The thyroid gland is responsible for making thyroid hormone, which drives the function of every cell in your body. If your gland is either overproducing or underproducing thyroid hormone, your energy levels and emotional responses will be greatly affected. When your thyroid gland is not making enough thyroid hormone, you suffer from hypothyroidism; when your thyroid gland is making too much thyroid hormone, you suffer from hyperthyroidism. In most cases, autoimmune diseases cause the thyroid gland to malfunction, which means that your body produces antibodies that attack the thyroid gland.

The most common autoimmune thyroid diseases are Graves’ disease and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Graves’ disease causes your thyroid gland to be overactive, while Hashimoto’s thyroiditis causes your thyroid gland to be underactive. Women suffer from thyroid disorders about ten times as frequently as do men, so women especially suffer from continuous and classic thyroid misdiagnosis. Symptoms of thyroid disease come in two groups; the group of symptoms you suffer depends on whether you have hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism. With hyperthyroidism, your body speeds up and becomes overworked. Your heart rate increases, you may lose weight but eat more, and you may notice excessive perspiration, an intolerance to heat, irregular menstrual periods, and diarrhea. You will also notice many of the symptoms seen in depression, such as exhaustion (from an overworked physique), insomnia, irritability, restlessness, nervousness, anxiety, and general fatigue (caused by the insomnia).

With hypothyroidism, your body slows down, creating some classic physical symptoms that include constipation, bloating and f luid retention, a decreased appetite, lack of sex drive, dry hair, dry skin, intolerance to cold temperatures, and irregular periods. The emotional symptoms of hypothyroidism are different: extreme fatigue and lethargy regardless of how much sleep you get, as well as symptoms of depression.

A simple blood test will confirm whether you are hyperor hypothyroid. Treatment for hyperthyroidism depends on what’s causing the gland to become overactive, but ultimately, your thyroid gland will probably be chemically “deadened,” and you’ll simply go on synthetic thyroid hormone (levothyroxine sodium), which replaces the natural hormone your thyroid makes. In the second scenario, synthetic thyroid hormone replenishes your diminished supply.