Thyroid? What's a Thyroid?
Hey y'all!
I was going to try and get all this in one post, but to be honest, it's a very complex subject about a small little thing that controls quite a bit in your body. So this first post, is just going to answer "What is the Thyroid and what is hyper- or hypothyroidism? " I first want to state that I am not formally educated in this topic, I simply find it really interesting and have been through it myself so I've been doing a lot of research and want to share what I have found.
The thyroid is a gland in the base of your neck that kind of looks like a butterfly. The thyroid is responsible for energy regulation and metabolism function throughout the body. The thyroid takes iodine (found in the food you eat) and converts it into two different hormones; T3 (triiodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxine). When every single cell depends on T3 and T4 to regulate the metabolism.
T4 is made a bit more freely than T3 in the thyroid. Sometimes, the thyroid doesn't release enough T4 and T3, which makes the pituitary gland release TSH to try and get the thyroid to release more T4 and T3. When the body gets the hormones it needs, where it needs it, the pituitary gland realizes the hormones are secreted and then tries to decrease TSH production while everything is regulated and back to "normal".
TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) is usually the first thing that doctors check to see if the thyroid is functioning.
That's if everything is functioning normally and correctly in the body...
But what if it isn't?
Well... if the thyroid and pituitary gland aren't functioning together correctly, then that's where the individual suffers from a thyroid disorder.
Hyperthyroidism is where your thyroid is over-active. It produces too much T4 which in turn can cause unintentional weight loss, irregular heart beat, heat sensitivity, shortness of breath, etc.. Most doctors help individuals with hyperthyroidism by prescribing a anti-thyroid medicine, to assist their thyroid in producing fewer hormones.
Hypothyroidism is where your thyroid is under-active. That is what happens in my body.
People who suffer from hypothyroidism usually have symptoms along the lines of; weight gain, dry skin, fatigue, sensitivity to cold, depression, hair loss, etc.. Most doctors help individuals with hypothyroidism by prescribing a synthetic thyroid hormone.
Like I said, this is a very complex subject that I am still learning and researching about but there is so many things that are connected to the thyroid that most people just dismiss.
Most of the time, people with thyroid disorders just feel terrible, but they don't know why they feel terrible. All their labs and tests at the doctor look fine, but they still just do not feel well; fatigued, feeling weak, feeling depressed/anxious, and they don't have a cause. Unfortunately, everyone reacts differently to each disorder, therefore, each persons symptoms, each symptom severity, is different.
Sure, there are a lot of constants, but everything is just a bit different, a bit more individualized.
For my next post on the topic, I want to talk more about Hashimoto's Disease and how it is connected to the thyroid and metabolism.
Below are the resources I used to learn more about the thyroid!
Resources:
https://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/thyroid/how-your-thyroid-works
https://labtestsonline.org/tests/t4-free
https://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/hyperthyroidism/hyperthyroidism-symptoms
https://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/hypothyroidism/symptoms-hypothyroidism
I was going to try and get all this in one post, but to be honest, it's a very complex subject about a small little thing that controls quite a bit in your body. So this first post, is just going to answer "What is the Thyroid and what is hyper- or hypothyroidism? " I first want to state that I am not formally educated in this topic, I simply find it really interesting and have been through it myself so I've been doing a lot of research and want to share what I have found.
The thyroid is a gland in the base of your neck that kind of looks like a butterfly. The thyroid is responsible for energy regulation and metabolism function throughout the body. The thyroid takes iodine (found in the food you eat) and converts it into two different hormones; T3 (triiodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxine). When every single cell depends on T3 and T4 to regulate the metabolism.
T4 is made a bit more freely than T3 in the thyroid. Sometimes, the thyroid doesn't release enough T4 and T3, which makes the pituitary gland release TSH to try and get the thyroid to release more T4 and T3. When the body gets the hormones it needs, where it needs it, the pituitary gland realizes the hormones are secreted and then tries to decrease TSH production while everything is regulated and back to "normal".
TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) is usually the first thing that doctors check to see if the thyroid is functioning.
That's if everything is functioning normally and correctly in the body...
But what if it isn't?
Well... if the thyroid and pituitary gland aren't functioning together correctly, then that's where the individual suffers from a thyroid disorder.
Hyperthyroidism is where your thyroid is over-active. It produces too much T4 which in turn can cause unintentional weight loss, irregular heart beat, heat sensitivity, shortness of breath, etc.. Most doctors help individuals with hyperthyroidism by prescribing a anti-thyroid medicine, to assist their thyroid in producing fewer hormones.
Hypothyroidism is where your thyroid is under-active. That is what happens in my body.
People who suffer from hypothyroidism usually have symptoms along the lines of; weight gain, dry skin, fatigue, sensitivity to cold, depression, hair loss, etc.. Most doctors help individuals with hypothyroidism by prescribing a synthetic thyroid hormone.
Like I said, this is a very complex subject that I am still learning and researching about but there is so many things that are connected to the thyroid that most people just dismiss.
Most of the time, people with thyroid disorders just feel terrible, but they don't know why they feel terrible. All their labs and tests at the doctor look fine, but they still just do not feel well; fatigued, feeling weak, feeling depressed/anxious, and they don't have a cause. Unfortunately, everyone reacts differently to each disorder, therefore, each persons symptoms, each symptom severity, is different.
Sure, there are a lot of constants, but everything is just a bit different, a bit more individualized.
For my next post on the topic, I want to talk more about Hashimoto's Disease and how it is connected to the thyroid and metabolism.
Below are the resources I used to learn more about the thyroid!
Resources:
https://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/thyroid/how-your-thyroid-works
https://labtestsonline.org/tests/t4-free
https://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/hyperthyroidism/hyperthyroidism-symptoms
https://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/hypothyroidism/symptoms-hypothyroidism
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