Do you know anybody that suffers from Hypothyroidism? Most people would answer no if they themselves were not affected; however the chances are good that you actually do. Thyroid disease symptoms affect millions of adults in the United States alone. The purpose of this article is to answer the question of just what is Hypothyroidism, as well as look at the causes, symptoms, diagnosis and of course the treatment.



The medical name Hypothyroidism means that your thyroid gland, does not produce either enough, or the correct amount of necessary hormones. It is also called having an under-active thyroid, and is any state when the body puts out other than normal thyroid hormone production. The thyroid gland itself which is located under the pituitary gland can become quite enlarged if it does not get treated. the main purpose of this gland is to produce hormones for the body such as thyroxine, also called T4. These hormones play a vital role in stabilizing the body's energy, and also how it uses different hormones as well as vitamins, plus the natural growth of body tissue. Hypothyroidism is often misdiagnosed or not at all because the symptoms can be quite varying as well as linked to a number of other disease.

One of the more common reasons for your thyroid to be weakened is actually stress on the body which can be in the form of mental, physical and emotional. It can generally become weakened also by your environment, your heating habits, pollution and possibly your lifestyle. Changing lifestyle is not an easy feat however. The number of people affected by an under-active thyroid does seem to be on the rise with more people gaining treatment. Other things that can attribute are a high intake of saturated fat, and exposure to some chemicals, drugs, radiation and pesticides. You really need to know what to actually look out for if you may be affected.

It is common for symptoms to be misdiagnosed or even undiagnosed as symptoms can be linked to other diseases. It is higher in women than men with 10-20% as opposes to about 1-2%. One of the roles of thyroid hormone is to care for the metabolism of the body, so people affected can be suffering from symptoms of a slow metabolism. Some symptoms are also felt during normal pregnancy such as, poor attention span, fatigue, numbness, unexplained weight gain and even tingling in the feet and hands. Many things can also cause cramps but the Thyroid gland not working properly is a common cause of this. Common experiences can also be sadness and depression, and a feeling of being quite distant from other people. All of the above are symptoms of hypothyroidism. If you do however seem to experience more alarming symptoms such as increased blood pressure, vomiting, large rapid weight loss, or a persistent quick heart rate please do book in with your doctor to have some tests.

While we know it can be hard to diagnose due to other disease, if you are feeling more than one of the symptoms it is especially important to tell your doctor which will allow him to make an informed decision. Blood tests are used to diagnose hypothyroidism and these can also be interpreted different depending on the doctor. If you do happen to have it you really need to seek out a treatment.

Most people can actually improve their symptoms by adopting a healthy diet, coupled with exercise. Unfortunately sometimes even this is not enough. Short term hormone replacement has been known to help women, but most symptoms of hypothyroidism and in fact menopause have been successfully treated with an herbal supplement called Thyromine. A thyroid treatment pills job is to force the body to produce the right levels of thyroxine and because Thyromine is actually all natural this can be done without experiencing side effects. It works from the inside out, getting to the cause of the problem and can help alleviate some of those nagging symptoms.