Stressful events such as pregnancy and vaginal
deliveries have been known to cause hypothyroid or acute thyroiditis.
Even stressful events such as motor vehicle
accidents can render the thyroid hypo-reactive.
I like to tell my patients that the thyroid is a
fragile reactive organ, thus environmentally challenged by what we do in our
daily lives.
You may have a normal thyroid your entire life,
until possibly even a heart attack. That
is enough stress to cause thyroiditis.
On annual exams, it is important to check the
thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), which is the hormone released from the brain
to tell the thyroid to work. It is also
important to check the Free T3, and Free T4, which are the hormones released
from the thyroid gland itself.
By feedback mechanism, the thyroid gland and the
brain work in symbiosis, but when the thyroid gland is not working, the brain
has to put out more TSH to fire up the thyroid gland.
This is called Hypothyroidism. Even slight elevations in the TSH can be a
sign of Subclinical hypothyroidism.
Symptoms of hypothyroidism include fatigue, weight
gain or loss, headaches, hair loss, abdominal bloating, palpitations, cold
intolerance, among other symptoms.
Don’t hesitate to see a doctor if you believe you
have symptoms of low thyroid.
Until next time, be safe and healthy.
