Thyroid disease is an autoimmune disorder. According to the American Thyroid Association, an estimated 20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disease. Shockingly up to 60 percent of those with thyroid disease are unaware of their condition, and women are five to eight times more likely than men to have thyroid problems! In addition, one woman in eight will develop a thyroid disorder during her lifetime.
Sadly, since thyroid disease is dominant in women and because the symptoms are vague, oftentimes the disease is misdiagnosed as depression, or chalked up to normal aging, or excessive stress. As a result, millions of women are left untreated for their thyroid imbalance – which causes the disease to progress.
These alarming statistics lead most people to wonder why thyroid disease has become so prevalent. The answer lies almost entirely in lifestyle choices, such as poor eating habits, chronic stress, and exposure to toxins. Leaky gut (which is caused when bacteria and other health hazards actually leak into your bloodstream, triggering an inflammatory response that leads to many autoimmune diseases) has also been identified as a culprit in the development of one of the main forms of thyroid disease – hypothyroidism.
Your thyroid controls your metabolism. If you are experiencing weight gain, brain fog, chronic fatigue, low body temperature and heart rate, depression and low libido, you could have hypothyroidism. At the other end of the spectrum is hyperthyroidism – where everything speeds up, causing insomnia, fast heart rate and weight loss.
The Joy Medical team believes that the best patient care starts with listening to our patients, and ensuring that we get to the bottom of the problem. That’s why when we hear the above symptoms, we turn to medical science and order a complete thyroid work-up for our patients.
Once we can provide our patients with an accurate diagnosis, we then develop a customized treatment plan – which will include lifestyle modification recommendations, such as cutting out sugar and junk food entirely.
If you are experiencing symptoms like these that are taking the joy out of your life, we’re here to help. Please contact us at (818) 464-4870 to set up an appointment.
