Suffering with thyroid problems is very common, but may leave you with weight issues. The American Thyroid Association reports that approximately 20 million people suffer from some type of thyroid dysfunction, and hypothyroidism is one of the problems. If you suffer from this and are having trouble losing weight, you may want to read more or seek help from a weight loss clinic.

What Is Hypothyroidism?

If you have recently been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, or if you believe you have it, you may not completely understand what it is. When you have this condition, it means that your body doesn't have enough thyroid hormone, and this is because your thyroid isn't producing enough.

The thyroid is an important body part that:

• Is located in your neck
• Is in the shape of a butterfly
• Controls your metabolism

If you have this condition, you are likely to experience numerous side effects. You may have trouble staying warm, and you might feel tired all the time. You can also experience dry skin, muscle cramps, and constipation. Another huge effect of this condition is weight gain, and this is often one of the worst symptoms because it is hard to lose weight.

Why Does It Cause Weight Gain?

When your thyroid is not operating at full capacity, it can cause weight gain primarily because your metabolism drops. The thyroid and brain communicate with each other, but this process is disrupted when the thyroid stops working. Because of this, it throws the metabolism off, which is why many people gain weight from hypothyroidism.

No matter what you do, it may be nearly impossible for you to lose this weight, and this is because your body is not operating correctly. There are treatment options for this, and one of the most common ones is medication, but this doesn't always help completely.

Can You Have Bariatric Surgery If You Have Hypothyroidism?

Bariatric surgery is a term that refers to medical weight loss surgeries, and there are several common types of surgeries included in this. Before you can have weight loss surgery, a doctor will need to complete an evaluation of your health condition. If you have hypothyroidism and are healthy in most other ways, your doctor will most likely approve you for weight loss surgery.

Some of the options you have include:

• Gastric bypass – This procedure involves dividing the stomach into two sections. The goal is to create a smaller stomach so a person will feel full faster. It also restricts the amount of food a person can eat at once.
• Gastric sleeve – This surgery is used to achieve the same purpose, but it involves removing a portion of the stomach. It creates a "sleeve-like" portion of the stomach, which is smaller and holds less food.
• Lap band – A lap band is a small device that is placed over the top of the stomach entrance, and it is designed to restrict the amount of food that passes through.

Each of these procedures is designed to help a person lose weight, but each procedure accomplishes this in a slightly different way.

Medical weight loss surgery will not have any negative effects on your thyroid or its functions. Currently, researchers are completing clinical studies to determine if weight loss surgery has any effects on the thyroid functions and metabolic rates. In these studies, they are trying to conclude that bariatric surgery will help the thyroid functions improve.

If you suffer from hypothyroidism and are experiencing weight gain from it, you may want to talk to your doctor about this. Getting surgery can help you lose weight, but it is also important to make sure you continue to treat your thyroid too.