Could undiagnosed hypothyroidism be causing your poor health?
An epidemic of untreated thyroid disease could be a factor in many health problems; and the mainstream medical establishment doesn't offer effective diagnosis and treatments.
The thyroid, an endocrine gland located at the throat, produces a variety of hormones, but as many as 40% of the population may have Hypothyroidism 2- a condition in which the cells are unable to utilize the hormones.
Symptoms include:
Fatigue
Weakness
Obesity
Cold intolerance
Dry itch skin
Dry brittle and thinning hair
Weak nails
Muscle pain
Depression
Muscle cramps
Headaches
Constipation
Heart disease
And many more.
This condition could be caused by fluoride exposure, mercury from dental fillings, pesticides, and other toxins. Hypothyroidism 2 is typically not revealed in lab tests, but can possibly be self-diagnosed through taking the underarm basal body temperature (directions), with temperatures under 97F degrees suggestive of low thyroid function.
The opposite extreme of an overactive thyroid is the condition of an under active thyroid or hypothyroidism as opposed to hyperthyroidism, in this case, which occurs quite commonly, the body’s metabolic rate is lowered to a great degree, bringing on the typical symptoms of hypothyroidism.
One may feel a great need to sleep and spends a lot of time sleeping, there is a gain in weight and exhaustion and fatigue occur on a continuous basis, mimicking the signs of other conditions like depression, with which hypothyroidism is typically mistaken.
The person may always feel cold and is affected by chills in the body, his or her ability to resist infection is impaired and other disease may take advantage of this factor. Dryness of the skin is common, with the skin typically being very cold to the touch. The outer eyebrows and the head may have significant hair loss, which can become very noticeable in the person.
Disorders like the irritable bowel syndrome, aches and arthritis, aches in the muscle and the joint, different types of allergies, serious conditions like asthma, a raised or elevated cholesterol level, unhealthy nails and carrot-colored palms and soles, an impaired memory and an inability to concentrate and frequently occurring yeast infections are all typical physical manifestations of the condition.
Conditions like constipation occur as a result of the decreased metabolic rate, which impairs organ function, and in women this lowered metabolic rate may often be manifested as a lighter or much heavier and short menstruation period.
Though not applicable to all cases and in all persons goiter often develops as the body tires to increase thyroid activity, in an attempt to boost the body’s metabolic rate. Swollen and puffy legs and face may be observed in patients who are afflicted with very severe forms of the condition.
Since mental and physical developments are often affected seriously, pregnant women and children are the most vulnerable group of people as far as hypothyroidism is concerned. Symptomatic physical fatigue because of aging and consequent physical impairment or an underlying depression is often mistaken for the symptoms caused by hypothyroidism in the elderly.
The condition of hypothyroidism can be brought on by many kinds of factors and circumstances. Because of the hormonal fluctuation during menopause and pregnancy, susceptibility for hypothyroidism is high in most women.
A diet deficient in the essential mineral iodine is often the cause of an under active thyroid in many patients, this is especially so in those populations living far from the ocean and having a continental type of climate in their cities or towns.
A dysfunctional thyroid gland can also come about because of a lack of physical exercise and due to deficient nutrition, which may lack many of the essential nutrients that a healthy body requires.
Some rare conditions can also lead to under activity in the thyroid glands. The body’s own immune system may attack the thyroid gland in a condition known as Hashimoto’s disease, which will eventually lead to hypothyroidism.
The cause behind this autoimmune condition remained a mystery and has not been found. Irradiation can also impair thyroid gland functioning and surgery could also cause a problem; these treatments might have been carried out to repair an overactive thyroid gland, and can sometimes cause the reverse condition.
The receptors in the body’s cell can be blocked as far as thyroid hormones are concerned, through chemical mimics that resemble the thyroid secretions these include many types of chemical pollutants, such as PCBs and pesticides, which can easily contaminate food, hypothyroidism may be the resulting condition in such cases.
How to test your Basal Temperature
Record your underarm basal body temperature with a glass thermometer (not digital). The procedure for doing so is the following:
1. Get a glass thermometer, not digital (the digital ones stop reading after a minute or two and are not as accurate). Non-mercury glass thermometers are now commercially available at Walgreen’s and other pharmacies (if you have trouble locating a mercury thermometer).
2. Shake down the thermometer the night before you do the test (using your muscles to shake the thermometer will raise your temperature and throw off the test).
Place the thermometer at your bedside with a book (the book will be obvious in a moment).
3. Go to sleep without an extraneous heat source such as a bed partner (spouse, dog, etc), an electric blanket or on a waterbed (they are heated). You are allowed to wear pajamas and use as many blankets as you desire, as they do not throw off the test.
When you wake up in the morning (or if you sleep during the day, when you wake up after at least 4 hours of sleep), use as little movement as possible (all movement moves your muscles and raises your temperature) and place the thermometer in your armpit. Why the armpit? Patients with low thyroid often have allergies or get sinus infections – which raise the temperature inside the mouth. Leave it there for at least ten minutes (hence, you have a book to read.)
4. Women who still have periods should take their temperature over the first 3 days of their period and average the numbers. Women who have had a hysterectomy but still have at least one ovary will probably want to test over a period of 14 days and use the 3 days with the “lowest" readings. Men and postmenopausal women can test for any 3 days and average.
5. Normal body temperature is between 97.4 and 98.2 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures below that are suggestive of low thyroid.
