Low thyroid treatment

Underactive thyroidor hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is a medical term used for the condition inwhich the body is unable to produce enough of thyroid hormones. These hormonesare thyroxine (T4) and triodothyronine (T3), which stimulates the production ofproteins and the use of oxygen by all the cells in the body. There is a numberof possible reasons why the level of these two hormones may be lower thannormal, and some of them are certain autoimmune diseases, radiation therapy,medications, surgical removal of the thyroid gland or a part of it, though thiscondition can also be congenital, developed in pregnancy, or iodine deficiency.Regardless of the cause, the symptoms that people with this problem will sooneror later experience are tiredness, lethargy, poor concentration and memory, increasedsusceptibility to various and frequent infections, lower blood pressure,dizziness, headaches, and even changes of the mood or depression, and signs ofthis disorder. Even though the person with these symptoms may not suspect ofhypothyroidism, it is important to visit the doctor as soon as possible.

Treatment of lowthyroid

Hypothyroidism can be diagnosed according to the symptomsand after several blood tests are done, and it is important to diagnose itearlier, because it can be treated successfully and easily. If left untreated,it may get complicated, and it may cause some permanent consequences, such asgoiter, problems with heart, peripheral neuropathy and infertility even. The treatmentmainly consists of medications, which are actually thyroid hormone pills, andin the majority of cases, only T4 hormone is needed. Synthetic thyroid hormonesusually succeed in restoring the normal levels of hormones in the body, but itis necessary to determine the right dosage of the medication. That is why thedoctors tend to begin the treatment with lower doses and they tend to monitor thelevel of the hormones in question over the next two or three months. If necessary,the dosage will be increased until the level is restored to normal. Besides medications,the diet rich in iodine and vitamin A can also help with this problem, as wellas staying away from beverages that contain caffeine, since it suppresses thefunction of the thyroid gland, too. Supplements can also be helpful in thetreatment of low thyroid, because certain minerals among which are selenium andzinc, and vitamins D and E, have proven to be very important for the hormonesT4 and T3 and certain processes related to these two hormones.