part of the thyroid is removed, leave you hypothyroid.
• Radioactive iodine treatment (RAI) for Graves' disease and hyperthyroidism.
typically leave patients hypothyroid.
• Hereditary.
Hypothyroidism is a thyroid hormone deficiency. It can be due to primary.
disease of the thyroid gland itself or the lack of stimulation of the thyroid.
gland by the pituitary gland via the hormone TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone).
Hypothyroidism mostly affects women, (four times more often than men),.
especially those women between the ages of 35 and 60. Whatever the cause of.
hypothyroidism, an under active thyroid is treated the same way, a thyroid.
replacement hormone pill is taken daily.
Hashimoto's disease is caused by a malfunction in the immune system.
Abnormal antibodies and white blood cells attack and damage the thyroid tissue.
Eventually most of the thyroid cells are destroyed and they cannot produce.
thyroid hormones any longer. It seems that I hereditarily developed Hashimoto's.
disease. When my father was young he too had a thyroid deficiency which he.
received medication for. His medication supplied him with hormones he could not.
produce enough of. Once his hormone levels were high enough, he was taken off.
the medication. I will hopefully follow the same procedure.
I was prescribed with a hormone supplement called Levoxyl (Levothyroxine.
or l-thyroxin). Levoxyl replaces the thyroid hormone which my body cannot.
produce enough of. When thyroid levels are low, the pituitary gland produces.
more TSH which stimulates the thyroid to produce more thyroid hormone. If there.
is enough thyroid hormone in the bloodstream, then the pituitary gland cuts back.
on the production of TSH and so thyroid levels stay stable. Levothyroxine helps.
this process involving the pituitary gland is carried out. When the hormone.
levels adopt a certain high level pattern, my dosage of Levoxyl will change. If.
my levels are too low, I will be put on stronger medication that provides more.