Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) explained

Summary

In this talk, recorded in 2021, Dr. Om compares the thyroid to the accelerator pedal of a car. When the gland makes less hormone, the whole body slows down: people feel tired, move and think more slowly, gain weight, look puffy and may lose hair, including from the eyebrows.

He explains the two main causes in India. Iodine deficiency used to be very common, and it fell sharply after the national salt iodisation programme, which is why he urges every family to use iodised salt. Today the most common cause is an autoimmune condition called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Thyroid surgery and radiation to the neck can also cause it.

Hypothyroidism can happen at any age, including in newborn babies. Because a baby’s brain depends on thyroid hormone, he stresses that every newborn should have the simple heel-prick screening test in the first few days of life.

The video then covers diagnosis with a TSH test, the difference between mild (subclinical) and overt hypothyroidism, and why levothyroxine is the standard treatment. He explains how the tablet is usually taken on an empty stomach, why hair fall can briefly increase after starting, and why he does not recommend alternative treatments in place of thyroid hormone. Your own doctor will decide whether you need treatment and how it is adjusted.

For more detail, read about high TSH with low T4 and how to take levothyroxine.