January is thyroid awareness month so for the last day i’m gonna post about one of my thyroid disorders
I have both hashimotos and central hypothyroidism but this post is going to be about central hypothyroidism since i don’t see it talked about often
Central hypothyroidism is a rare disease where the pituitary gland or hypothalamus is not working properly leading to hypothyroidism
The hypothalamus and pituitary gland are parts of the endocrine system located in the brain that help control hormones and other endocrine organs
They both make and release multiple hormones that signal other endocrine glands to work. For thyroid the pituitary gland will send out thyroid stimulating hormone (tsh) which tells the thyroid to make thyroid hormones like t4 and t3.
In central hypothyroidism one or both of the pituitary gland or hypothalamus is not working to send tsh leading to the thyroid making t4 and t3 and lower levels of this in the body
Since there is less tsh being sent and less thyroid hormones being made people with central hypothyroidism present with low tsh and thyroid hormones like t3 or t4 which is different than things like hashimotos, which usually has low t3 or t4 but high tsh, since the pituitary is trying to get the thyroid to create more hormones
Central hypothyroidism is treated with thyroid hormone replacement and monitoring levels like t3, t4, and tsh
The symptoms of central hypothyroidism can be found in other forms of hypothyroidism and include (not a full list)
Fatigue
Weight gain
Cold intolerance
Dry skin
Changes in periods
Depression
There’s multiple things that can cause central hypothyroidism but some include pituitary tumors , genetic diseases, traumatic brain injury and more
Sources and more information
Hypothyroidism may be defined as primary, secondary, or tertiary hypothyroidism. Primary hypothyroidism occurs when the thyroid gland does n
Central hypothyroidism is defined as hypothyroidism due to insufficient stimulation by thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) of an otherwise nor
