Underactive Thyroid in Women

Underactive thyroid is also known as hypothyroidism in clinical terms. It refers to the inability of the thyroid gland to produce enough of certain hormones required for different functions of the body. When there is a dearth of these hormones, the normal balance of the chemical reactions in the body giving rise to a number of different symptoms. Although thyroid problems occur in people of both sexes, women seem to be the more vulnerable ones, especially those older than age 50. The concern with this kind of a disease is that it tends to remain asymptomatic in its early stages and only begins to manifest itself through different signs over time. Complications of untreated hypothyroidism may include conditions such as goiter, depression, peripheral neuropathy, obesity, pain in joints, infertility and different kinds of heart ailments. In some people, hypothyroidism may impact mental health, and may give rise to rare medical conditions such as myxedema (main symptoms include intense cold intolerance and drowsiness).

Hypothyroidism Symptoms

As aforementioned, the underactive thyroid symptoms in women or in men have the tendency to develop slowly over a number of years. The early signs, which may not even let the sufferer realize that he/she may be actually suffering from a problem of hypothyroidism are fatigue and sluggishness. Over time, with the thyroid gland deteriorating further in its function, the body's metabolism will continue to slow down and then different signs and symptoms may begin to show up. So fatigue and sluggishness may get worse with time and may be followed by constipation, pale dry skin, hoarseness in the voice and unexplained weight gain. Also, increased sensitivity to cold may develop in the affected person and so would elevated blood pressure, weakness of muscles, brittle fingernails and hair and depression. Some more symptoms can be puffy face, muscles aches, swelling in your joints, heavier than normal periods.

Causes

Causal factors of underactive thyroid in women and men include autoimmune diseases, radiation therapy and surgery of the thyroid gland. Also, hypothyroidism may also be a result of side effects of medications and treatment for hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid gland). While these causes are common, there are still some more which are rare but possible. They can include a deficiency of iodine in the diet, pregnancy, disorders related to the pituitary gland and congenital disease.

Treatment

The treatment focuses in restoring adequate thyroid levels. The medication prescribed is the synthetic thyroid hormone levothyroxine, which is used daily. Post 1 or 2 weeks, sufferer may notice improvement in their symptoms such as reducing fatigue, lowering cholesterol level and managing weight gain. One aspect of the treatment to be known is that the use of the medicine mentioned above would have to continue for the rest of the life so as to help maintain the required levels of hormone in the body. However, the dosages may change from time to time and for this is necessary regular medical followups.

Complications which may arise from an untreated underactive thyroid gland may include goiter, mental health concerns, heart problems, birth defects and infertility. Also a rare but life-threatening condition known as myxedema and another one known as peripheral neuropathy may also be the outcomes.