Lesson 2: Common Thyroid Dysfunctions and Related Conditions
There are many reasons why a thyroid goes "out of whack". We'll look at some situations and begin to investigate common symptoms. This lesson will also focus related conditions such as Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, Depression and Graves Disease. We'll even discuss the difference between hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism.
Introduction and Suggested Reading
Welcome to Lesson Two. In this lesson, we are going to cover a lot of ground. I hope it won’t be too painful (just kidding). We are going to discuss:
- Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis,
Graves Disease
Depression
I would like to begin with a basic review of the first lesson. The thyroid, as we already know, is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the lower, front part of the neck, which produces hormones that help control metabolism.
Those hormones, commonly known as T3 and T4, called triiodothyronine and thyroxine respectively, are made from a combination of iodine, which is absorbed by the thyroid’s cells from food (mostly), and tyrosine, an amino acid that is one of the building blocks of cells.
Each of these hormones is secreted to other parts of the body. The pituitary gland, located in the brain, regulates this process. It acts like a thermostat that turns on and off depending upon how much heat, i.e. thyroid hormone, is needed by the body for the metabolism to function properly.
When more thyroid hormone is needed, the pituitary gland fires up by producing TSH, which is thyroid stimulating hormone. That’s the thyroid’s clue to make more T3 and T4. It “stimulates” the thyroid to make more hormone.
The pituitary gland knows when to produce TSH because the hypothalamus, which regulates the pituitary gland’s function and is located in the base of the brain, tells it to by releasing another thyroid hormone, called TRH. TRH is an abbreviation for TSH Releasing Hormone.
Therefore when the hypothalamus sees that thyroid hormone is low, it ‘releases’ TRH to the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland contacts the thyroid by secreting TSH which stimulates the thyroid factory to produce more T3 and T4. That way, everyone is happy.
Simple, right? Um. Not always.
This system of hormonal checks and balances is very sensitive. If it doesn’t work properly, the metabolism can become either too sluggish or overactive. (We’ll get more into that when we discuss hypo- and hyperthyroidism.)
There’s a lot that can go wrong along the way.
Therefore, the thyroid can get its little self into a whole lot of trouble especially if the delicate balance of hormonal production is disturbed. As a conduit of cellular metabolism, it follows that what affects the thyroid can potentially affect one’s entire endocrine system.
When metabolism suffers, the body does not function at its optimum level. There is just not enough energy to fuel up the engine.
We will be focusing on these questions throughout the rest of this lesson and the specific conditions that can arise when the thyroid does not perform as it should. By the end of this entire lesson, I trust that your answers to these questions will have changed somewhat.
Before moving onto the next section, you may want to do some further reading. Might I suggest?
