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Entire body can suffer from thyroid problems
By Timothy Coalwell, MD
Medical Park Family Care
The thyroid gland is the thermostat of the body. It is located in the lower front part of the neck with left and right lobes in the shape of a butterfly. The sole function of the thyroid is to make thyroid hormones that have an effect on nearly all tissues in the body by increasing cellular activity. The thyroid regulates metabolism.
Thyroid problems are fairly common. Nearly one in eight American women will develop a thyroid disorder, although it does affect men, but to a lesser degree. Two of the most common problems include hypothyroidism, or making too little thyroid, and hyperthyroidism, or making too much thyroid. Of course, there are other less common types, for example goiter, cancer or others.
Hypothyroidism, when the gland is not working hard enough, is most often caused by Hashimoto’s disease, a condition where the body’s immune system is tricked by a virus or other cause and attacks the thyroid and damages it. Another cause, now rare in the United States, is the lack of iodine in food. Iodine is essential in making the thyroid hormone. The most common symptoms of hypothyroidism are fatigue, weakness, weight gain, menstrual irregularity, decreased libido, muscle aches, constipation, hair loss and brittle nails. The treatment is to replace the thyroid hormone, using either natural (pork thyroid) or synthetic products.
Hyperthyroidism, or overactive thyroid, is caused by the immune system tricking the thyroid into producing too much thyroid. Younger women tend to get Graves’ disease, where the thyroid becomes large and overactive. Older women tend to get thyroid nodules that overproduce the hormones. Many times the thyroid will simply burn out and become hypothyroid, but most of the time it will need medical treatment. Symptoms of hyperthyroidism include weight loss, fatigue, nervousness, rapid heartbeat, insomnia, vision changes, frequent stools, irregular menses and feeling hot.
The primary method to diagnose thyroid disease is too take a patient history and exam, which hopefully will diagnose the obvious cases, and then use blood tests, ultrasound and other tests to confirm the diagnoses. The primary blood test used in screening is the thyroid stimulating hormone. This measures a hormone that the brain produces that stimulates the thyroid to produce more. Other common tests include T3 and T4, the active and storage form of the thyroid hormone and thyroid antibody tests that look for antibodies that may be attacking the thyroid.
So, if you are having any of the above symptoms and they are not resolving in a reasonable amount of time, a discussion with your physician would be prudent.
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