Feeling Slowed Down More Than Usual?

It may be time for a check-up.  Hypothyroidism, too-low thyroid hormone level, is the most common form of thyroid disorder, affecting up to 15 percent of Americans in cases ranging from mild to those requiring medication.

When thyroid hormone levels are too low, the body’s cells cannot get enough thyroid hormone and the body’s processes start slowing down. As the body slows, you feel colder, tire more easily, have drier skin, feel more constipated, become more forgetful, or feel depressed.  These symptoms are nonspecific so to know if you have hypothyroidism you will need a simple blood test for TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone).

https://www.thyroid.org/thyroid-matter-especially/

Tell your doctor if you have experienced changes in your health that suggest your body is slowing down, or if you are taking medicines that can cause hypothyroidism, such as  amiodarone, lithium, interferon alpha, or interleukin-2.

You doctor will check the thyroid gland in your neck, and look for changes such as dry skin, swelling, slower reflexes, and a slower heart rate.  Blood tests may be indicated and include TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) and T4 (thyroxine).

TSH measures how much thyroid hormone T4 the thyroid gland is being required to make. An abnormally high TSH means hypothyroidism: the thyroid gland must make more T4 because there is not enough T4 in the blood.  Most T4 in the blood is attached to a protein called thyroxine-binding globulin and cannot enter body cells; only about 1%–2% of T4 in the blood is unattached or free to move into cells.

Treatment for Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism cannot be cured, but it can be controlled, by replacing the amount of hormone that your own thyroid can no longer make.  Thyroxine (T4) replacement can restore most individual’s thyroid hormone levels and body functions.  The only dangers of taking thyroxine are caused by taking too little or too much.

Too little and your hypothyroidism continues. Too much, and you swing in the opposite direction, too much thyroid hormone. The most common symptoms of too much thyroid hormone are inability to sleep, nervousness, shakiness, hot feeling, muscle weakness, shortness of breath, or racing heart.  Your doctor will retest your TSH and/or T4 levels until your correct dosage is determined.

 https://www.thyroid.org/hypothyroidism/