Shift My Booty

Afternoon all!

Another day, another blog post, but today I wanted to open up about a condition that I think is often overlooked or not taken into account.

Hypothyroidism.

What is it?

Hypothyroidism is a condition of the Thyroid which causes it to be underactive, which means it releases less thyroxine or none at all in and around your body.

For those of you who don't know what a thyroid is, it's a butterfly shaped gland that sits along the windpipe and if you're male, below the adams apple, you can't really feel it.

What does the thyroid actually do?


Taken from: British Thyroid Foundation

"The thyroid makes two hormones that it secretes into the blood stream. One is called thyroxine; this hormone contains four atoms of iodine and is often called T4. The other is called triiodothyronine, which contains three atoms of iodine and is often called T3. In the cells and tissues of the body the T4 is converted to T3. It is the T3, derived from T4 or secreted as T3 from the thyroid gland, which is biologically active and influences the activity of all the cells and tissues of your body."

"The T4, or rather the T3 derived from it, and the T3 secreted directly by the thyroid gland influence the metabolism of your body cells. In other words, it regulates the speed with which your body cells work. If too much of the thyroid hormones are secreted, the body cells work faster than normal, and you have hyperthyroidism. If too little of the thyroid hormones are produced (known as hypothyroidism), the cells and organs of your body slow down. If you become hypothyroid, your heart rate, for example, may be slower than normal and your intestines work sluggishly, so you can become constipated."

This is something I have suffered with from birth and luckily it's controlled with medication, however, I have to have routine blood tests to check that my thyroxine levels are where they should be and I have to take tablets every morning and I've had to do that since I was 2 weeks old!  

It affects me in a lot of day to day aspects and it can cause the following:

Weight gain
Slow movements, thought and speech
Pins and needles
Breathlessness
Dizziness
Palpitations
Loss of libido
Dry/gritty eyes
Hoarse voice
Difficulty swallowing
Hair loss especially outer third of eyebrows
Dry skin
Muscle and joint pain
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Loss of appetite
Constipation

Fatigue
Low Metabolism
Tiredness

 

These are just a handful of symptoms that people suffer with, sources say that there is over 300 different symptoms of hypothyroidism alone and an estimated 300 million people worldwide are suffering which is staggering.

Weight gain is certainly one I struggle with, which is the main subject of this blog, it's a known fact that its a lot easier (usually) to put it on than lose the weight!
However there is a bigger struggle with my thyroid condition as I get tired very easily and my low metabolism makes it difficult to get up and go, which means I can sometimes lack motivation, luckily I only suffer from a couple of these symptoms/factors on the list, but I can only imagine that its awful to suffer from nearly all or a lot of those factors.

 

Apart from weight gain and the struggle with weightloss, I can go through a lot of different emotions and phases throughout the day, I can often wake up tired and not really have the energy to get out of bed somedays (of course I do eventually!) and it has been said that you can be prone to anxiety and depression, two things I have again, suffered with for a large portion of my life, however, on a positive note, if I manage to get up easily in a morning, I try and stay positive and get through the day, no matter what it throws at me! It also means that I have a low immune system which means unfortunately for me, that if there's a bug going around, I am more than likely going to catch it! (sad face), but it can be avoided if I take extra care.

One stigma I've identified is that people use hypothyroidism as an excuse for being lazy, I can say that for the majority (at least!!) for us sufferers, this is not the case, we genuinely struggle and you need to be patient with us! I've noticed a positive change in my energy since I've started exercising reguarly, which can be a task in itself at times when I'm over tired and lack motivation, so if you're a sufferer and haven't tried doing exercise, even if its just walking or going to a class once a week, give it a go! it might surprise you!

 

The opposite to this is hyperthyroidism, which is an overactive thyroid, basically the complete opposite of hypothyroidism, feel free to research on that if you're interested, there is plenty of information online!

 

I hope this post has provided some good information about a condition that some of you probably didn't know existed and also gives you awareness as to how this illness can affect those that are suffering! 

Until next time,