India is suffering from a significant burden of Thyroid. According to official data, there are 42 million people who are battling from a thyroid disorder. The butterfly-shaped thyroid gland is quite a powerful organ. Besides many bodily functions, it is also responsible for keeping your heart and brain working to help regulate energy.
Two of the most common thyroid disorders are Hypothyroidism or an underactive thyroid. It means that there is lesser quantity of thyroid hormones in the body. On the other hand is the overactive Hyperthyroidism, which means there are excessive thyroid hormones. Fortunately, once diagnosed and with treatment, a lot of these symptoms can be reversed. Here they are:
Unexplained weight gain
Thyroid leads to weight gain without any reason. Your appetite may be high anyway, you may be leading a sedentary lifestyle, but you should know that if you are gaining weight without any specific reason, it can be because of thyroid.
Exhaustion
People suffering from hypothyroidism often feel fatigued. And that does not happen because they haven’t slept well, but happens despite them being well rested. It could also start to impact their reflexes, concentration and sometimes even movements.
Rough and dry hair
Thyroid can change the texture of your hair. It usually happens in case of hypothyroidism. They break easily and become really unruly. If this is happening to you, you may have an overactive thyroid.
You are bloated
Your body retains fluid in the body if you have hypothyroidism, which is also the reason you gain weight. This water weight can make you feel bloated and it may even show on your face. The bloating can be so bad that it can make you feel uncomfortable after every meal.
Pain without any reason
Do you feel like you experience aches that just suddenly pop up, without you having brushed against anything or even without any trigger. Remember, hypothyroidism can make you achy.
Constipation
Hypothyroidism slows down your digestion and other bodily functions, which can put pressure on your bowel movements. The resulting constipation can be because your body retaining a lot of water from your food or your colon not contracting the way it should.
You feel the chills
People suffering from hyperthyroidism often feel more cold than their peers. You can feel this increased sensitivity to cold if you have not been sensitive to it in the past. This happens because your body isn’t releasing energy the way it should.
Unexplained weight loss
Hyperthyroidism makes you lose weight because of an overactive thyroid. It also makes you more hungry. The more severe level of hyperthyroidism you have, the more weight you will lose.
You feel hotter
Thyroid is responsible for regulating your body temperature but when it is uncontrolled (read: hyperthyroidism), the body fails to regulate temperature making you intolerant of heat.
Pooping too often
Just like you suffer from constipation during hypothyroidism, the increased metabolic rate in hyperthyroidism makes your body clear the bowel multiple times.
Light menstrual cycle
Hyperthyroidism makes your monthly period cycle lighter and sometimes non existent. If you haven’t stopped already, they will be timed erratically, with long gaps between two cycles.
Types of thyroid
The more common type of thyroid is Hypothyroidism. It impacts the metabolism hormone, if not produced in the right quantities can cause hormonal imbalance in women. It has direct and indirect implications on many bodily functions, for e.g.: Hypothyroid often leads to infertility, and causes problems in conception, shares Dr. Avinash Phadke from Path Labs. Other implications are menstrual irregularities, cardiovascular problems, constipation, excessive weight gain, thinning of hair, intolerance to cold atmosphere and peripheral neuropathy.
Source- Times Of India
