For such a small organ, the thyroid plays a big role in the human body. A two-inch gland located in your neck, the thyroid is a critical part of your endocrine system, producing two hormones that regulate metabolism, organ growth and a host of other bodily processes. Called triiodothyronine and thyroxine, these hormones also affect the heart, the lungs, body temperature, weight, cholesterol levels and even menstrual cycles.
If the thyroid does not produce enough of these hormones, hypothyroidism occurs and if the body produces too much, it's called hyperthyroidism. While there are a variety of causes for both conditions, sometimes hyperthyroidism occurs when people who are prescribed synthetic thyroid hormones to treat hypothyroidism take too much. There's nothing quite like the cure being worse than the bite, but the thyroid's health is critical to your entire body, so anyone taking hormone treatment for hypothyroidism should be seeing her doctor regularly to ensure the proper levels.
Women are significantly more likely to be affected by a thyroid disorder than men and the American Thyroid Association recommends all women age 35 and over should take a blood test every five years to check their thyroid levels.
Since there are a variety of symptoms that affect both conditions as well as related diseases, doctors will often order one or more tests to confirm the condition. Symptoms are all over the map, but hyperthyroidism sufferers may experience fatigue, unexplained weight loss, rapid or irregular heartbeat, increased perspiration, sensitivity to heat, diarrhea, goiter, mood swings and other issues. Hypothyroidism patients on the other hand may also experience fatigue and such opposite conditions as weight gain, muscle pain, depression, constipation, decreased sweating, increased sensitivity to cold, heavy or irregular menstrual periods and a slowed heart rate, among other factors.
Common treatments for hyperthyroidism include antithyroid drugs (which may or may not work long term for certain patients), radioiodine therapy (which involves destroying the overactive thyroid gland with radioactive iodine) and surgical removal of the thyroid gland, which is usually only recommended in extreme cases or in such situations as pregnant or nursing women who should not take radioiodine therapy for the safety of their children. Once the thyroid is destroyed, patients will need to take daily, synthetic thyroxine replacement hormones for the rest of their lives.
Just as in hyperthyroidism patients who have lost all functionality in their thyroid glands, sufferers of hypothyroidism need to take synthetic hormones, such as a levothyroxine. If the condition is temporary, such as with postpartum thyroiditis, treatment may be temporary, but in most cases the treatment is for a lifetime. Thyroid levels need to be carefully monitored and patients need to see their endocrinologists on a regular basis to maintain the proper levels as needs may change when people age.
The thryroid is critically important to so many functions and with an estimated 27 million people suffering thyroid condition in the U.S., and less than half even aware of it, paying attention to symptoms and getting early treatment should not be overlooked.
