Apr
take thyroxine,can anyone tell me anything about this condition,im just hearing negative things like [ aw you ll put on loads of weight,and you ll have to take tablets for the rest of your life ,im 39 dont smoke dont drink,am pretty active and watch what i eat, can anyone shed some light on substitute treatments or anything about this.
Answer:
Understanding Thyroid Problems - the Basics
What Are Thyroid Problems?
Through the hormones it produces, the thyroid gland influences nearly all of the metabolic processes in your body. Thyroid disorders can range from a small, harmless goiter (enlarged gland) that needs no treatment to life-threatening cancer. The most common thyroid problems involve abnormal production of thyroid hormones. Too much of these vital body chemicals results in a condition known as hyperthyroidism. Insufficient hormone production leads to hypothyroidism.
Even though the effects can be unpleasant or uncomfortable, most thyroid problems can be managed well if properly diagnosed and treated.
7 Causes of Fatigue in Women
WebMD Feature
We are in the midst of a global energy crisis but it has nothing to do with oil. The problem is unexplained fatigue.
“The single biggest complaint I hear from my patients, day in and day out, is fatigue,” says cardiologist Nieca Goldberg, MD, Director of the NYU Medical Center Women's Heart Program and associate professor at the NYU School of Medicine.
If you’re getting a healthy 7 to 8 hours a night and you're still tired, Goldberg says it's time for a check–up to uncover the causes for fatigue.
Read more about 7 causes of fatigue in women
Related to hypothyroidism symptoms, thyroid tests, TSH, medication, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, goiter, Underactive thyroid, synthroid, hyperthyroid, depression, thyroid surgery, thyroid disorders
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What Causes Thyroid Problems?
All types of hyperthyroidism are due to an overproduction of thyroid hormones, but the condition can occur in several ways:
Graves' disease: The production of too much thyroid hormone.
Toxic adenomas: Nodules develop in the thyroid gland and start to secrete thyroid hormones, upsetting the body's chemical balance; some goiters may contain several of these nodules.
Subacute thyroiditis: inflammation of the thyroid causes the gland to “leak” excess hormones, resulting in temporary hyperthyroidism that generally lasts a few weeks but might persist for months.
Pituitary gland malfunctions or cancerous growths in the thyroid gland: Although rare, hyperthyroidism can also develop from these causes.
Hypothyroidism, by contrast, stems from an underproduction of thyroid hormones. Since your body's energy production requires certain amounts of thyroid hormones, a drop in hormone production leads to lower energy levels. Causes of hypothyroidism include these:
Hashimoto's thyroiditis: In this autoimmune disorder, the body attacks thyroid tissue. The tissue eventually dies and stops producing hormones.
Removal of the thyroid gland: The thyroid might be surgically removed or chemically destroyed as treatment for hyperthyroidism.
Exposure to excessive amounts of iodide: Cold and sinus medicines, the heart medicine amiodarone, or certain contrast dyes given before some X-rays might expose you to too much iodine. You might be at greater risk for developing hypothyroidism, especially if you have had thyroid problems in the past.
Lithium: This drug has also been linked as a cause of hypothyroidism.
Untreated for long periods of time, hypothyroidism can bring on a myxedema coma, a rare but potentially fatal condition that requires immediate hormone injections.
Hypothyroidism poses a special danger to newborns and infants. A lack of thyroid hormones in the system at an early age can lead to the development of cretinism (mental retardation) and dwarfism (stunted growth). Most infants now have their thyroid levels checked routinely soon after birth. If they are hypothyroid, treatment begins immediately. In infants, as in adults, hypothyroidism can be due to these causes:
A pituitary disorder
A defective thyroid
Lack of the gland entirely
A hypothyroid infant is unusually inactive and quiet, has a poor appetite and sleeps for excessively long periods of time.
Cancer of the thyroid gland is quite rare and occurs in less than 10% of thyroid nodules. You might have one or more thyroid nodules for several years before they’re determined to be cancerous. People who have received radiation treatment to the head and neck earlier in life, possibly as a remedy for acne, tend to have a higher-than-normal propensity for thyroid cancer.
Answer:
I wouldn't want to take thyroxine either. It's simply T4, a storage hormone, and in most everyone, leaves lingering hypothyroid symptoms of one degree or another, including weight gain, or feeling cold, or rising cholesterol or blood pressure, or hair loss, or a whole lot of other symptoms of a poor treatment. http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/lon…
Instead, if you have to take something to get rid of any symptoms you have, I'd highly advocate you look into Armour: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/nat…
By the way, if you are pretty active, are you sure you have hypothyroidism?? Every once in a while, I meet someone who never really had it, in spite of a higher TSH. But if while being active, you have less stamina or other symptoms, yes, you may need to treat it.
Answer:
You can take a supplement which you can buy at your local health food store called Sea Kelp - it is a natural source of iodine thus regulating your thyroid. Try Googling it for more information but it's certainly worth trying - it was our most popular supplement for underactive thyroid. Good luck with it though.
Answer:
I too have the condition. Your weight will be unaffected. You take one small pill each morning, and that's it. What's the problem? Untreated the condition can have long term consequences, which vary from person to person. The good news is that you’ll be exempt from prescription charges after filling in a easy form. Be grateful it has been discovered and enjoy the rest of your life!
Answer:
I've been on synthroid for 15 years. I only gain weight when my dose is too low.
Actually it is one of the easiest meds to take. It's cheap, and provided the dose is right there are virtually no side effects.