Underactive thyroid: don't ignore the symptoms | ViewsHound

Sometime in 2002, I started feeling exhausted. I put it down to commuting and to overwork as I?d just been promoted into a stressful job. My brain was foggy. I had to read even simple emails several times to understand them. I would stagger home, manage to eat something light then fall into bed. My social life was non-existent, I simply didn?t have the energy. Gradually I began to realise that my hands were aching constantly, that I was feeling the cold even on a warm day, and that I was losing hair from the outside of my eyebrows and from my head. Friends told me later that I was even blinking more slowly. In early 2003 I became so weak I could hardly lift my hand to clean my teeth and decided it was high time to visit my doctor. By that point I realised I?d also put on nearly 3 stone in weight in a couple of years, and I hadn?t consciously changed my eating patterns.

A thyroid function test revealed that my thyroid was seriously underactive. My body was simply grinding to a halt. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto?s Disease, an auto-immune condition where the body produces antibodies to attack its own thyroid tissue. Thyroid hormone (thyroxine) supplements are essential for the rest of my life. I was prescribed generic thyroxine or T4 hormone. I?m in the UK and this is the standard treatment on our National Health Service for an underactive thyroid.

Thyroid hormone is needed by every cell in the body. If cells are deprived of it, the body systems governing metabolism break down. Make no mistake, this is a serious condition and it needs to be diagnosed by a doctor and treated appropriately. I didn?t realise the full implications of ignoring my symptoms until long after my initial diagnosis. Untreated, an underactive thyroid can lead to heart complications and in very rare cases, coma. I?d thought initially that two weeks rest from work would sort me out. It turned out to be six months, with a gradual return to work taking it one or two days at a time. It was several years before I could work full time again.

Symptoms of an underactive thyroid are myriad and mimic symptoms of other illnesses, particularly depression. They also have a tendency to creep up on you and they don?t all show up in each person. I waited far too long to get myself checked out, and was seriously ill for months as a result. The UK-based support organisation, Thyroid UK, has a helpful symptom checklist on its website and there?s a link below.

I can only write about my experiences with an underactive thyroid, a condition also known as ?hypothyroidism?. There?s an equally challenging condition called ?hyperthyroidism? where the thyroid becomes overactive, producing a set of very different but equally distressing symptoms including sweating, rapid weight loss and heart palpitations. It?s every bit as important to seek a doctor?s advice on this one.

There?s a wealth of information out there on the web about diagnosis and treatment of thyroid conditions but please be discriminating about your sources. I?ve listed four here that, as a patient, I?ve found helpful. They?re all UK-based and be aware that treatment options may be different where you live. They can only be a guide, and should never be a substitute for visiting your doctor if you have symptoms you can?t explain. Only a doctor can give you a firm diagnosis and recommend the right treatment for your particular condition.

http://www.thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/pages/conditions/thyroid/hyposymptoms.html

http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Hypothyroidism-Underactive-Thyroid.htm

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Thyroid-under-active/Pages/Introduction.aspx

http://www.btf-thyroid.org/

Disclaimer: the views of the author are not those of ViewsHound or Publisha Limited.
Copyright ? Jan Bird, all rights reserved.

Source: http://www.viewshound.com/health-fitness/2011/8/underactive-thyroid-dont-ignore-the-symptoms

weather underground toefl toefl bolt barbados honeywell harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban