Does fatigue drag you lot down solar day afterward solar day? Do you lot take brain fog, weight gain, chills, or hair loss? Or is the opposite truthful for you: Are you often revved up, sweaty, or broken-hearted? Your thyroid gland could be to blame. This slap-up regulator of body and mind sometimes goes haywire, peculiarly in women. Getting the right treatment is critical to feel your best and avoid serious wellness problems.
The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland in the front of the neck. It produces hormones that command the speed of your metabolism -- the system that helps the body use energy. Thyroid disorders can tiresome down or rev up metabolism by disrupting the production of thyroid hormones. When hormone levels become also depression or too high, you may experience a broad range of symptoms.
An unexplained modify in weight is one of the most common signs of a thyroid disorder. Weight gain may signal low levels of thyroid hormones, a condition called hypothyroidism. In contrast, if the thyroid produces more hormones than the body needs, you may lose weight unexpectedly. This is known as hyperthyroidism. Hypothyroidism is far more common.
A swelling or enlargement in the cervix is a visible clue that something may exist incorrect with the thyroid. A goiter may occur with either hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. Sometimes swelling in the neck can outcome from thyroid cancer or nodules, lumps that grow inside the thyroid. Information technology can also be due to a cause unrelated to the thyroid.
Thyroid hormones affect nearly every organ in the body and can influence how quickly the heart beats. People with hypothyroidism may find their heart rate is slower than usual. Hyperthyroidism may cause the center to speed up. Information technology can also trigger increased claret pressure level and the sensation of a pounding heart, or other types of centre palpitations.
Thyroid disorders can have a noticeable bear upon on your energy level and mood. Hypothyroidism tends to brand people feel tired, sluggish, and depressed. Hyperthyroidism can cause feet, problems sleeping, restlessness, and irritability.
Hair loss is another sign that thyroid hormones may be out of residue. Both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism can cause hair to fall out. In most cases, the hair will grow back once the thyroid disorder is treated.
Thyroid disorders tin can disrupt the ability to regulate body temperature. People with hypothyroidism may feel cold more than often than usual. Hyperthyroidism tends to take the opposite issue, causing excessive sweating and an disfavor to heat.
Hypothyroidism can cause many other symptoms, including:
- Dry pare and breakable nails
- Numbness or tingling in the hands
- Constipation
- Abnormal menstrual periods
Hyperthyroidism can too cause boosted symptoms, such as:
- Muscle weakness or trembling hands
- Vision problems
- Diarrhea
- Irregular menstrual periods
Because thyroid disorders can cause changes in menstrual cycle and mood, the symptoms are sometimes mistaken for menopause. If a thyroid problem is suspected, a unproblematic claret examination tin determine whether the true culprit is menopause or a thyroid disorder -- or a combination of the ii.
If you call back you have symptoms of a thyroid problem, ask your doctor if you should exist tested. People with symptoms or risk factors may need tests more often. Hypothyroidism more than ofttimes affects women over age 60. Hyperthyroidism is also more mutual in women. A family unit history raises your adventure of either disorder.
A careful expect in the mirror may assistance you lot spot an enlarged thyroid that needs a doctor's attending. Tip your head dorsum, take a potable of water, and as yous swallow, examine your neck beneath the Adam'southward apple and above the collarbone. Look for bulges or protrusions, then echo the procedure a few times. Run across a dr. promptly if you see a bulge or lump.
If your physician suspects a thyroid disorder, a blood test can assist provide an answer. This test measures the level of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), a kind of main hormone that regulates the work of the thyroid gland. Along with TSH measurements , thyroid hormone levels are also analyzed. If TSH is high, it typically means that your thyroid function is likewise low (hypothyroid). If TSH is low, then it by and large means the thyroid is overactive (hyperthyroid.) Your md may also bank check levels of other thyroid hormones in your blood. In some cases, imaging studies are used and biopsies are taken to evaluate a thyroid aberration.
The virtually common cause of hypothyroidism is Hashimoto'south disease. This is an autoimmune disorder in which the body attacks the thyroid gland. The result is impairment to the thyroid, preventing it from producing plenty hormones. Hashimoto's disease tends to run in families.
In some cases, hypothyroidism results from a trouble with the pituitary gland, which is at the base of the brain. This gland produces thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), which tells the thyroid to exercise its task. If your pituitary gland does not produce enough TSH, levels of thyroid hormones will autumn. Other causes of hypothyroidism include temporary inflammation of the thyroid or medications that affect thyroid function.
The most common cause of hyperthyroidism is Graves' disease. This is an autoimmune disorder that attacks the thyroid gland and triggers the release of loftier levels of thyroid hormones. One of the hallmarks of Graves' illness is a visible and uncomfortable swelling backside the optics wich can trigger thyroid middle disease.
Hyperthyroidism tin also upshot from thyroid nodules. These are lumps that develop inside the thyroid and sometimes brainstorm producing thyroid hormones. Large lumps may create a noticeable goiter. Smaller lumps can exist detected with ultrasound. A thyroid uptake and scan can tell if the lump is producing likewise much thyroid hormone.
When left untreated, hypothyroidism tin raise cholesterol levels and make you more probable to have a stroke or center set on. In astringent cases, very depression levels of thyroid hormones tin can trigger a loss of consciousness and life-threatening driblet in body temperature. Untreated hyperthyroidism can crusade serious centre problems and brittle bones.
If you are diagnosed with hypothyroidism, your doctor will about likely prescribe thyroid hormones in the form of a pill. This ordinarily leads to noticeable improvements inside a couple of weeks. Long-term treatment can event in more energy, lower cholesterol levels, and gradual weight loss. Nearly people with hypothyroidism volition need to take thyroid hormones for the residuum of their lives.
The most common selection in treating adults is radioactive iodine, which destroys the thyroid gland over the course of 6 to 18 weeks. Once the gland is destroyed, or removed past surgery, most patients must begin taking thyroid hormones in pill grade. Another mutual handling for hyperthyroidism is antithyroid medication, which aims to lower the amount of hormones produced past the thyroid. The condition may somewhen go away, but many people need to remain on medication for the long term. Other drugs may exist given to reduce symptoms such as rapid pulse and tremors.
Removing the thyroid gland tin can cure hyperthyroidism, but the procedure is only recommended if antithyroid drugs don't work, or if there is a large goiter. Surgery may also be recommended for patients with thyroid nodules. In one case the thyroid is removed, well-nigh patients require daily supplements of thyroid hormones to avoid developing hypothyroidism.
Thyroid cancer is uncommon and is amongst the least mortiferous. The chief symptom is a lump or swelling in the neck, and just about 5% of thyroid nodules plow out to exist cancerous. When thyroid cancer is diagnosed, it is most oftentimes treated with surgery followed past radioactive iodine therapy or, in some cases, external radiation therapy.
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