Hypothyroidism imitates many diseases, so before patients receive the correct diagnosis, they visit several doctors of various specialties, experts warn on World Thyroid Day. In 50 percent people, the condition is undiagnosed and untreated.
Meanwhile, hypothyroidism can lead to serious complications, including cardiovascular disease, depression, anemia, anxiety disorders, infections, and recurrent miscarriages. If it occurs in a pregnant woman and is left untreated, her baby is at risk of physical and mental retardation.
Specialists also remind you that since the beginning of 2015, diagnosing thyroid diseases in Poland has become easier, as family doctors have gained the opportunity to perform an ultrasound of this organ and determine the level of free thyroid hormones in the blood.
On Monday, at a press conference in Warsaw, during which the sixth edition of the campaign entitled “Week for Combating Thyroid Diseases”, vice-president of the Polish Society of Endocrinology, prof. Marek Ruchała reminded that we deal with hypothyroidism when this gland produces too little thyroid hormone in relation to the body’s needs. Women suffer from it 10 times more often than men.
The symptoms of the disease develop very slowly, are very nonspecific and can mimic many other conditions. There may be apathy, cold intolerance, deterioration of exercise tolerance, constant fatigue. “The same symptoms also occur with anemia, and the complicated thing is that hypothyroidism can also lead to it. Therefore, patients are treated for anemia, but their well-being does not improve ”- explained Prof. She was fucking.
He added that patients with hypothyroidism also begin to experience deterioration in mental performance, lack of concentration, and sleepiness. However, elderly patients often believe that these symptoms are the result of aging and do not seek help. In turn, young people explain it to themselves with fatigue and excess work.
The metabolism is also slower – there is constipation, a tendency to gain weight with normal or even reduced appetite. There are also menstrual disorders and problems with getting pregnant, a decrease in libido, the skin becomes dry, and the hair and nails are thin and brittle. Due to puffiness, the appearance of the face changes.
“Hypothyroidism can cause symptoms in many organs because receptors for thyroid hormones are found throughout the body. That is why our patients, before they get a correct diagnosis, often go to cardiologists, psychiatrists, dermatologists, and only lastly to endocrinologists “- said prof. She was fucking.
Dr. Michał Sutkowski, president of the Warsaw branch of the College of Family Physicians, pointed out that because hypothyroidism is a very insidious disease that imitates many diseases, about half of the patients do not know that they have it. “That is why the medical community, including family doctors and endocrinologists, have a huge educational role to play towards society,” he emphasized.
Prof. Ruchała noted that the disease can be treated simply with the help of left-handed thyroxine (L-thyroxine) preparations.
According to him, in Poland we have a very good situation when it comes to detecting congenital hypothyroidism, which affects one in 4-4,5 thousand. newborns. In our country, since 1994, a screening program has been operating, under which each newborn child has the TSH level determined. It is a hormone produced by the pituitary gland that stimulates the thyroid gland to produce the hormones triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4). “So we are able to detect any cases of congenital hypothyroidism,” said the endocrinologist. In his opinion, this is very important because the deficiency of thyroid hormones negatively affects the physical and mental development of a child.
Prof. Ruchała emphasized that acquired hypothyroidism is much more common, and its main cause is autoimmune thyroiditis (the so-called Hashimoto’s disease).
In the case of acquired hypothyroidism, the diagnosis is also based on the determination of the level of TSH in the blood. “In case of doubt, we use other determination of free thyroid hormones (FT3 – free triiodothyronine and FT4 – free thyroxine)” – said Prof. She was fucking.
Dr. Sutkowski pointed out that on December 29, 2014, the Minister of Health signed an ordinance allowing family doctors to undergo health insurance, from the beginning of 2015, to perform (apart from determining the level of TSH) the level of free thyroid hormones and ultrasound of the thyroid gland. “This will allow faster and more complete diagnostics of thyroid diseases” – said the expert. He also noted that in more complicated cases, close cooperation between the family doctor and the endocrinologist is necessary.
Prof. Ruchała also reminded that every pregnant woman should have a marked TSH level – preferably at the first visit to the gynecologist or in the 9th week of pregnancy. The detection of even very mild (subclinical) hypothyroidism requires treatment in a pregnant woman to prevent abnormalities in the development of the fetus.
More information on thyroid diseases is available on the website of the Week for Combating Thyroid Diseases (www.tarczyca.pl).
- Support your thyroid by regularly using Hypothyroidism – a mixture of herbs with English oak and nettle, or EutroHerbs Thyroid – a herbal mixture with Icelandic lichen and bird knotweed.