Thyroid Disease and New Technology to Test for It

The thyroid gland is a gland that stores and makes essential hormones; helps regulate blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, and the chemical reaction (metabolism) in the body. The thyroid gland is located in the front of the neck; it is the biggest gland in the neck, and is located below the skin and muscle layers. The thyroid gland takes the shape of a butterfly, with the wings taking shape from the left and right thyroid lobes, which then wraps around the trachea. The thyroid makes thyroid hormones, which affects most tissue in the body. This hormone increases cellular activity and helps regulate the body's metabolism.

The longer it takes you to get diagnosed with hypothyroidism; you will actually put on more weight. With hypothyroidism your metabolism slows down. This means you will not be able to burn calories, making it even harder for you to lose weight. Some women are fighting obesity and no matter what diet they choose, they can never seem to shed the extra pounds. Hypothyroidism can also make you tire easy and make your body feel achy, which then makes it impossible to exercise; therefore, reducing your metabolism. Thyroid patients need to exercise to be able to reduce insulin levels, and make it easier to burn calories and fat. Exercising also raises a resting metabolism. If you are diagnosed with hypothyroidism, and you are treated for it, you will notice when dieting, you will be able to shed those extra pounds. Treatment for hypothyroidism is T3 (Cytomel); T3 is shorter-acting and needs to be taken multiple times a day. A majority of hypothyroidism physicians treat their patients with T4 (Levoxyl, Synthroid). This treatment requires a once a day dosage and is a more stable form of thyroid hormone.