Hypothyroidism: Diagnosis And Treatment

Thyroid is a serious disorder that is increasing and more people are getting infected with this disorder. Thyroid occurs because of disturbance in the thyroid hormone present in the body. There are two categories in which thyroid can be categorised. This could go onto worse in situations when it is underactive thyroid. In the condition of hypothyroidism, the body does not produce enough thyroid hormones because of which many problems arise. This can include joint pain, infertility, obesity and heart diseases. Let us know about diagnosis and treatment of hypothyroidism that is available to cure this condition. 

With Inputs from Dr. Varsha Tyagi, Consultant and Endocrinologist at Ivory Hospital, Greater Noida.  

Diagnosis of Hypothyroidism

Blood Tests

This is one of the initial and basic steps of knowing if you have thyroid or not. If you have then what is the condition of your thyroid. Diagnosis of hypothyroidism is based on the results that are taken in the form of blood tests. It is used to measure the levels of TSH and helps to examine the thyroid hormones in the thyroxine. Due to low levels of thyroxine present and high levels of TSH, it indicated an underactive thyroid.

This test also plays an important role in determining and managing thyroid. It helps you to know the probable symptoms and determine which medications can be adequate for your use. TSH tests are beneficial to diagnose the right dose of medication in the initial phase as well as for later stages. 

There are certain factors that can actually affect your blood tests for thyroid problems that you need to be careful of. This includes blood thinning medication which could cause discrepancy in the blood sample results. Another problem could be of biotin, this is vitamin supplement which is given to people going through vitamin deficiencies. Therefore it is important that you let your doctor know if you are taking any prior medications of any of these problems or even other medicines. 

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Treatment of Hypothyroidism 

Standard treatment of hypothyroidism includes using synthetic thyroid hormones levothyroxine to be given to people. In order to lower the cholesterol and other issues connected with it, medicines are also given accordingly. Treatment of this disease needs to be done by reversing weight gain, and by lowering cholesterol levels in the body. So there are only two ways to treat hypothyroism, one is through synthetic thyroxine and the other is through controlling iodine and taking relevant nutrition in your body to control hypothyroid problem.

1. Iodine and Nutritional changes

You need to understand that iodine is an essential mineral that is required in your thyroid gland. If you do not give adequate amount of iodine to the body, then chances of hypothyroidism increases. Diet is one of the most important factors in determining the level of thyroid and hormones in the body. 

People having hypothyroidism need to take diet that reduces goitre development and enlargement of thyroid gland in the body. People that have autoimmune disorder are at higher risk and thus they need to prevent nutrients that could possibly trigger hypothyroidism symptoms.

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2. Synthetic Thyroxine

Doctors usually recommend people with hypothyroidism to take this medicine because it is identical to T4 hormone present in the body. For this you need to have this medicine before eating or consuming any food in the morning each day. Slowly over the period of time, the thyroid levels reach their normal levels and hypothyroidism gets treated. Dosage needs to be monitored according to the TSH levels in the body. Frequent blood tests can be beneficial to determine the treatment and recovery of the person suffering from hypothyroidism.

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