Hypothyroidism
If you’ve been experiencing unexplained weight gain, fatigue, dry skin, constipation, and possibly, even, a hoarse voice, you may want to check up on the function of your thyroid gland.
Often occurring for the first time in adulthood, hypothyroidism is an auto-immune disorder in which your own body’s defense system sees your thyroid gland as a “foreign” invader and sets about to “neutralize it”. This auto-assault slows down the hormone production within your thyroid gland, and thus a full body “slow down” results—particularly of your metabolism.
Situated in the front of your throat just below your Adam’s apple, the thyroid gland will become enlarged—sometimes quite notably—as a result of any form of thyroid disease. The primary cause of an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) is Hashimoto’s disease or Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. While it’s more common to find this problem beginning in middle-age, younger people can succumb to this disease, as was the case with both of my children who, before they were even teenagers, were identified to have this condition.
A positive diagnosis of hypothyroidism requires blood work and both a physical and an ultrasound (sonogram) examination, which is typically performed/prescribed by an endocrinologist. Once it’s been determined that a patient does, indeed, have hypothyroidism, treatment is usually a breeze—one small prescription pill taken each morning of a synthetic thyroid hormone (Synthroid® or its generic, levothyroxine). The only aspect of care which takes a bit of finessing is to determine the best level of hormone supplement to take, as this process is somewhat of a guess-and-see (and rerun the blood tests) sort of deal.
Experiencing life with two “Hashimoto-kids” myself, I can honestly say that once your thyroid hormone level has been restored to normal, life is unaffected beyond the one-pill regime and the once or twice a year recheck.
Living with treated hypothyroidism makes you wonder why you ever waited so long to get yourself checked out. So stop speculating and “Just do it!”