Contraceptive Pills and Thyroid

It has been evidently proven that the frequency of thyroid cancer in women is considerably higher than that in men. In Nepal alone more than 1 million people are under threat of thyroid and its 3 to 8 times more common among women. Yet more than half of those with thyroid are unaware of it because of its complex indicators. The most common thyroid disorders are conditioned by uncontrolled emission of thyroid hormones. Too much production of thyroid hormones leads to hyperthyroidism whereas inadequate hormone production may cause hypothyroidism.

Many medical experts propose that the thyroid hormone tends to be enormously reactive especially in case of rising levels of other hormones, excluding thyroid stimulating hormones. Nowadays why maximum women are being prone to the thyroid abnormalities? Among various reasons, one relevant answer can be ‘birth control pill’.  Study shows that mini-pills or presence of oestrogen level in contractive pills upsurge thyroid and sex hormone binding globulin as well as produce high doses of artificial oestrogen and progesterone leading decline in production of Natural hormones. 

If someone undergoes hypothyroidism or thyroid hormone deficiency, they would witness indicators as wide-ranging as weight gain, hair loss, and depression, lack of energy, mood swing, aches and pains, legs swelling and brittle nails and many others. Though thyroid disorders have been identified and cured for almost a century and confirmatory examinations have been developed for decades; thyroid syndromes are often challenging to trace because the symptoms are blended with other conditions. However one intervention to this problem is, women on pills are also recommended with thyroid supplements that maintain balance between oestrogen and thyroid levels. 

Thyroid hormone replacement therapy is precisely an individualized intervention process, and it will surely yield positive outcomes if taken seriously. Such therapy is usually given through pills and is generally used in treatment of underactive thyroid. The ultimate objective of thyroid hormone replacement therapy is to normalize the frequency level of your thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). But it needs to be understood that every individual therapy may varies accordingly with the way body absorbs hormones and the amount of hormones it require. Thus one ought to undergo certain degree of experimentation to identify relevant dosages and best working therapy. 

-A version of this article appears in print on August 2, 2017 of The Himalayan Times >>> (https://thehimalayantimes.com/opinion/thyroid-disorder-women/)