HYPOTHYROIDISM DISEASE

WHAT IS HYPERTHYROIDISM?

Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the body lacks sufficient thyroid hormone for it to function properly. Thyroid  hormone is responsible to run the body’s metabolism. People who suffer from hypothyroid disease have slow body metabolism.  Women are likely to suffer from hypothyroidism than men.

CAUSES OF HYPOTHYROIDISM
There are two common causes of hypothyroidism. The first is a result of previous (or currently ongoing) inflammation of the thyroid gland, which leaves a large percentage of the cells of the thyroid damaged or dead and incapable of producing sufficient hormone. The most common cause of thyroid gland failure is called autoimmune thyroiditis (also called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis), a form of thyroid inflammation caused by the patient’s own immune system.

The second major cause is the broad category of “medical treatments.” The treatment of many thyroid conditions warrants surgical removal of a portion or all of the thyroid gland. If the total mass of thyroid producing cells left within the body are not enough to meet the needs of the body, the patient will develop hypothyroidism. Remember, this is often the goal of the surgery for thyroid cancer.

But at other times, the surgery will be to remove a worrisome nodule, leaving half of the thyroid in the neck undisturbed. Sometimes, this remaining thyroid lobe and isthmus will produce enough hormone to meet the demands of the body. For other patients, however, it may become apparent years later that the remaining thyroid just can’t quite keep up with demand.
Similarly, goiters and some other thyroid conditions can be treated with radioactive iodine therapy. The aim of the radioactive iodine therapy (for benign conditions) is to kill a portion of the thyroid to prevent goiters from growing larger or producing too much hormone (hyperthyroidism).
Occasionally, the result of radioactive iodine treatment will be that too many cells are damaged so the patient often becomes hypothyroid within a year or two. However, this is usually greatly preferred over the original problem.
There are several other rare causes of hypothyroidism, one of them being a completely “normal” thyroid gland that is not making enough hormone because of a problem in the pituitary gland. If the pituitary does not produce enough thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) then the thyroid simply does not have the “signal” to make hormone. So it doesn’t.

SYMPTOMS OF HYPOTHYROIDISM

Dry, rough pale skin
Fatigue
Weakness
Weight gain or increased difficulty losing weight
Coarse, dry hair
Depression
Irritability
Memory loss
Abnormal menstrual cycles
Decreased libido
Hair loss
Cold intolerance
Muscle cramps and frequent muscle aches
Constipation
see ref:  endocrineweb