Thyroid Imbalance

• Do you suffer from fatigue?
• Are you irritable, depressed, anxious, or panicky?
• Are you bothered by changes in your skin, nails or hair?
• Do you experience constipation?
• Do you feel cold or hot when others don't?
• Are you struggling with weight gain?
• Do you have sleep problems?
• Are you forgetful or do you have problems focusing?
• Are you burdened by disorganized thinking?
• Do you feel burned out from having acted on excessive energy for several months?
• Are you listless, or are you disconnected from your friends and family?
• Do you have joint aches and pains, muscle cramps?
• Do you have high cholesterol?
• Have you been diagnosed with depression or anxiety?
• Are you taking an antidepressant, but still feeling that your mind and mood are sub-par?

If you have some of these symptoms, it could be an indication that you have a thyroid imbalance (too much or too little thyroid hormone in your system). More than 20 million people, most of them women, have a thyroid imbalance. Eight percent of all Americans, and twelve to fifteen percent of menopausal women have low-grade underactive thyroid. Five to six percent of postpartum women have a postpartum thyroid imbalance.

Thyroid Imbalance: A Hidden Epidemic

Thyroid imbalance (too much or too little thyroid hormone) is a hidden epidemic that causes a wide range of physical and mental symptoms. Thyroid imbalance can be misdiagnosed or remain undiagnosed for a long period of time because the symptoms are similar to symptoms of so many other conditions and can masquerade as fatigue, depression, anxiety, postpartum depression, menopause, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and arthritis. Most primary care physicians are not quite acquainted with how important a perfect thyroid balance is for optimal physical and mental health and are not adequately trained to deal with all of the components of thyroid imbalance.

Testing Your Thyroid

The most sensitive and useful thyroid test to diagnose thyroid imbalance is TSH, the pituitary hormone that regulates the functioning of the thyroid gland. You need to know, however, that you may have low grade thyroid imbalance even though your TSH level is "read" as normal. Low grade thyroid imbalance can actually cause or precipitate symptoms that are out of porportion to the imbalance.

What Causes Hypothyroidism ?

You can become hypothyroid as a result of Hashimoto's thyroiditis, the autoimmune condition that can destroy your gland over time and make your thyroid level decline gradually. You can also become hypothyroid as a result of the treatment of Graves' disease. An underactive thyroid can also be caused by surgical removal of part or all of the thyroid gland. It can also be caused by other types of inflammation of the thyroid, such as subacute thyroiditis (a viral illness that can damage the thyroid gland), and silent thyroiditis (another form of immune attack on the thyroid gland). Postpartum thyroiditis, radiation to the head and neck, deficiency of iodine, and deficiency of important nutrients, such as selenium, can also make your thyroid slow down. Some medications and disorders of the hypothalamus, or pituitary gland, can also result in hypothyroidism.

What Causes Hyperthyroidism ?

Graves' disease is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism. In this condition, the immune system sends signals to the thyroid to make it produce excessive amounts of thyroid hormone. Other causes of hyperthyroidism are autonomous thyroid nodules (nodules that take over the function of the gland and produce excessive amounts of thyroid hormones) and multinodular toxic goiters (several hyperactive nodules that produce too much thyroid hormone). Silent thyroiditis and subacute thyroiditis typically cause high thyroid hormone levels for a few weeks due to release of preformed thyroid hormones caused by the inflammation. The transient hyperthyroidism is typically followed by underactive thyroid and then restoration of normal thyroid function in most people. Many patients with subacute thyroiditis or silent thyroiditis will continue to have some deficiency in thyroid hormone, often minimal, that can affect them.

Symptoms

Common symptoms of hypothyroidism

Physical Symptoms:

• Fatigue
• Weight Gain
• Aches and pains in joints and muscles
• Constipation
• Dry and itchy skin
• Brittle hair
• Hair loss, including loss of eyebrow hair
• Feeling cold even in warm temperatures
• Milky discharge from breasts
• Infertility
• Heavy Menstrual Periods
  
  

Mental Symptoms:

• Depression
• Mental sluggishness
• Forgetfulness
• Increased sleepiness
• Emotional instability
• Inability to focus and pay attention
• Irritability

Common symptoms of hyperthyroidism

Physical Symptoms:

• Weight loss
• Fatigue
• Shakiness
• Restlessness
• Feeling hot and becoming intolerant of warm temperatures
• Hair loss
• Eye irritation
• Increased sweating
• Rapid heartbeat
• Irregular menstrual periods
• Decreased fertility
• Increased frequency of bowel movements

Mental Symptoms:

• Anxiety
• Panic attacks
• Depression
• Paranoia
• Aggressive behavior
• Emotional withdrawal
• Emotional mood swings

Treatment of Hypothyroidism; Hormone Replacement

The conventional treatment of hypothyroidism is synthetic T4 or Levothyroxine. Levothyroxine is taken in a pill form and, in the right amount, will normalize your thyroid levels. Some of the T4 taken by mouth gets converted into T3 which is the active form of thyroid hormone. Your doctor will typically aim at normalizing your TSH level, which is the pituitary hormone that regulates the thyroid gland. A normal TSH indicates that you are getting the right amount of medication. However, despite achieving and maintaining normal blood tests, you may continue to suffer from fatigue, low grade depression, and weight gain. The solution may be the use of a well balanced combination of the two thyroid hormones T4 and T3, in the right amounts.

Treatment of hyperthyroidism

There are three types of treatments available for patients with Graves' disease: Radioactive Iodine, medications, (PTU or methimazole) and surgical removal of a big portion of the gland. The treatment choice offered by your doctor should be tailored according to your specific clinical situation. Do not follow stereotypic recommendations !