Hypothyroidism: What Exactly is That-
A human neck has a gland named Thyroid. It is a butterfly shaped gland present in the front of a human neck. The gland secretes many hormones that help in regulating various metabolic functions in the body and play crucial people in it.
Thyroid gland secretes three major hormones which includes Thyroxine (T4),Triiodothyronine (T3) and Calcitonin. These hormones play many important roles in the body like maintaining metabolism, regulating energy and temperature of the body, promoting growth and development, regulating heart rate, maintaining bone health and digestion and reproductive health, keeping in check pituitary function and renal clearance, etc.
Out of these hormones, if the secretion of the T4 and T3 hormone is disbalanced, this can cause thyroid disease. If the secretion is way too much than required by the body, it leads to the condition called hypothyroidism and if the secretion of these two hormones is way too less than needed by the body, then this is called hypothyroidism.
Symptoms of Hypothyroidism-
Every disease or disbalance in the body and crucial functions of the body shows their presence by showing some symptoms and signs. That is why, it is very important to always listen to your body and observe it and to take seriously any discomfort or sudden changes observed in the body. Hypothyroidism also shows some particular signs like:-
- Fatigue
- Weight gain
- Sensitivity to cold
- Joint and muscle pain
- Dry skin or hair
- Menstrual irregularities
- Slowed heart rate
- Depression
- Goiter
- Hoarseness
- Puffy face, hands, and feet
- Slow speech
- Thinning eyebrows
- Brain fog
- Elevated blood cholesterol levels
- Numbness or tingling in your hands
- Physical changes in your face
These symptoms can vary from person to person and can even take years to be evidently shown in a person.
Hypothyroidism is also known as underactive thyroid. The disease is more common and shows its prevalence in people above 50 years of age. It is more common to occur in women than males.
The reason behind this disease to develop in a person are various that includes:-
- Autoimmune disorders
- Congenital hypothyroidism
- Iodine deficiency
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Chronic stress
- Radiation therapy
- Certain medicines
- Pituitary disease
One other reason for hypothyroidism to develop in a person could be him/ her getting treatment for hyperthyroidism. The treatment for hyperthyroidism includes many procedures and medical steps like radioactive iodine therapy or surgery can damage the thyroid and lead to hypothyroidism.
Endocrinologist: Who is it and what is the Role in Treating Hypothyroidism-
With advancement in the medical sector, now each and every organ of the body and disease have a designated doctor and a medical professional who have education, training, knowledge and certification specific to an exact medical issue.
Similarly, diseases and functioning related to glands and hormonal secretions of the body also have a specific doctor associated with it who has practiced and has skills to treat and diagnose the imbalance and problems in the hormonal glands of the body. The specialist is called an Endocrinologist.
An endocrinologist have special training and experience regarding the hormonal glands like:-
- Pituitary gland
- Adrenal glands
- Thyroid gland
- Parathyroid glands
- Pancreas
- Ovaries and testes
- Pineal gland
In order to treat hypothyroidism in a patient, an endocrinologist first runs some diagnostic tests like initially he/ she will look for some evident physical symptoms in the patient or ask the related questions. If the symptoms do match to those that happen due to hypothyroidism, then the doctor will then perform some blood tests in order to determine the amount of hormones like T4 and T3 in the patient’s body. If these tests also come positive the last and the confirmatory test is to perform an ultrasound of the thyroid of the person.
If the doctor confirms some thyroid nodules or lumps in the ultrasound of the patient, then the treatment is started for hypothyroidism. One of the parts of the treatment for hypothyroidism is prescribing synthetic thyroid hormones, such as levo-T, levoxyl, novothyrox, and unithroid, to elevate the hormone levels of the patient.
To sum up in a brief paragraph, we can say the thyroid gland and hormonal secretions play a very important role in uncountable activities and functions of the body and the body requires an exact amount of these hormones to be released by the gland. The imbalance in the secretion of these hormones can not only disturb the functions of the body but can cause various. It is very important to get yourself checked by a thyroid specialist, that is, an Endocrinologist if you start to notice any changes or symptoms in your body. A specialist guidance and treatment plan plays a huge role in getting control over the symptoms and damages the disease is causing in the body and to get a grip again and maintaining a balance in the functioning of the body.