Categories: Diseases & Conditions

Know Your Body’s Warning Signs: The Link Between Thyroid Disease and Other Health Problems

The Thyroid is a gland located in the neck it secretes hormones that are directly responsible for your heart regulation, pulse rate, your body’s reaction to heat and cold, the growth of your hair, your skin texture and your metabolism. Your Thyroid sets the metabolic rate for many of our body’s tissues and functions so when the balanced is lost that’s when we start having problems. Some symptoms we may notice right away such as shortness of breath, thinning hair, rapid weight loss or gain, even night sweats but some we will ignore like mood swings, your thinking process slows down, your hair becomes dry, constipation or loss of appetite. These are just some of the many symptoms of a thyroid problem. This is why you should know your body so when changes in it’s normal function happen you can prevent a bigger problem down the road. Only a doctor can test your thyroid and tell you if you if it’s functioning properly. When you are dealing with a Thyroid disease it can be Hyperthyroidism, which means it is an over active thyroid, or Hypothyroidism which means it is an under active thyroid, in either case it can lead to serious health problems if left untreated.

There are other diseases and health problems that can be traced back to the thyroid. Graves diseases is caused by an increased production in thyroid hormone. The body immune system malfunction and secrets antibodies similar to TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) which cause it to go in to overdrive in producing hormones. The resulting effect can be anxiety, irritability, difficult sleeping, fatigue, light menstrual periods, frequent bowel movements, sensitivity to heat, and weight loss despite normal food intake, just to name some of the symptoms. When I suffered a stroke in 2001 my Endocrinologist suggested my thyroid function could have played an underlining factor because my levels were abnormal. Before I had my stroke I was having episodes of chest discomfort and pain it would come and go. Every now and then I would have shortness of breath but I ignored it thinking because it wasn’t constant it wasn’t a problem. I was put on Celebrex to help with the pain because I was dealing with pain in other areas of my body. After I suffered the stroke Physical Therapy came by the 2nd day to due an assessment on me, that night before I was having alot of chest discomfort but when I called for pain medicine I never got it. When the Therapist got me up I was swaying all over the place because I didn’t have any balance, as we preceded down the hall I start getting short of breath and feeling pressure in my chest. I informed the Therapist I was beginning to feel pressure in my chest at that point she said lets get back to you bed. The more I walked it seemed like the heavier the pressure became in my chest, it felt like a car sitting on my chest. Once we got to my bed I began to loss consciousness, it was so much pressure and I could hardly breath my body felt like it was being crushed. I t seemed as if something was sitting on my chest holding me down. I was then given all kinds of meds and rushed to ICU. While in the ICU a clot was discovered in my lungs headed for my heart. My heart rate began dropping and it was at that point it felt like there were hands in my chest moving things around. My mother informed me later as all my family gathered around my heart rate had been below 20 and all of the color in my skin had faded they thought surely I was dead or very near death.

Thyroid disease can lead to heart disease and problems with you heart function. When the thyroid hormone levels decrease it cause the lipids, which are fatty acids in the blood, to increase. The end results is increased levels of cholesterol and triglycerides and other fatty deposits in the blood. Once the fatty deposits increase in the blood the plaque begins to form in the blood vessels which over time narrows the arteries. It’s a trickle down effect and that is how time bomb starts ticking. It can lead to Arteriosclerosis or hardening of the Arteries, Heart disease, Heart Palpitation, Heart Attack, and Metabolic Syndrome just to name a few things. Metabolic Syndrome has several names, some call it Syndrome X, or Dysmetabolic it is linked to Cardiovascular Disease. The characteristics of Metabolic Syndrome are 1) A large waistline about 40 inches in men and 35 in women, 2) High Serum triglycerides of 150 mg/dl or higher, 3) Low HDL Cholesterol around 40 mg/dl for men or lower and around 50 mg/dl for women or lower, 4) High Blood Pressure this varies the suggested range is anything over 130/85, 5) A Fasting blood sugar of 110 mg/dl some suggest 100 mg/dl or higher. This is why regular checkup are important it may not prevent every things from happening but it can stop more serious things from happening to your body. When things are caught early enough it lessen the effect of the problem. Only a doctor can test you for Thyroid problem and they mat recommend you see a Endocrinologist if the is a problem or for further testing.

The Thyroid Gland is part of a network of glands that regulate hormones. In the network the main control starts with the Pituitary Gland which is the regulator for the kidneys and communicates with other glands to regulate their hormones, it’s located in the brain. The Pancreas holds the Islets of Langerhans, which is responsible for creating insulin, glucagon and somatostain, its the sugar gland. The kidneys are partnered with the Adrenal Glands sitting on top of them. The adrenal glands are made up of the adrenal cortex and adrenal medulla, they responsible for the break down of sugar, protein and salt, and creating adrenaline and noradrenalin by the adrenal medulla. The last part of the network is the Gonads which is responsible for our male and female anatomy. For the female this is where the signal for your ovaries to begin to produce estrogen and progesterone starts. For the male this is where the signal for the testes to begin to make testosterone starts. As you can see our Thyroid Gland plays a big factor in our body mentally and physically. This article was written in the hopes that it will make people understand how things in our body become a time bomb when we choose to ignore them so see your doctor for a checkup make sure your Thyroid Gland is functioning properly.