Your These thyroid hormones is a small, butterfly-shaped gland in your neck.
It produces 2 hormones: tri-iodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4).
These thyroid hormones help your body use energy, stay warm and keep your brain, heart, muscles and other organs working as they should. Many of your body’s functions slow down when your doesn’t produce enough of these hormones.
The most common cause of underactive is an autoimmune condition called Hashimoto’s disease. This is when your body’s immune system attacks and destroys the cells of your gland, making it produce fewer or hormones.
It is not clear what triggers this, but it sometimes runs in families. Underactive is also more common in people who have autoimmune conditions such as type 1 diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis.
Other causes of an underactive
- medicines such as lithium or สมัคร ufabet กับเรา รับโบนัสทันที amiodarone
- previous treatment to your
- pregnancy or childbirth
- too much or too little iodine
- thyroid cancer or its treatment
- pituitary gland problems.
| Causes | Description |
|---|---|
| Medicines | Certain medicines, such as lithium for mood disorders and amiodarone for heart conditions, can interfere with the normal production of thyroid hormones. |
| Previous treatment to your thyroid | This could include an operation, radioiodine treatment or radiotherapy. |
| Childbirth | Hypothyroidism can happen for a short period after giving birth. |
| Iodine deficiency | A lack of iodine in your diet can prevent your thyroid gland from producing enough thyroid hormones.A symptom of insufficient iodine is an enlarged thyroid gland, known as goitre.Iodine deficiency is becoming increasingly common in Aotearoa New Zealand, partly due to eating more commercially prepared foods and eating less salt. |
| Thyroid cancer or its treatment | Rarely, thyroid cancer may affect your thyroid gland and make it produce fewer or no thyroid hormones.An operation to remove your thyroid gland is the main treatment for thyroid cancer.If your whole thyroid gland is removed (total thyroidectomy), you nearly always get hypothyroidism.Cancer radiotherapy can also change how your thyroid gland works, making it produce fewer or no thyroid hormones. |
| Pituitary gland problems | Your pituitary gland, which is found at the base of your brain, controls your thyroid gland.If your pituitary gland is not working properly it can lead to an underactive thyroid. |
The symptoms of an underactive thyroid are often mild and easy to miss. They develop slowly over a number of months or even years. You may put symptoms such as feeling tired or gaining weight down to poor diet or simply getting older. It’s also easy to mistake the symptoms for other conditions. Therefore, it is important to see your healthcare provider for a diagnosis.