Lesson 1: Thyroid 101
The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland situated in the neck that regulates metabolism, creates hormones and does much, much more. We'll learn about its structure and function. We'll also begin to think about what it could mean for the body when the thyroid isn't working properly.
Introduction to Me and Lesson 1
Hypothyroidism is a dysfunction of the thyroid gland. In order to learn more about this condition, I think that we should start our Coping with Hypothyroidism journey by investigating the thyroid. You should be able to answer these questions by the time you finish reading through this lesson:
- What is the thyroid?
- What does the endocrine system do?
- How does the thyroid affect the endocrine system and metabolism?
- What role does a healthy thyroid play in our bodies?
We are also going to start formulating theories as to how thyroids can “get out of whack” and what that could mean for the body’s overall health.
In this lesson, I am going to make suggestions and recommendations for further reading at the end of the lesson. Normally, I would do that at the beginning, but I want us all to try and begin at the same point.
If you’ve read the course introduction, you probably know that my name is Deanna. I am an almost 31 year-old mother of two children. (I guess I'm still trying to hold onto my fleeting youth I am a hypothyroid patient. I was diagnosed with the condition in January 2001. As a result of my experiences, I have come to understand this condition from the inside-out. I feel I have to so that I can effectively coordinate this condition and live my life well. I believe in being a co-manager of my health. I’ve never been a patient person so I guess I don’t make a docile patient. I hope that if you struggle with this condition you will learn to become your own best patient advocate too. If you take this course, you'll get some tips and learn some tricks to help you do just that; or, so I hope. Okay, so now that we’re acquainted, let’s move on to the next section of this first lesson and learn how to define and describe the thyroid itself. Before I let you off the hook, please note that, at the end of each lesson there will be a brief, multiple choice test which will go over the basic concepts of each section in the lesson.
Recommended reading:
