All About Hypothyroidism

Causes

 

Hypothyroidism, as mentioned before, is when your thyroid doesn’t produce enough thyroid hormones. This causes chemical imbalances throughout your body resulting into a number of causes leading to hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism can be caused due to an autoimmune diseases, treatment for hyperthyroidism, radiation therapy, thyroid surgery, certain medications and small consumption of iodine in the diet.

 

Autoimmune Disease – Autoimmune diseases like Hashimoto’s diseases and thyroiditis can cause hypothyroidism. Hashimoto’s diseases causes your body to produce antibodies that attack the thyroid gland resulting into inflammation or destroy the thyroid gland all together. Thyroiditis can also cause a viral or bacterial infection resulting to autoimmune diseases as well.

 

Treatment for hyperthyroidism – Hyperthyroidism is when the body produces too much thyroid hormones. Often hyperthyroidism is treated with radioactive iodine or anti-thyroid medication to reduce and regulate their thyroid function. This sometimes cause hypothyroidism to flare up resulting into permanent hypothyroidism.

 

Radiation Therapy – Radiation therapy around the neck may cause hypothyroidism. Some cancers like lymphoma requires radiation therapy to the neck causing radiations damages to the thyroid cells. This makes it harder for the thyroid gland to produce hormones resulting to hypothyroidism.

 

Thyroid surgeries – Thyroid surgery removing the whole thyroid will lead to hypothyroidism. Partial removal may not hypothyroidism to flare up because thyroid hormone production is still occurring. 

 

Pituitary Gland Abnormalities – If pituitary glands don’t work properly or completely stop functions, this cause the thyroid gland to not produce the correct amount of thyroid hormones. Pituitary tumor and surgeries can affect the pituitary gland greatly slowing down the production of thyroid hormones.

 

Certain medications – Certain medications use to treat cardiovascular diseases, psychiatric conditions and cancer can sometimes affect the production of thyroid hormones. Medications like amiodarone, lithium and interferon alpha are examples.

 

Small consumption of iodine – Small iodine consumption can cause hypothyroidism because iodine is needed in the production of thyroid hormones. Our body does not produce iodine, so all we must obtain iodine from the food we eat.

 

(Derrer, 2013)