What To Expect If You Have Been Diagnosed With Hypothyroidism
If you’ve been recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism, our hearts go out to you! ♥ Whilst the main treatment for hypothyroidism is medication, at Inspired Health, we have several techniques that we can use to improve your quality of life so that you can better handle your new diagnosis.
If you’ve had hypothyroidism for some time, this might be a worthwhile read as learning more about your condition helps you cope with it.
What Is Hypothyroidism?
Hypothyroidism is the medical term used to describe an underactive thyroid. Your thyroid gland, located below your voice box, releases hormones into your body to perform vital functions like regulating energy and controlling your metabolism. It’s no wonder, then, that having low levels of these hormones due to an underactive thyroid would cause a host of issues.
Hypothyroidism can be caused by a number of things including family history 👪, having other autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes and recently being pregnant 🤰. Hypothyroidism is also associated with depression and bipolar.
What Would I Feel If I Have Hypothyroidism?
Although the signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism usually only become obvious when the condition has progressed, here are the most common ones you can expect:
· Fatigue and low energy levels.
· Unexplained weight gain.
· A puffy face.
· Joint stiffness and muscle pain.
· Constipation.
· Dry skin and brittle hair and nails.
· Hair loss.
· Heavy or irregular periods.
· Depression and anxiety.
So, if you have hypothyroidism, you’re probably feeling quite lethargic 🥱 and not like your usual self. You could also be in physical pain 😢 and struggling to lose weight no matter what you try. All in all, not a great experience. But the ✨good news✨ is that it can be treated quite easily 🙌, and the treatment starts to work almost instantly (barring a few ups and downs in the first few months).
How Can It Be Treated?
Because your thyroid is responsible for so many physiological functions within your body, it is important that you seek medical treatment 👨⚕️ if you have an underactive thyroid so that your body can operate at its optimum.
Most hypothyroidism patients receive a synthetic form of the thyroid hormone; this comes in the form of a pill 💊. The ✨good news✨ is that hypothyroidism can almost always be completely controlled by medication as long as you take the recommended dose daily as instructed by your doctor.
What Can I Expect?
If you’ve recently been diagnosed, we can share some information with you that may make your journey with hypothyroidism a little easier.
- You can expect to wait a while before you feel like yourself again. Although thyroid medication acts quite quickly, anything hormone related takes time to balance. You won’t feel better immediately, but you will feel better after some time – hold onto that!
- You can also expect to go for regular blood tests, particularly at the start of your treatment. Your doctor will want to check that your hormone levels are improving and that you’re on the right dose of medication.
- Expect your medication dosage to increase or decrease over the years as your body and lifestyle change, and as you age.
- With hypothyroidism, it is important to monitor yourself closely as it does not take much for your thyroid to go ‘out of whack’, particularly during stressful times. If you ever find yourself starting to feel really tired again, it’s time to get your blood tested.
- Be prepared to experience highs and lows. Your thyroid has a huge impact on your mood. It could quite easily be sending you on a bumpy ride, especially when just starting treatment.
- Managing hypothyroidism is a lifelong commitment. The best way to manage this condition is to stick with your medication and go for regular check-ups.
How Can Inspired Health Help?
The most obvious way we can assist hypothyroidism patients is to help support you with any joint or muscle pain you may be experiencing through chiropractic care and massage therapy. We can also recommend stretches and exercises that’ll improve your quality of life.
