The thyroid debate: can't lose weight? Can't sleep? Feeling irritable? Low on energy? Your thyroid may be the culprit. It's a tiny gland with a great big job

Natural Health, June, 2004 by Catherine Winters

RELATED ARTICLE: Why your thyroid acts up.

Several things can cause your thyroid to go haywire, such as a genetic disposition, type 1 diabetes or, most commonly, an autoimmune condition. Graves' disease causes hyperthyroidism, while Hashimoto's disease is the primary cause of hypothyroidism. People with a family history of thyroid problems are likelier to get one of these conditions.

Regardless of the cause, women suffer the lion's share of thyroid problems, and older women are especially vulnerable. By age 60, up to 17 percent of women (compared with 9 percent of men) have an underactive thyroid. Pregnancy, too, can throw the thyroid out of whack. Women who carry the antibody for Hashimoto's or Graves' disease may develop symptoms for the first time during pregnancy.

After giving birth, women may develop an inflammation of the thyroid gland (thyroiditis) that briefly causes hyperthyroidism followed by hypothyroidism. While the condition often resolves on its own, medication may be needed to control symptoms until the thyroid returns to normal. In some cases, experiencing a thyroid problem during or just after pregnancy is a predictor of thyroid disease down the road.