Hypothyroidism is a hormonal disorder caused due to less production of thyroid hormone by thyroid glands. It is important to know the symptoms of hypothryoidism and its root causes responsible for this disorder before any treatment could be started. And it is equally important to follow various precautions in order to keep this endocrine disorder at bay. Below is a list of causes and symptoms of hypothyroidism and precautions that can be taken that you must follow if you are affected by this disorder.

Thyroid is an endocrine gland that secretes thyroid hormones. Hypothyroidism is one such problem, in which thyroid gland of a person doesn’t produce enough thyroid hormones. When thyroid hormones are not present in enough quantity, then whole body system that is dependent on these hormone doesn’t function properly. Lots of causes are responsible for hypothyroidism and a number of body symptoms occurs because of deficiency of thyroid hormones.

Causes of Hypothyroidism

Things which cause hypothyroidism are mentioned below-

• Consuming diet deficient in iodine on routine basis. 
• Radiation exposure to thyroid gland.
• Surgical removal of most of the portion of thyroid gland.
• Congenitally malformed thyroid gland in newborn baby.
• Auto-immune diseases like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.
• Side effects of some particular medicines that affect right functioning of thyroid gland functionality.
• Haemochromatosis is also one of the cause of hypothyroidism that results out of consuming diet containing excess iron.

Symptoms of Hypothyroidism

So mentioned below are signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism-

• Very common identifying symptom of hypothyroidism is TSH level raised and T4 level decreased in thyroid profile test.
• Second most common identifying symptom is obesity. Most of the patients who have hypothyroidism, are usually obese. 
• Third problem with patient of hypothyroidism is chronic constipation. On history taking of these patients, it is found that they had suffered from chronic constipation from number of years.
• Most of time, these patients have mood swings, mostly towards depressive side.
  
  You, won’t see them smiling, they have negative thinking towards every aspect. 
• Fifth problem of hypothyroidism patient is that most of time, they feel tired. Just a little work they do and their tiredness start.
• Their body temperature, if you measure remains mostly on lower side. That is, they suffer from hypothermia and feels cold more than other people. 
• Dry skin is their main skin complaint. Most of time you will see them applying moisturizer on their skin daily, on twice basis. Like their dry skin, their hairs are also dry. Their face is usually puffy and have sensitive skin.
• Their heart beat is slow, sweating is also low, but their blood cholesterol level is high. 
• Joint pain problem with memory impairment problem is also noticed among hypothyroidism patients. 
• They also have menstrual and fertility problems. Under menstrual problem, they have heavy (excess) menstrual flow. Under fertility problem, they have difficulty in conceiving a child.

Precautions to follow with Medicinal Treatment of Hypothyroidism

When you are suffering from hypothyroidism, your doctor will start your thyroid medicine depending upon your case. But, there are some precautions that you need to follow, when you are taking medicinal treatment of hypothyroidism. Those are mentioned below-

• There should be gap of atleast four hours between your thyroid medicine and food. This is because of some minerals in your food that decrease absorption of thyroid medicine.
• Do not consume supplement capsules or tablets with thyroid medicine at one go. There should be gap between them, as they decrease absorption of thyroid medicine. Iron supplements are at number one position that decrease absorption of thyroid medicine.
• Do not consume soybean, soya based products and cabbage, as they interfere with thyroid hormones.
• Consume balanced diet, but consume your medicine at gap from food. Consume iodine rich diet, deficiency of which is one of the main cause of hypothyroidism.
• Do morning walk to lesson the weight that you have gained because of hypothyroidism. But, do not consume your thyroid medicine, just before or after morning walk. There should be gap between both of them.

Dr.Simran

Doctor, Professional Medical Writer and Moderator

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