Hypothyroidism occurs if your thyroid gland, which is a gland located in your neck, is producing too little thyroid hormone. When your thyroid hormone does not meet the needs of your body, it causes "slowing-down" of your body's processes. You may experience from mild to severe symptoms depending on the severity of the disease. Is it treatable? Yes, hypothyroid treatment can be real simple and easy. However, treatment should be started immediately once it is diagnosed, since the more severe the decease is, the more difficult it is to bring your body back to normal stage.
Following hypothyroid treatments are considered to be the most effective across the globe:
- Synthetic thyroid hormone (T4) (Synthroid)
- Combination therapy (T4 + T3) (Thyrolar)
- Desiccated thyroid hormone (Armour)
- Alternative treatments (natural)
- Coconut oil and other herbs
Hypothyroid treatment with T4 is the most recommended by the doctors today. Synthroid is the preferred preparation for this. It usually gets you back to normal in a few weeks or months after you take the pill daily. You are required to take this pill continuously, to keep the decease under control.
If you are not responsive to T4, combination therapy with T4 and T3 will be prescribed by your doctor. It also comes in tablet form.
This "natural thyroid hormone" is made from thyroid tissue of animals such as cows or pigs. This used to be the standard before synthetic hormones were made available. Although, doctors are not prescribing this often nowadays, you may respond better to this if the two options mentioned above are not working for you.
Yoga, acupuncture, and reflexology can also be used as hypothyroid treatments. How do these work? All of these have a positive and stimulating impact on the thyroid gland. Compressing, stretching and twisting with yoga improve blood flow to the thyroid, which results to better functioning of the gland. Reflexology which makes use of pressing specific body points aimed at the thyroid also increases its function. Acupuncture uses needles into certain areas of the body to stimulate thyroid function. Still the effectiveness of each of these methods are yet to prove.
There are studies suggesting that coconut oil can be used as a cure for hypothyroidism. Although, this has yet to be approved as a sole therapy for hypothyroidism, it has been claimed that consumption of coconut oil stimulates the production of thyroid hormone. Some herbs such as bladderwack, black cohosh, mullein, ginseng, primrose oil, lemon balm, St. John's wort, and avena sativa contain properties that have positive effects on thyroid gland functioning.
Hypothyroid treatment options mentioned above should be discussed with your doctor before you start on any therapy. The more you get to know the decease and how it affects your body, the better you will be able to manage it.
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