Monday, March 7, 2011

Important: Your thyroid.

If you don't know what your thyroid is, you should go and read this right now.

If you don't want to read it, "the thyroid controls how quickly the body uses energy, makes proteins, and controls how sensitive the body should be to other hormones."

Just like the Scout, it's a pretty big deal.

My mother's been dealing with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis since she was about 30 years old. She has to worry about taking artificial replacement hormones to maintain a feeling of wellness- and to ward off the possibility of muscle and heart failure. Statistically speaking, it occurs more often in women than it does in men, and it's the primary cause of hypothyroidism in North America. More on that here.

Even if you're not suffering from a disease, it's important to know how it works and what you ought to watch out for. When things go wrong in any part of your body it impacts the mechanics of the whole.

If you haven't gone to the doctor recently, make sure to at least make an appointment for a regular checkup. The cost of a visit that helps catch something early is far more valuable than the hospital visit required to clean up the metaphorical train wreck.

This public service announcement brought to you by a concerned citizen.

5 comments:

  1. Excellent info here.

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  2. My ex had alot of problems with her thyroid to the point where it got pretty serious for a while. It turns out that switching to a gluten free diet helped resolve it.

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  3. Thanks for the info. Makes me a bit more aware about my health in general, which is always a good thing.

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  4. My Mom had her thyroid removed a few years ago and now takes thyroid hormone daily.

    I also agree with you about regular check ups. I read a post on the net recently that said that check ups were just a scam to make doctors money and offered no real benefit to patients, as it was rare that they actually discovered anything. Well I'm sure those people that had their disease or disorders discovered early were thankful that they went to the doctor for their pointless checkup. Some people make me so mad.

    Great post and great blog, I'll be sure to return.

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  5. Important to get enough Iodine in your diet too, although I think most people do. Kelp is a great source of Iodine.

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