Hypothyroidism

What is hypothyroidism?

Hypothyroidism is a chronic disease caused by a problem with your thyroid gland. This gland in your neck makes thyroid hormone, a substance your body needs to regulate your metabolism and other vital functions.

If the thyroid gland isn’t producing enough hormones, your metabolism can’t function normally. It slows down, causing problems such as:

• Weight gain
• Inability to lose weight
• Severe fatigue
• Depression
• Menstrual irregularities
• Dry, thinning hair and skin
• Slow heart rate
• Temperature sensitivity

If you have hypothyroidism, you’re also more likely to develop carpal tunnel syndrome, which causes wrist, hand, and arm pain and weakness.

What causes hypothyroidism?

In most cases, hypothyroidism is caused by Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune disease, a malfunction in your immune system that makes it destroy cells in your thyroid gland. Other possible causes of hypothyroidism include:

• Radiation therapy for neck cancers
• Radioactive iodine treatment for hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid)
• Thyroid surgery
• Insufficient iodine in the diet
• Damaged or diseased pituitary gland
• Congenital thyroid disorders

When you visit Dr. Aneela, she asks you about your symptoms and reviews your medical history. To check for hypothyroidism, she takes blood for lab analysis. The tests measure levels of thyroxine (T4), the thyroid hormone, and TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone).

If you have low T4 levels, it indicates you have hypothyroidism. If your T4 levels are normal, but your TSH is raised, you could have subclinical hypothyroidism that, in time, can develop into full hypothyroidism. The blood tests also look for antibodies that you produce when you have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

How is hypothyroidism treated?

There’s no cure for hypothyroidism, but Dr. Aneela can help you manage your condition. The primary treatment is a daily dose of supplementary thyroid hormone (levothyroxine). It’s important that you take the right amount of levothyroxine — too little, and your symptoms won’t go away; too much, and you’ll develop hyperthyroidism symptoms instead.

Managing hypothyroidism requires regular blood tests. The lab checks T4 and TSH levels, and if you have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, the antibody levels in your blood. If they rise or fall, Dr. Aneela can adjust your prescription to ensure you’re on the optimal dose.

In addition to supplementary thyroid hormones, Dr. Aneela might recommend functional medicine  and/or Chinese medicine approaches to help raddress symptoms of hypothyroidism. These complementary techniques can also help with hormone regulation.

With expert management, you can live a normal life despite having hypothyroidism. If you’re experiencing symptoms of low thyroid hormone levels, call Optimal Health by Dr Aneela today, or book an appointment online.