If so, they may use ultrasound imaging or thyroid biopsy to help assess your condition. Treatment will depend on the specific nature of your thyroid condition and its underlying cause. The thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland in the front of your neck that wraps around your windpipe trachea.
The two halves of the thyroid gland are connected in the middle by a thin layer of tissue known as the isthmus. The thyroid gland uses iodine mostly absorbed from food to produce hormones that control how your body uses energy.
Your thyroid gland function affects nearly every organ in your body. The pituitary gland and hypothalamus, an area at the base of the brain, control the rate at which the thyroid produces and releases these hormones. The main function of the thyroid gland is to release a hormone called thyroxine or T4, which is converted into a hormone called T3.
Both hormones circulate in the bloodstream and help regulate your metabolism. The amount of T4 produced by the thyroid gland is determined by a hormone produced by the pituitary gland called TSH or thyroid-stimulating hormone. Depending on T4 levels in the body, the pituitary gland produces either more or less TSH in order to prompt the thyroid to produce the appropriate amount of T4.
Thyroid disease occurs when the thyroid fails to function properly, either by releasing too much T4 hormone or by not releasing enough. Your thyroid may also develop a lump or nodule. There are three main thyroid disorders:. Hypothyroidism occurs when the thyroid gland does not produce enough T4 hormone. Underactive thyroid may occur because the pituitary gland, the hypothalamus, or the thyroid itself is not working properly. Nearly five percent of the population has an underactive thyroid.
More women than men suffer from the condition. Symptoms of an underactive thyroid include:. Hyperthyroidism occurs when the thyroid gland produces more thyroid hormone than the body needs.
Overactive thyroid may occur because the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, or the thyroid itself is not working properly.
Overactive thyroid is not very common. It only affects a little over one percent of the U. Just like underactive thyroid, more women than men suffer from the condition. Older patients may experience arrhythmias irregular heart rhythms , heart failure, and mental confusion delirium. Left untreated, patients can suffer from a "thyroid storm" in which high blood pressure, heart failure, and fever can lead to a critical situation requiring urgent medical care.
Thyroid cancer occurs when cells in the thyroid change and multiply, and cancerous cells form nodules or growths. Left untreated, these cancerous nodules can spread into the lymph nodes, surrounding tissues, and bloodstream. Thyroid cancer is uncommon. However, rates have been on the rise over the last 30 years.
Experts believe this increase is mostly due to better detection through the use of ultrasound technology. Most thyroid cancers can be cured. There are four different kinds of thyroid cancer. There are many causes of thyroid disorders. Conditions that affect how the thyroid functions include:. Symptoms often prompt patients to visit the doctor, including fatigue, the inability to get pregnant, changes in the skin or hair, a lump in the neck, hoarseness, or pain in the thyroid area. Based on these symptoms, a doctor will likely perform a physical exam to determine whether the thyroid is enlarged and order blood tests to measure thyroid hormone levels.
If blood tests reveal signs of abnormal thyroid activity, or a thyroid nodule is found and thyroid cancer needs to be excluded, further testing will be required, such as:. Levothyroxine will restore your body's hormone levels and provide symptom relief.
Your blood will be tested periodically to make sure the medication is controlling your hypothyroidism. It may take several months to determine the right dosage needed to control your symptoms. Patients with underactive thyroid generally need to take replacement thyroid hormone for the rest of their lives. The pituitary gland responds either directly to the thyroid hormones in the blood, but it also responds to signals from the hypothalamus , which sits above the pituitary gland as part of your brain.
The hypothalamus releases its own hormone thyrotropin-releasing hormone TRH. The thyroid gland produces thyroxine referred to as T4 , which is a relatively inactive prohormone. The highly active hormone is triiodothyronine referred to as T3. Collectively, thyroxine and triiodothyronine are referred to as the thyroid hormones.
Once secreted by the thyroid, specific enzymes in other tissues like the liver or kidneys may transform T4 in to the active hormone T3. In addition, there are other hormone-producing cells within the thyroid gland called C-cells. These cells produce calcitonin. Calcitonin plays a role in regulating calcium and phosphate levels in the blood, which is important for your bone health and maintenance. As described earlier, hormones secreted by the pituitary gland TSH stay constant in your blood circulation, but their levels may increase or decrease when T4 levels in the blood are changing.
This hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid feedback loop keeps the levels of T4 in your blood stable and reacts to small changes immediately. However, there are several disorders associated with the thyroid gland with most problems concerning the production of thyroid hormones.
Either the thyroid gland produces too much hormone called hyperthyroidism or your thyroid doesn't produce enough hormone called hypothyroidism , resulting in your body using energy faster or slower than it should. Symptoms for hypothyroidism is the contrary of hyperthyroidism such as weight gain, slower heart rate, fatigue, more frequent and stronger menstrual periods, forgetfulness, dry skin and hair, hoarse voice and intolerance to cold.
In addition, hypothyroidism is often accompanied by an enlargement of the thyroid gland known as goitre. On a worldwide scale, approximately million people have some form of thyroid disease.
People of all ages and races can get thyroid disease. However, women are 5 to 8 times more likely than men to get problems with their thyroid function. The thyroid is a small butterfly-shaped gland in the neck, just in front of the windpipe trachea. It produces hormones that affect things such as your heart rate and body temperature. Having too much of these hormones can cause unpleasant and potentially serious problems that may need treatment. An overactive thyroid can affect anyone, but it's about 10 times more common in women than men, and typically happens between 20 and 40 years of age.
Find out more about the symptoms of an overactive thyroid. Other causes of hypothyroidism include thyroid surgery, radiation treatment, some medications, and thyroiditis inflammation of the thyroid. Some people may be born with hypothyroidism, which is known as congenital hypothyroidism. Women are more likely to have hypothyroidism, as well as people older than 60 and people with other thyroid disorders.
A person with mild hypothyroidism might feel fine and have no symptoms. But those with symptoms can experience a puffy face, sluggishness, weight gain, feeling cold, a slowed heart rate, constipation, depression, and thinning hair. Not everyone has the same symptoms, so make sure to talk with your health care provider if you think you have hypothyroidism. The doctor will ask about your symptoms, do a physical exam, and order blood tests.
These tests measure your TSH, or thyroid stimulating hormone, level and antibodies. In Hashimoto's disease, high levels of antibodies in the blood show that the thyroid is being attacked by the immune system. If you have an enlarged thyroid that's causing hypothyroidism, called a goiter, your doctor may order an ultrasound to see it better. In rare cases, you might need surgery, since an enlarged thyroid can make it hard to swallow.
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