What to Know about the Thyroid

A lot of people don’t realize that the thyroid gland is crucial to your body’s energy level, growth, and reproduction. The thyroid is located below the Adam’s apple in the center of the neck. The thyroid gland regulates metabolism by controlling how quickly you burn calories and how sensitive your body is to its own hormones. Too little thyroid hormone can slow down your metabolism and make you gain weight, while too much can speed it up and cause you to lose weight. If your thyroid gland doesn’t produce enough hormone or if the hormone it produces doesn’t work properly, many symptoms can arise.

The thyroid gland produces hormones—particularly thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3)—which regulate the energy level, growth, and reproduction of every cell in the body. T3 is the most active thyroid hormone, about four to five times the potency of T4, but is only called upon when the body needs it. As a result, most thyroid hormone is stored in the body as T4 which is converted to T3 when the need arises. When there is insufficient production of T4 and/or T3 (hypothyroidism), the most common type of thyroid disease will be exhibited. In fact, hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) accounts for about 80% of thyroid dysfunctions.

While symptoms of hypothyroidism may manifest over an extended period of time, they can very easily be misdiagnosed as those of other common disorders, like depression or chronic fatigue. Early detection and consistent treatment can minimize the risk of complications.

Some classic signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism include fatigue, cold intolerance, reduced heart rate, weight gain, depression, dementia, dry skin and brittle fingernails, hair loss, constipation, muscle and joint pain, menstrual changes, high cholesterol, carpal tunnel syndrome, anxiety, irritability, and fluid retention.

If you experience any of the symptoms associated with hypothyroidism, a basal body temperature test can help to identify the condition. This thermometer must be accurate to at least one decimal place. It should be placed beneath the armpit upon waking, and for three consecutive days. A proper basal temperature is between 36.6 and 36.8 degrees Celsius (97.8 and 98.2 degrees Fahrenheit). A patient with an underactive thyroid will have a temperature below 36.6 degrees Celsius, which would indicate a need for further investigation by a physician.

As compounding pharmacists here at NPLabs, we have the ability to customize a patient’s dose of thyroid medication. When prescribing desiccated thyroid, we don’t use any fillers to decrease the absorption, so you receive all the benefits of desiccated thyroid. Desiccated thyroid is the natural form of thyroid hormone that is extracted from the thyroid gland of pigs. It contains T4 and T3 (triiodothyronine) hormones, which are responsible for regulating metabolism in your body.

Our pharmacy can create many different formulations with T3 and T4 such as immediate-release, extended-release, or customized slow-release capsules.

If you are already on prescription thyroid medication, contact us at nplabs.online and we will ship your prescription with overnight/two-day shipping within Europe. If you have any questions about our services contact us at contact@nplabs.online or call us at +30 210 68 15 190