Hypothyroidism Symptoms

Hypothyroidism is a condition where there is insufficient production of thyroid hormone from the thyroid gland. Hypothyroidism is also the most common disorder of thyroid and in most of the cases it occurs due to the problem in the gland itself and is known as primary Hypothyroidism.

The most common reason for the occurrence of this problem is Hashimoto’s disease which is also known as chronic thyroiditis. During this disease the immune system of the body fails to accept the thyroid gland as the part of the body and recognize it as foreign body and attacks it. This attack by the immune system impairs the functioning of the thyroid and can even destroy the glands. There are many others causes of Hypothyroidism which may include radiation, surgery, viruses and bacteria, congenital defect and others.

The symptoms of Hypothyroidism appear slowly over the months and the years. The early symptoms of this disease may include fatigue, depression, poor muscle tone, joint pain, muscle cramps, thin brittle hair and fingernails, paleness, weight gain, water retention, dry itchy skin, constipation, decreased sweating, carpal tunnel syndrome, bradycardia and many others.

At a later stage, Hypothyroidism can also lead to dry puffy skin especially on the face area, abnormal menstrual cycle, low basal temperature of the body, slow speech, hoarse breaking voice, deepening of the voice and thinning of the outer area of the eyebrows which is a sign of Hertoghe.

Besides these there are many other symptoms which may be less common and they include impaired memory, slow heart rate, impaired cognitive function, inattentiveness, irritability and mood instability, yellowing of the skin, hair loss, difficulty in swallowing and many others.