Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism – General Information

Hypothyroidism – Symptoms

Hypothyroidism – Treatment

In order to properly diagnose this medical condition, you physician will ask you to undergo a series of blood exams that will measure your hormonal blood levels. Most of these tests measure your TSH levels, although there are other exams that focus on the individual’s blood thyroxine levels. Low thyroxine blood levels and abnormally high TSH blood levels point to the fact that the patient is suffering from Hypothyroidism, as in such clinical cases, the organism’s pituitary gland tends to secrete more TSH in an attempt to stimulate the secretion of the thyroid. Such medical exams (that check the patient’s blood TSH levels) are helpful in the diagnosis of another medical condition that is known as Sub-clinical Hypothyroidism (this disorder does not cause any outward symptoms and / or signs).  

The standard therapy for patients who present an under active thyroid is based on the daily intake of a synthetic hormone that is similar to the secretion of the thyroid. The most popular medical products that are generally employed in the therapy of patients who are suffering from Hypothyroidism are known to include medicines that contain levothyroxine (Synthroid, Levoxyl, Unithroid, Levothroid, and so on). The proper intake of these drugs is known to generally restore the normal blood hormone levels. Soon after the patient has started his or her therapy for Hypothyroidism, the individual will start benefiting from the treatment’s effects: the feeling of abnormal fatigue will gradually disappear. In some cases, the therapy lowers the individual’s blood cholesterol levels and reverses the process of weight gain. Although the therapy with levothyroxine (and drugs that contain this synthetic hormone) is generally a lifelong one, the patient might have to change his or her initial dose of the hormone (this depends on the way the organism responds to the therapy). This is why each patient who is undergoing a therapy for under active thyroid ought to undergo blood exams each year in order to check his or her TSH blood levels (this will enable the physician make the necessary dosage adjustments).

Patients who suffer from other medical disorders (such as coronary artery disease) must be given a lower dose of levothyroxine at the beginning of their therapy. Their dosage will increase in time, depending on the organism’s response to the hormone (in this way, the heart will have time to adjust to the metabolic changes that occur in the organism). If it is used adequately, levothyroxine based medicines should not cause any unpleasant side effects. However, it is very important to ask your physician if you need to take any special precautions during your therapy with this synthetic hormone. For example, each patient ought to know that the intake of other medical products or certain foods might change the organism’s ability to absorb this synthetic hormone. This is why patients who follow a therapy with levothyroxine ought to avoid the intake of iron supplements, aluminum hydroxides (some antacids are known to contain this ingredient), Questran (cholestyramine), and so on.