Causes of Hypothyroidism: Autoimmune Disorders
There was a time when the leading cause of hypothyroidism was iodine deficiency. In some areas of the world, this may still be the case, but in most of the northern hemisphere the advent of iodized salt and multivitamin supplements, and “enriched” food products have pretty much eliminated iodine deficiency. Anyone who tells you to take iodine supplements for your hypothyroidism had better have just gotten test results back indicating an iodine deficiency in your specific case… otherwise, their advice is likely to be utterly irrelevant to your situation.
There are a number of other causes for hypothyroidism. Unfortunately, most of them are poorly understood, and the treatment still almost universally consists of “take replacement thyroid hormones in a quantity sufficient to return your TSH/T4/T3 blood levels to normal,” as the underlying triggers are mostly impossible to verify or reliably address. Nonetheless, here’s Part One of a basic overview of the most common causes of hypothyroidism, according to my personal research:
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Thyroid, Adrenal, Pituitary, oh my!
The anterior pituitary secretes growth hormone, prolactin, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, thyroid-stimulating hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, endorphins and other hormones. It does this in response to a variety of chemical signals from the hypothalamus…. –Wikipedia
The pea-sized pituitary gland seems to control just about everything, including the thyroid and its freqent partner in mysterious maladies: the adrenal gland. Read more
Recommended Thyroid Tests
If you go into your doctor asking to be tested for thyroid function, there are a number of tests they can run. Most will start with a simple TSH (Thyroid Stimulator Hormone) test, and may tell you everything is OK if that test comes back normal. However, if you’re experiencing a lot of hypothyroid symptoms, or if your TSH test comes back abnormal, there are two other tests that should be run: Free Thyroxine (T-4) and Free T-3. Read more
Hypothyroid Symptoms
Before the doctor prescribed my thyroid medication, she’d already seen blood test results showing “really low” numbers for my thyroid… so she asked about a bunch of symptoms. Because I thought we were looking at a recent problem, I answered “nothing new” or “nothing unusual” to a lot of her questions. Don’t make that mistake yourself! When I started researching hypothyroid symptoms online after the appointment, I realized I’d had many common symptoms for years… some for as long as I can remember. Which makes me wonder if it would’ve ever become so acute, if I’d started treatment sooner?
Look over this list of common hypothyroid symptoms. If you find yourself recognizing a lot of them (either long term, or recent-onset), you may want to request a thyroid test from your doctor! Read more
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