Hypothyroidism is among the commonly diagnosed issues nowadays. The condition denotes a low thyroid hormone level. Thyroid hormones are meant for the regulation of body metabolism or how your body uses its energy. If your hormone levels are low, then the body’s functions will slow down.
About 4.6% of the population over ten years old have been diagnosed with low thyroid hormone levels. In conventional medicine, these patients are put on medications that boost the levels of thyroid hormone.
In functional medicine, however, the treatment of thyroid symptoms arising from low hormone levels in Las Vegas residents and those beyond centers on the cause. By concentrating on the cause rather than the symptoms of hypothyroidism, the odds of getting efficient symptomatic control are increased.
Moreover, the risk of side effects from thyroid boosting medication is lowered. The following are the common causes of low thyroid hormone levels.
Autoimmune Conditions
The most common of these conditions is Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. This arises from an attack of your thyroid gland tissues by your antibodies. The specific cause of this attack is not clear, but it is linked to environmental and genetic triggers.
By destroying the thyroid gland cells, your body will produce low levels of thyroid hormone in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. If this is the cause of your low hormone levels, the doctor will first measure your thyroid hormone levels. They then put you on thyroid hormone boosting medications whose dosage depends on your levels.
Thyroid Gland Surgery
Some cases of hyperthyroidism where you produce excess thyroid hormones or a growth in your thyroid gland are treated through surgery. In the surgical procedure, your entire thyroid gland or part of it will be removed.
If you have a large part or your whole thyroid gland removed, you might suffer from hypothyroidism. In most instances, you will be put on exogenous thyroid hormone replacement drugs for life.
Excessive Response to Hyperthyroidism Treatment
Hyperthyroidism is generally treated using anti-thyroid medications and radioactive iodine. These are designed to get the functioning of your thyroid gland to normal.
Sometimes, however, these medications cause an over-response in some individuals and significantly lower the production of thyroid hormone. This results in permanent hypothyroidism.
To avert this in functional medicine, your thyroid hormone levels are regularly tested throughout your hyperthyroidism treatment. This ensures that your thyroid hormone levels do not fall too low.
Radiotherapy
Some types of cancer on the neck and throat can be treated using radiation therapy. Other common conditions for which radiotherapy is used include Hodgkin’s lymphoma and an overactive thyroid gland.
While radiotherapy will kill diseased cells, it also affects the cells which produce thyroid hormone. This causes the low production of thyroid hormone.
Blindly taking thyroid hormone boosting medications when faced with low levels of the hormone might cause more harm than good. Treatment should start with a proper diagnosis of the cause of your low hormone levels and tailoring of your treatment to address the cause.
People assume functional medicine is more costly compared to conventional medicine and would instead settle for the cheaper alternative. This is, however, erroneous thinking since functional medicine is way less expensive than traditional medicine.