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Hypothyroidism : Understanding Thyroid Function And Treatment Essay

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Hypothyroidism: Understanding Thyroid Function and Treatment
Nicollette Ames
Blackhawk Technical College

Hypothyroidism
The history of hypothyroidism dates way back to the 1800s; seeing the symptoms in patients, even before the disease was able to be diagnosed. Later realizing that many of the cases of cretinism, later called hypothyroidism, were largely associated with the lack in function of the thyroid. Today, also realizing that there is not only internal factors that influence hypothyroidism but also external factors that can contribute. Hypothyroidism can present itself in many different ways from no symptoms at all to organ failure, in a severe enough case. Discovering and treating hypothyroidism with medication or alternative, if the patient chooses, can be very simple after confirming diagnosis with lab results. An optimistic prognosis is usually given to patients diagnosed with hypothyroidism.
Personally, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in early 2012. Since then I have learned a lot about the thyroid and its very important functions in the body.
History
Discovery of Hypothyroidism.
First case of hypothyroidism. Thyroid research came about after a paper published in 1850, written by Thomas Curling talking about two girls who had severe malformation and were placed in an idiot asylum. One of the girls, 10, could not walk or talk very well; the other, 6 months, “was plump but had a marked idiotic expression, a large face with a small

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