The symptoms of hypothyroidism
- By:groshan fabiola
As any other medical problem, hypothyroidism develops some symptoms. Hypothyroidism or underactive thyroid consists of the following symptoms: exceeded weight gain and a round and puffy face, loss of the eyebrows, abnormal reactions to cold, low sex drive. These general symptoms might come along with other specific symptoms such as abdominal bloating, cold hands and feet, dry and thin hair, muscle or even joint pain, a thicken skin or thin, brittle fingernails.
These specific hypothyroidism symptoms can be divided into two groups depending on the stage of the disease.
The early symptoms are generally attributed to stress or aging. These early hypothyroidism symptoms generally consist of a permanent tiredness and oversensitivity to cold. Among the general symptoms mentioned earlier we have to remember that cold intolerance, exceeded tiredness, muscle or joint aches and weight gain can be considered early symptoms of hypothyroidism. Beside these mentioned problems constipation may also cause discomfort during this disease. For premenopausal women hypothyroidism is equivalent with heavy periods experiences.
During the early stages, while experiencing the symptoms mentioned earlier, the patients’ skin becomes rough and dry, hair coarsens and mental problems may occur. All these problems and side effects are caused by the fall of the thyroid hormone levels.
Some specialists say that depressions may occur even in the early stages and believe that a mild thyroid failure may lead to major depressions.
These are the early symptoms. For persons that leave hypothyroidism untreated the later symptoms may occur. In most of the cases the later symptoms include the physical changes. These changes refer to a round and puffy face, with a sleepy appearance, to a dry and rough skin and to hair loss. The later symptoms also include a husky voice and numbness of the arms and legs. Just as in the early stage, symptoms such as muscle pain and weakness may occur but at different intensities. In some people, symptoms like hair loss or even mental confusion may be observed. Hypothyroidism may also lead to memory problems or daytime sleepiness. The most risky condition that may develop from hypothyroidism is myxedema coma. This condition is a life threatening one.
It is also good to know that secondary hypothyroidism is not common because it is caused by an abnormality of the pituitary gland and deficient TRH secretion.
For children and infants the symptoms of hypothyroidism are different. For them it is necessary a fast treatment prescription because this condition might lead to retardation. The common symptoms for the younger ones are feeding problems, constipation, hoarseness and sleepiness. In later stages, babies might develop rough and dry skin, protruding abdomen and delayed teething.About the author:
For more info regarding thyroid cancer please check http://www.thyroid-info-center.com/thyroid-symptoms.htm or http://www.thyroid-info-center.com/