Many people associate thyroid with being fatigued or difficulty losing weight. These are a couple of common symptoms, but there are others such as feeling cold, hair loss, and constipation. The most common areas for hair to thin first are the outer eyebrows. This will eventually proceed if not addressed to affecting the hair on the scalp. While it is good to know the symptoms of low thyroid; let us take a step back and look at why these are the commonly seen symptoms.
The thyroid gland is located in the throat area surrounded by cartilage. When you think about the role of thyroid hormone; I want you to think about a production line with a lever used to increase or decrease production of a good. This is the role it plays within the body. It tells cells to either function at a higher rate or to slow down. The amount of hormone in the blood is monitored by a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. When the level is high, the hypothalamus decreases stimulation to the pituitary gland which is responsible for telling the thyroid to increase or decrease production.
Now lets connect together the symptoms with the function of the thyroid. If thyroid is responsible for the rate of production and function of the cell? Lets assume that thyroid hormone levels floating around in the blood are decreased by 50% of normal. This would result in decreased production by the same amount resulting in fatigue. You take the fatigue and decreased production of the cell; this leads to an increase of supplies that are not being used resulting in weight gain. Lastly, lets take a look at hair loss as this is a little different. Every cell in the body is designated to perform different tasks. The rate of productivity for these tasks varies according to what job it is asked to perform. Hair cells have to maintain a very high rate of function, but when thyroid levels fall this is no longer possible. This results in the thinning and loss of hair that is accompanied.