Thyroid: hypo/hyper/Hashimoto

Hey Muse,

In the last article we were talking about everything thyroid health, from its functions, to analysis and diagnosis to foods and herbs that can help, to its link to gut health.

Today we’re talking about how the thyroid can be compromised and what happens when its health gets altered.

Thyroidism

Types of thyroidism

Thyroidism is an alteration in the amount of hormones present in the blood. We talk of hyperthyroidism if this activity is higher than normal, hypothyroidism if it is lower. We talk of thyroiditis, instead, in the event that there is an inflammation of the thyroid gland, occuring with high fever and swelling accompanied by severe pain in the anterior region of the neck, frequently due to a bacterial infection.

Thyroidism symptoms

HYPOTHYROIDISM

Hypothyroidism is a pathological state characterized by decreased thyroid function.

A multiplicity of factors can cause the thyroid gland to produce a portion of hormones that is not sufficient to cover the person's needs.

The reduction in the concentration of the thyroid hormone produces a slowdown of all the physiological processes of the human being.

Hypothyroidism is the most common malfunction of the thyroid gland; it occurs more often in women, its frequency increases with advancing age; in fact, it affects 15% of women over the age of seventy.

In hypothyroidism TSH is high, but we must look at the free fractions of FT4 and FT3 because sometimes there may be a conversion problem between FT4 and FT3, therefore we must improve the conversion of the deposition hormone which is T4 in T3 and we can do it with all those foods I mentioned in the previous article.

In pregnancy, hypothyroidism can also have negative effects on the embryo, so it is important to have the right dosage. There are many drugs that can help us make up for this deficiency. Depending on the various formulations, we can have the direct hormone, the indirect hormone that must be converted or mixed formulations, that is, each must have a personalized dosage.

We must remember that the priority must be to review this situation.

It is important to check your diet, although many people think they eat well. If you are lactose intolerant, make sure that the drugs you are taking for thyroid do not contain lactose. It is important to personalize, but it is most important to understand that in order to heal the thyroid it is not enough to do replacement therapy; you need to go and check all those factors that triggered thyroiditis. To do this you need to know yourself at 360 degrees.

Symptoms and signs of hypothyroidism

The symptoms and signs deriving from this condition often manifest themselves after a long time and, initially, in a mild and non-specific form: a continuous fatigue and not attributable to efforts, an immediate fatigue following even modest activities and a reduction in the ability to react to stimuli.

Over time, due to the progressive reduction of thyroid function, not only further symptoms and signs occur, but also their aggravation.

In addition to those already mentioned, the following may also arise: intolerance to the cold due to the metabolic slowdown, poor concentration, weight gain, hypotension, psychophysical apathy, feeling of swelling of the body, bradycardia, decrease in the ability to learn and memorize.

You can get to the so-called myxedema which consists of a stagnation of liquid in the subcutaneous.

The deficiency of thyroid hormones also determines further consequences such as menstrual disorders, erectile dysfunction, constipation, muscle cramps, thinning and hair loss, compensatory increase in the size of the thyroid gland, edema in the eyes, hands and feet. On a psychic level, the most frequent manifestations are apathy, depression, slow thinking.

The causes of hypothyroidism

Very often the primum movens of hypothyroidism is purely existential and relational in nature and this will be analyzed in the following paragraph. From this primary cause derive other secondary ones such as infectious or autoimmune pathologies, partial or total surgical removal of the gland; other causes are iatrogenic, nutritional and environmental: treatment with radiation, side effects from overdose of antithyroid drugs, insufficient iodine intake in the diet, environmental poisoning. The malfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, which in turn depends more often than not on psychological factors, can ultimately lead to a lack of stimulation of the thyroid which, therefore, decreases the production of hormones.

Psychosomatic interpretation of hypothyroidism

Thyroid diseases are to be seen in the context of the Psycho-Neuro-Endocrine-Immunological complexity of the person. To understand the symbolic dimension of hypothyroidism, one must start from a key symptom of pathology, physical and mental slowdown. When within the subject there is a rebellion against a lifestyle that no longer wants to accept, the psyche stops facing reality in that way; decides to do it through the body, with significant symptoms such as static, stagnation of vital energy, weight gain, tiredness, slowness in speech, apathy, difficulty concentrating, exhaustion. Those who fall ill with hypothyroidism have the sensation of "sinking" in their body and in themselves, a mechanism similar to that which occurs in the depressive state.

Hypothyroidism arises after traumatic events that have made the person lose their sense of everyday life or that are in stark contrast to what the subject wants and wants. The unconscious "no" that the subject would mean becomes passivity, surrender, renunciation. The metabolic damage, characterized by a decrease in the level of energy and heat produced by the body, represents the origin of the profound discomfort of these subjects, who are unable to oppose with strength and autonomy to those dysfunctional mechanisms that are experienced as "social dogmas". The hypothyroid suffers from a great fear, that of not deserving anything, especially the love of others. It is precisely the fear of not being loved that blocks the reaction, the affirmation that could generate displeasure in the other.

Hypothyroidism occurs when the subject decides not to express himself in some or all aspects of life, such as that of affectivity or sexuality. In the most advanced cases of the pathology, there is a typical phenomenon of thyroid insufficiency called myxedema, a particular form of swelling of the tissues that manifests itself with a swollen, rigid and fixed face, dry skin, eyelid ptosis (one or both eyelids are lower than their normal level). The typical appearance of the face symbolizes the mask that the subject wears preventing himself from being himself.

The personalities most subject to hypothyroidism are those with a masked depression, who live a critical existential situation, or, more generally, have a lifestyle that they refuse but which they cannot resist. The slowdown of all vital functions symbolizes an energy that remains blocked, which "stagnates", just as it happens for the body fluids that inflate the tissues. In particular, apathy indicates an emotional "withdrawal" from everyday reality, an inability to affirm oneself tied to a deep sense of insecurity and non-recognition of one's own value. Very often the hypothyroid is lived in a family context that has not allowed him to free himself, to evolve in autonomy.

The symptoms, which almost always refer to a weakness in the body, show a lack of strength that makes action towards solutions and, therefore, towards life impossible. In all thyroid pathologies there is a close link with the maternal relationship; at the base of the psychosomatic imbalance emerges a life characterized by an absent mother who is not, however, questioned. The lack of elaboration translates into two functional imbalances, both reflections of an internal "revolt" towards the frustration of love: an "excess" response, as occurs in hyperthyroidism, in which repressed pain explodes, and one of renunciation and fear of autonomy, expressed in hypothyroidism, generated by deep suffering and the feeling of not deserving love. The hypothyroid, often afraid of not being worthy of the consideration and love of others, can take a punitive, guilty and devaluing attitude towards himself.

It is extremely relevant to underline that the prevalence of destabilizing elements brings a generalized and progressive disorder in the Psycho-Neuro-Endocrine-Immunological system and in the bone, muscle and joint structure. The system thus tends to ignite chronically, to self-intoxicate, to be particularly permeable to toxins coming from the outside, to weaken its immune defenses, to deplete nutritional elements, to oxidize, to acidify and to distort from a structural point of view and postural.

HASHIMOTO

Thyroiditis of Hashimoto

Hashimoto's Thyroiditis is a so-called autoimmune thyroiditis. It is necessary to understand how autoimmunity was triggered: there could also be cysts in the thyroid gland and autoimmune thyroiditis is often associated with PCOS, which has to do with insulin resistance. The malfunction of the intestine can worsen insulin resistance. If you are in hypothyroidism, if you have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, you have to do a 360-degree job.

The so-called auto-immune diseases originate mainly in the intestine, so you have to check how it is. You must try to minimize all those foods (see previous article) that confuse the immune system which, to defend ourselves from them, also attacks the thyroid.

Remember that hypothyroidism, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, especially for women of childbearing age, also has to do with infertility. What works is nutritional therapy aimed at the hormonal and gastrointestinal structure. Remember also that alcohol blocks the conversion of T4 to T3, therefore, if you are used to drinking wine and beer, your thyroiditis could get worse.

Hashimoto's thyroiditis and Crohn's disease can go hand in hand because Crohn, which is a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestine, also originates from the same basis: a malfunction of the intestinal barrier, an autoimmunity, an inflammation.

HYPERTHYROIDISM

Hyperthyroidism is a pathological condition in which the thyroid gland works more than it should, producing a high amount of thyroid hormones in the body.

The causes of hyperthyroidism

The causes of hyperthyroidism are manifold; the most common is Basedow's disease, an autoimmune disease caused by the presence of autoantibodies which, through the stimulation and subsequent activation of the TSH receptor, determine an increase in the synthesis and secretion of thyroid hormones, causing the onset of diffuse goiter. The excess of hormones involves an accentuation and an acceleration of all metabolic processes, producing a complex symptomatology that involves many systems.

Symptoms and signs of hyperthyroidism

The pathology begins with typical symptoms such as nervousness, palpitations, severe weight loss, increased thirst, diarrhea and progressively worsens within a few weeks. To the initial symptoms are added those related to a general hyperactivity of the body: increase in body temperature, heart rate and blood pressure, intolerance to heat, muscle fatigue. Excitability also involves the nervous system causing limb tremors, restlessness, insomnia, endocrine and sexual disorders (menstrual irregularities in women and premature ejaculation in men). As in hypothyroidism, also in hyperthyroidism the face of the patient has a typical physiognomy with protruding eyeballs (exophthalmos) and shiny eye, dilated eyelid rim, fixed and frightened look, red and sweaty skin. The untreated disease has a chronic course, with periods of remission and exacerbation.

Psychosomatic interpretation of hyperthyroidism

Hyperthyroidism is imbued with symbolisms, first of all that of an eternal "forward flight" (hence the acceleration expressed by the symptoms) in search, on the one hand, of a daily autonomy contained in "doing"; on the other, of an attempt to fill the void that you feel inside by "dabbing" it with a life with an accelerated pace and with full and symbiotic relationships. The emptiness corresponds to the anguish of death and the terror of feeling annihilated.

Here too, the causes of these psychic mechanisms can be traced back to childhood and adolescence. While in hypothyroidism the parental role was inhibiting for the development of self and autonomy, in the hyperthyroid experience there is a child who had an early maturity, for concrete needs or parental expectations, who was deprived of the natural and necessary phase of emotional dependence made of support, approval, warmth, affection. This "leap" translates, in the adult phase, into a difficulty in asking or manifesting the emotional and emotional need, an experience that would evoke the idea of frustrated addiction. These interpretations turn out to be even truer when studying the onset of the disease; in many cases of adult subjects, hyperthyroidism occurs following trauma from loss of elements of self-sufficiency (reference figures, work, home, pathologies that oblige requests for help). As with all other pathologies, there are always personality types more at "risk" of manifesting a certain disease or disorder. Very often hyperthyroidism affected people are afraid of stopping, of slowing down on all levels of life; they feel alive only if they act, intensely and in a hurry. They continually seek advice (which, however, they are unable to follow), they want autonomy at all costs but inside they have an enormous need for the approval of others.

The disorder is prevalent in women between 20 and 50 years of age, and arises especially in those people who have grown up quickly or have been subjected to loads unsuitable for their age. Hyperthyroidism very often lost parents early.

Hope this article found your excitement for knowledge, and tackled your curiosity!

Much Love,

Manuela