HOMOEOPATHY FOR HYPOTHYROIDISM

HOMOEOPATHY FOR HYPOTHYROIDISM

Hypothyroidism, otherwise known as an under active thyroid, usually means that your thyroid gland (in your neck) is producing less thyroid hormone. In India prevalence of hypothyroidism is 3.9%. It is a common condition affecting in women, the prevalence is higher, at 11.4%, when compared with men, in whom the prevalence is 6.2%.

How exactly thyroid gland work?

The thyroid gland is triggered to produce thyroid hormone by your pituitary gland main endocrine gland located in hypothalamus of brain, which produces TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) .TSH travels from your brain in your blood stream to the thyroid gland and tells it to produce thyroid hormone.To diagnose a problem with the thyroid gland we measure TSH (the signal from the brain) and the levels of thyroid hormone (T4). Hypothyroidism is diagnosed if:

TSH is high: This is because the brain knows that thyroid hormone is low and keeps producing more and more signal (TSH) to try and get the thyroid to work.

• Thyroid hormone (T4) is low: The thyroid is not producing enough thyroid hormone.

If just TSH is raised then it is called sub-clinical hypothyroidism and a blood test is repeated in three months to see if the thyroid hormone has dropped. This is a great time to use some natural thyroid supports to stop it developing into full hypothyroidism.

FUNCTION OF THYROID GLAND

The thyroid gland produces thyroid hormones that affect your metabolism. If you have an overactive thyroid gland it is like you are pressing the accelerator too hard – everything is sped up. If you have an underactive thyroid it is like pressing the brake too hard – everything is slowed down.There are 2 main types of thyroid hormone produced by the thyroid gland T3 and T4.  85% of thyroid hormone produced by the thyroid gland is T4 – which is a much less active form of thyroid hormone – and a small amount of T3 is produced (much more active form). Most T4 is converted by tissues in the body (liver, brain and gut) to T3. The number 3 or 4 is the number of iodines in the thyroid hormone. We can tell how well the body is converting T4 to T3 by measuring T3 (not a routine blood test) and also reverse T3. Reverse T3 is very important as it gives us a picture of how healthy our thyroid hormones are. Reverse T3 is inactive and if there is too much it blocks the receptors and stops our thyroid hormone working as well. It also stops T4 converting into T3.We produce more reverse T3 when the body is under stress, and this effectively means our body can respond less well to thyroid hormone. This can give you the symptoms of hypothyroidism which may not be picked up by a standard thyroid test. Ask for a T3 and reverse T3 (rT3) blood test as well.

SYMPTOMS

If you have hypothyroidism (low thyroid) you may have no symptoms or feel:

• Very tired
• Cold and sensitive to cold
• ‘Brain fog’, poor memory
• Weight gain
• Slower than normal
• Dry skin, sometimes loss of colour in patches of skin (vitiligo)
• Hair loss or dry and rough hair
• Aches, pains and swelling of your arms or legs (sometimes muscle weakness)
• Carpal tunnel syndrome or a puffy face
• Depression and mood changes
• Constipation
• Heavy periods in women or impotence in men
• Heart rate may be slower
• Cholesterol may be raised
• Thyroid may be enlarged (goitre).

HOMOEOPATHY FOR HYPOTHYROIDISM

Once your doctor has diagnosed hypothyroidism, they will begin you on a thyroid hormone medication called Levothyroxine which is a manufactured drug version of T4. With regular thyroid testing every 6 weeks the dosage will be adjusted to the right level to correct your TSH and T4. Side effects of levothyroxine include fever, flushing, headache, heat intolerance, muscle cramps, muscular weakness, oedema, itching, rash, sweating, weight-loss, chest pain, arrhythmias, diarrhoea, excitability, insomnia, palpitations, fast heart rate, tremor and vomiting. Evidence suggests many people are taking this medication unnecessarily to the point of over treatment. It is being prescribed widely for people with borderline hypothyroidism, and often without much benefit. Once you starts with levothyroxine tablet its dose is continuously increasing in only some cases it is reduce or stop. It is myth that thyroid tablet has to be taken life long.

DO YOU WANT TO STOP YOUR THYROID TABLET COMPLETELY

Homoeopathy being holistic form of medicine helps to recover you from your hypothyroidism complaint, by stimulating main endocrine gland i.e, pituitary gland. Homoeopathic medicine work by stimulating your thyroid gland to function naturally. Homeopathic treatment has been found to be very efficacious in cases of sub clinical and mild hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. Even the goiter disease (enlarged thyroid gland that causes the neck to swell) can be managed well with homoeopathy.

Homeopathic medicines when rightly selected after detailed history and evaluation can stimulate thyroid gland to start producing adequate hormones. This may eventually lead to a reduction of thyroxin doses and then completely stopped. The treatment also helps in overcoming complications of underactive thyroid, thus helping in illnesses such as chronic fatigue, infertility and obesity. However natural treatment of hypothyroidism, especially the mild and borderline cases demand certain dietary considerations, lifestyle changes and supplementation.