Your Thyroid

    The thyroid is a hormone producing gland people associate with metabolism.  It produces two hormones, triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4), both of which are responsible for helping oxygen get into the body's cells.  The purpose of this delivery system is to help the cells convert oxygen and calories to energy, the basic fuel for your metabolism.

Here's What Happens

    Your hypothalamus secretes thytropin-releasing hormone (TRH).  The release of TRH signals the pituitary to secrete thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH).  TSH circulates in your bloodstream where it signals your thyroid to produce T4 and T3.  When the thyroid hormone is at the right balance the pituitary makes less TSH which in turn causes the thyroid to produce less hormones. 

    It is a well tuned balancing act that your body performs on a daily basis.  But what happens when one of those steps causes and imbalance?  What happens if your thyroid produces too much or too little hormone?

    In the United States alone there may be as many as 30 million people living with some kind of thyroid disorder.  Of that 30 million, over half may be undiagnosed. 

    There are three major times in a woman's life when her thyroid is more likely to act up.  During puberty, postpartum and during menopause.  Several conditions can occur with the thyroid, they include:

• Hypothyroidism-the thyroid becomes under active and does not produce enough thyroid hormone.
• Hyperthyroidism-the thyroid becomes overactive and produces too much thyroid hormone.
• Thyroiditis-the thyroid becomes inflamed temporarily and either hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism can be triggered.
• Nodules-these are lumps that grow in the thyroid.  They can sometimes cause the thyroid to become hyperthyroid or hypothyroid.
• Goiter-can be caused by hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism which causes the thyroid to become enlarged.
• Thyroid Cancer-one of the fastest growing cancers, lumps or nodules become malignant.