Thyroid - Too Much, Too Little, Too Late

Thyroid occupies a tiny part of our body yet it controls how our body uses food to turn into energy. Makes me wonder on whether my thyroid is to be blamed during days when I feel so lethargic? It might be so. Here’s why.

Our Thyroid sends out hormones which controls our metabolism, this in turn regulates how our organs and other parts of your body work. Irregular movements and pacing tend to disrupt our system hence our body starts to show signals of disorder.

Having a thyroid problem usually remains undiagnosed until the condition is noticeable. In the Philippines 1 out of 11 Filipinos suffer from thyroid disorders and women are more prone in having these conditions.

Hypothyroidism (Under production of thyroid hormones), Hyperthyroidism (Overproduction of thyroid hormones), Thyroid nodules, Cancer and Goiter are types of thyroid disorders that many of us are unaware of or knows little about.

Some of the symptoms are tiredness, anxiety, weight fluctuations, and difficulty in sleeping. All these are signals that you should get yourself tested. Sadly, people often times assumes that these are merely results of poor lifestyle choices. 

International Thyroid Awareness Week (ITAW) 2017 theme this year is “It’s Not You, It’s Your Thyroid”. Leading science and healthcare innovation company Merck, joined forces with the Department of Health (DOH), Philippine Thyroid Association (PTA), Philippine Society of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism (PSEDM), and the Iodine Global Network (IGN), to raise consciousness and information awareness in relation to thyroid disorders. 

An exhibit and symposium to start of a series of events in the country was held at Robinson’s Novaliches last May 27, 2017 and were graced by not just female attendees but surprisingly by the opposite gender as well. The turnout of the event showed that more and more people are becoming aware of the disorder and are willing to find out whether they have the condition or they are concerned about a loved one’s probability.

During the event, attendees were given an event passport that requires them to go thru the essentials such as a thyroid AVP, a self-quiz form to check your symptoms, doctors were also present for consultations. Other lifestyle booths for pampering were also available to spruce up the ambiance.
Participants get to listen to lectures that shows symptoms of the different conditions and these are:

Hypothyroidsm

Hyperthyroidism

Goiter

According to the speaker, Dr. Teofilo San Luis, Iodine Global Network’s National Coordinator of the Philippines, there are times wherein patients don’t feel any symptoms but physical features shows abnormality. In these cases, we can actually do a self-physical examination at home by following these steps. 

If either physical features or symptoms are present, we will be required by physicians to have the following test taken:

• TSH
• Free T4
• Free T3
• Reverse T3
• ThyroidPeroxidase Antibodies (TPOAb)
• Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TgAb)

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Aside from Dr. San Luis, Dr. Chrysanthus Herrera, Medical Science and Government Affairs Manager; and Dr. Wesley Llauderes, President of the Philippine Society of Nuclear Medicine were also present during the open forum portion of the event were participants were given the chance to ask relevant questions regarding their thyroid.
 
For more information, visit www.thyroidaware.com , www.thyroid.ph or follow “Unmasking Your Thyroid” on Facebook (www.facebook.com/thyroidph).