked and documented every visit. It is important to collect vital signs and note them because it could help diagnose a patient.
Hypothyroidism is caused by the thyroid’s gland inability to produce thyroid hormone as required by the body. The diagnosis of hypothyroidism requires the laboratory testing of the thyroid stimulating hormone known as TSH. When the TSH is found to be elevated, a clinician should repeat the test along with a free thyroxine (T4) measurement. If the TSH is found to be elevated, while the T4 is normal, the patient is said to suffer from subclinical hypothyroidism. However, if the TSH is elevated and the T4 is low, the diagnosis is primary hypothyroidism (Gaitonde et al., 2012).
This study showed that among the subjects chosen, the prevalence of hypothyroidism in patients with coronary heart disease was around 11.5% and the likelihood of the hypothyroid patient being female was four times more likely than male R. It has been determined that the risk of hypothyroidism becomes higher with age, more common between the ages of 45 and 60.
Hashimoto’s disease is now recognized as an autoimmune disease and the primary cause of hypothyroidism, occurring almost twice as often in women than in men. The immune system of someone with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, will mistakenly recognizes the normal thyroid cells as foreign tissue and it produces antibodies that may destroy these cells (American Thyroid Association). When the immune system attack the thyroid, this can lead to hypothyroidism. This is when the body is not making enough hormone to maintain your
Hypothyroidism isn’t picky, it can strike at any age and can affect anyone. However, it’s favorite victim appears to be women since it occurs in approximately 1 in 50 women and only about 1 in 1,000 men. It typically occurs in adults and becomes more common as age increases.
Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the thyroid. The thyroid is a small gland at the base of the neck that produces hormones and that help control most of the bodies activities. Inflammation to the thyroid, from Hashimoto’s, often leads to hypothyroidism, an underactive thyroid gland. Hashimoto’s disease is the number one cause of hypothyroidism in the United States. It mainly affects middle aged women but Hashimoto’s can affect men, women of any age, and even children (“Hashimoto’s Disease-National Library of Medicine-PubMed Health,” 2014).
Hypothyroidism is a lack of activity in the Thyroid (the Endocrine gland), which is located in the neck. Because it is a part of the Endocrine gland, it plays a major role in the hormonal system; which may cause complications with the pituitary (located in the brain), the ovaries or the testes.
Both hypo and hyperthyroidism are a result of a disease in caused by malfunction of the thyroid gland located in the neck as represented by the image below left. The causes of chronic hypothyroidism are fairly distinct. Around the world in third-world and developing countries, iodine deficiency is the most common cause of hypothyroidism. This used to be true as well for developed countries, but today this is a less common cause as iodine usually finds its way into our diets without too much trouble. In modern-day developed countries, hypothyroidism is mainly a result of Hashimoto's thyroiditis, a birth defect which lacks a thyroid gland or a deficiency of hormones from either the hypothalamus or the pituitary gland.