Your General Well Being With a Thyroid Disorder
Are you asking, "Why do I feel tired and irritable so often?" You may be suffering from the unwanted side effects of thyroid disease.
If your thyroid is producing too little or too much thyroid hormone then your whole system will be out of whack and you will have many unpleasant symptoms.
If your thyroid is not healthy, you can experience a wide range of symptoms from simply not feeling well to the other extreme of having complications so severe they interfere with your daily life.
Thyroid disease can affect your mental state too.
You can feel just a little blue or experience depression and anxiety.
To find out for sure if your thyroid is the source of your irritability and general unwell feeling, all it takes is a simple blood test that your doctor can order.
This test will determine if your thyroid is producing too little or too much thyroid hormone.
Both conditions need to be treated in order to restore your health.
If your thyroid produces too little hormone, you have a condition called hypothyroidism.
Hypothyroidism can make you feel very sluggish and tired all of the time.
Your metabolism will slow down, you may begin to gain weight.
You will find that you are moody and irritable.
You may begin to experience other bothersome conditions like pain in your joints, heavy menstrual periods, depression, puffiness, high cholesterol and increased sensitivity to cold weather.
Hypothyroidism can be reversed by taking supplemental thyroid hormones which requires a prescription from your doctor.
The amount you take is customized to your particular case so that the supplement added with the amount your thyroid produces combine to provide your body with the normal amount of hormone.
You do not want to take too much supplemental thyroid hormone or you might begin to experience symptoms of hyperthyroidism.
On the other hand, if your thyroid produces too much hormone then you have a condition called hyperthyroidism and your symptoms are almost the opposite.
Your metabolism goes into overdrive.
You may feel moody or nervous, have a rapid heartbeat, sweat a lot, lose your hair, have irregular periods and lose weight.
Hyperthyroidism is treated by using drugs or surgery to get your thyroid to reduce the amount of hormone it creates.
In some cases, like when your thyroid is removed, your body no longer creates thyroid hormones at all so you must undergo treatment for hypothyroidism by taking supplemental hormones, usually for the rest of your life.
You should understand that hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism are two very different conditions and require different treatment plans.
They are both caused by a malfunctioning thyroid but their symptoms and treatment are not the same.
Of the two conditions, hypothyroidism is far more common.
Approximately 10 million people in the United States have hypothyroidism.
Ten times as many women as men have this condition.
When your thyroid malfunctions, it affects many of your body's systems and can affect your mental state as well.
Your symptoms may be mistaken for normal signs of growing older which makes your situation even more frustrating.
Here is a quick list of symptoms which you might be experiencing if you have hypothyroidism: Weight gain, slow speech, droopy eyelids, puffy face, constipation, hoarseness, dry hair, dry skin, thick skin, hand tingling, hand pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, slow pulse, muscle cramping, confusion, heavy menstrual flow, low body temperature, anemia and possibly heart failure if left untreated.
The range of symptoms for hyperthyroidism include: Fatigue, goiter, unable to tolerate heat, sweating, increased appetite, trouble concentrating, irregular menstrual periods, restlessness, weight loss, nervousness, rapid pulse, clammy skin, hair loss, hypertension, itching, protruding eyes, diarrhea, hand tremors, irregular heart rate, skin flushing and insomnia.
Luckily, you can help bring your body and your thyroid back into balance and improve the quality of your life.
Your doctor can treat your thyroid to normalize the level of thyroid hormone circulating in your blood.
Sometimes it might be difficult to get your doctor to take action if your thyroid blood tests are borderline or in the normal range (even if it is not normal for you).
In either case, you should rebuild the health of your body and thyroid through the use of a healthy diet, by drinking plenty of water and taking supplements that support healthy thyroid function.
Since thyroid disease has an affect upon your mental state it is also important that you remove stress from your life to the best of your ability and learn relaxation techniques.
You should also avoid unnecessary nervous system stimulation by not using cigarettes and caffeine.
If your thyroid is producing too little or too much thyroid hormone then your whole system will be out of whack and you will have many unpleasant symptoms.
If your thyroid is not healthy, you can experience a wide range of symptoms from simply not feeling well to the other extreme of having complications so severe they interfere with your daily life.
Thyroid disease can affect your mental state too.
You can feel just a little blue or experience depression and anxiety.
To find out for sure if your thyroid is the source of your irritability and general unwell feeling, all it takes is a simple blood test that your doctor can order.
This test will determine if your thyroid is producing too little or too much thyroid hormone.
Both conditions need to be treated in order to restore your health.
If your thyroid produces too little hormone, you have a condition called hypothyroidism.
Hypothyroidism can make you feel very sluggish and tired all of the time.
Your metabolism will slow down, you may begin to gain weight.
You will find that you are moody and irritable.
You may begin to experience other bothersome conditions like pain in your joints, heavy menstrual periods, depression, puffiness, high cholesterol and increased sensitivity to cold weather.
Hypothyroidism can be reversed by taking supplemental thyroid hormones which requires a prescription from your doctor.
The amount you take is customized to your particular case so that the supplement added with the amount your thyroid produces combine to provide your body with the normal amount of hormone.
You do not want to take too much supplemental thyroid hormone or you might begin to experience symptoms of hyperthyroidism.
On the other hand, if your thyroid produces too much hormone then you have a condition called hyperthyroidism and your symptoms are almost the opposite.
Your metabolism goes into overdrive.
You may feel moody or nervous, have a rapid heartbeat, sweat a lot, lose your hair, have irregular periods and lose weight.
Hyperthyroidism is treated by using drugs or surgery to get your thyroid to reduce the amount of hormone it creates.
In some cases, like when your thyroid is removed, your body no longer creates thyroid hormones at all so you must undergo treatment for hypothyroidism by taking supplemental hormones, usually for the rest of your life.
You should understand that hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism are two very different conditions and require different treatment plans.
They are both caused by a malfunctioning thyroid but their symptoms and treatment are not the same.
Of the two conditions, hypothyroidism is far more common.
Approximately 10 million people in the United States have hypothyroidism.
Ten times as many women as men have this condition.
When your thyroid malfunctions, it affects many of your body's systems and can affect your mental state as well.
Your symptoms may be mistaken for normal signs of growing older which makes your situation even more frustrating.
Here is a quick list of symptoms which you might be experiencing if you have hypothyroidism: Weight gain, slow speech, droopy eyelids, puffy face, constipation, hoarseness, dry hair, dry skin, thick skin, hand tingling, hand pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, slow pulse, muscle cramping, confusion, heavy menstrual flow, low body temperature, anemia and possibly heart failure if left untreated.
The range of symptoms for hyperthyroidism include: Fatigue, goiter, unable to tolerate heat, sweating, increased appetite, trouble concentrating, irregular menstrual periods, restlessness, weight loss, nervousness, rapid pulse, clammy skin, hair loss, hypertension, itching, protruding eyes, diarrhea, hand tremors, irregular heart rate, skin flushing and insomnia.
Luckily, you can help bring your body and your thyroid back into balance and improve the quality of your life.
Your doctor can treat your thyroid to normalize the level of thyroid hormone circulating in your blood.
Sometimes it might be difficult to get your doctor to take action if your thyroid blood tests are borderline or in the normal range (even if it is not normal for you).
In either case, you should rebuild the health of your body and thyroid through the use of a healthy diet, by drinking plenty of water and taking supplements that support healthy thyroid function.
Since thyroid disease has an affect upon your mental state it is also important that you remove stress from your life to the best of your ability and learn relaxation techniques.
You should also avoid unnecessary nervous system stimulation by not using cigarettes and caffeine.