In this article, we will discuss the different thyroid conditions that plagues millions of people around the world.

 Hyperthyroidism

Hypothyroidism is a thyroid condition that increases the body’s metabolic rate due to an overactive thyroid gland. The most common cause of this disease is autoimmune disease. This condition is when the body’s immune system attacks the thyroid because it believes that it is a foreign body. The true exact nature of this genetic abnormality still eludes medical experts.

Symptoms And Signs Of Hyperthyroidism

• Palpitations
• Heat intolerance
• Nervousness
• Insomnia
• Breathlessness
• Increased bowel movements
• Light or absent menstrual periods
• Fatigue
• Fast heart rate
• Trembling hands
• Weight loss
• Muscle weakness
• Warm moist skin
• Hair loss
• Staring gaze

Take note that the words symptoms and signs have totally different meaning and should not be confused with one another. Signs are things that can be detected or measured by a medical expert. On the other hand, symptoms are conditions that a patient can feel or notice.

Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is a thyroid condition where the thyroid gland excretes low amounts of thyroid hormones. Because of this, our body’s metabolic rates slows down. Another side effect of this condition is the decrease of our body temperature.

Symptoms and Signs Of Hypothyroidism

• Weight gain
• Depression
• Body pains
• Fuzzy thinking
• Constipation
• Fatigue
• Fluid retention
• Low blood pressure
• Slow reflex action

Goiter

Unlike most thyroid conditions which tends to be less visible, this condition does the complete opposite. Goiter is a condition that is caused by the swelling of the thyroid gland. In this condition, the patient may feel pain and fullness of the neck and have problems swallowing and breathing.

Thyroid Storm

Thyroid storm is the rarest of all thyroid conditions. This condition of the thyroid can mostly be found in patients that have hyperthyroidism. The reason for the occurrence of thyroid storm is the extreme over production of thyroid hormones which in turn increases the complications of a hyperthyroid patient. This is the most lethal of all thyroid conditions. If left unchecked, thyroid storms might lead to death. Medical help is strongly advised in this condition.

 This type of cancer usually refers to different kinds of malignant tumors, namely: papillary, follicular, medullary and anaplastic. The papillary and follicular tumors are the most commonly seen among people with this type of disease. It is not fatal among patients who are under 45 years of age. It grows slowly and has a tendency to recur. On the other hand, medullary tumors have either a good or a poor prognosis depending on whether the tumor is only restricted to the thyroid gland or has metastasized to other organs, respectively. And the more severe case is the anaplastic tumor because it has a poor prognosis and spreads rapidly. Also, it responds poorly to any type of therapy.

Anybody can get thyroid cancer. But what are the factors that may increase the risk of a person acquiring this disease? Listed below are some of risks:

Risk Factor In Getting Thyroid Cancer

1. History of radiation treatment to the neck or the head.
2. Age between 25 – 65 years old
3. Gender (especially women)
4. Race (Asian)
5. Family History

Warning Signals of  Thyroid Cancer

• Finding a nodule or a lump in the thyroid area is a major sign. Many adults usually have small nodules in  the thyroid. This is often the first symptom, but only 5% of these nodules are malignant.  Nodules can be alarming when they are found in patients under 20 years of age. Benign nodules are less likely to appear in people who are in this age group. Therefore, the potential for malignancy is far greater if it is found in 20 year old individuals.
• Sometimes, some patients notice an enlarged lymph node. In some cases, this appears to be the first sign of this disease.
• A late sign would be pain that is felt in the anterior portion of the neck. 
• A change in the quality or hoarseness of the voice usually follows pain.
• If the patient has existing goiter, a common sign of cancer of the thyroid is the rapid enlargement of the goiter. When this happens, goiter patients usually experience difficulty of swallowing and have a hard time breathing (breathing difficulty).
• Other signs include cervical lymph node enlargement among women.

When you experience any of these symptoms, or when you have a high risk for developing thyroid cancer, you should immediately seek the help of a doctor. Your doctor can order and conduct series of tests to assess your symptoms. If you have cancer, it is also important to know which type so that appropriate treatment can be done.

Diagnosis of Thyriod Cancer

• Fine Needle Biopsy
• Blood tests
• Ultrasound Imaging

Treatment of Thyroid Cancer

• Radioactive Iodine Treatment
• Hormone Therapy
• Thyroidectomy

The role of thyroid hormones in the body is to help in the conversion of food into energy and heat. Triiodothyronine or T3 is directly responsible and pushes metabolism in mitochondria. Triiodothyronine is the catalyst for faster protein synthesis, reading of genes, and mitochondrial gene transcription. All this action causes an increase in free fatty acids as well as breakdown of proteins. And to meet the increased oxygen need of the body to do all those things, thyroid hormones elevates our heart rate.

Thyroid hormones are the ones responsible for controlling our body temperature. In order to keep our core temperature at a safe level, our thyroid hormones fluctuate depending on the caloric intake and external temperature. During the absence of food, the production of thyroid hormones is lowered to stop the building up of ketone bodies in our blood and kidneys. And also to ease caloric demand. If the body doesnt do this, ketone buildup can damage the sensitive kidneys and other parts of our body.

Thyroid stimulating hormones or TSH is the only hormone that thyroid hormones are not sensitive to. The hormone estrogen prevents the effectiveness of thyroid hormones. Thats the reason why women have a much larger thyroid gland compared to men, and are also more prone to thyroid diseases. As for growth hormones, they do hinder thyroid hormones but also compliments it with regards to metabolism, development, and growth.

The role thyroid hormones play in metamorphosis and development in all vertebrates is a major one. By binding itself to thyroid hormone receptors which are molecules that changes their shape to an activated one, it affects development. As for gene transcription to happen, the thyroid hormone activates the thyroid hormone receptors and tells it to bind with responsive elements in the DNA. The copying and blocking of some genes is facilitated by the attaching of thyroid hormones to responsive elements. 

Experts are still studying other genes that might be influenced by the presences of thyroid hormones. But from the findings that they already have gathered, it only shows how important thyroid hormones are to us.

There are two main factors that cause hypothyroidism to occur. The first of the two is that of previous thyroid gland inflammations. The second may be the effects of medical treatments that the patient underwent throughout the years.

In the first case, a previous inflammation of the thyroid gland can leave a large amount of the thyroid cells damaged, or in some cases render them dead thus limiting the producing power of the thyroid to come up with sufficient thyroid hormones. A common condition that can lead to thyroid inflammation is the occurrence of autoimmune disease. Autoimmune disease is the result of our own immune system recognizing our thyroid as foreign body thus attacking it.

The second case above explains the connection of previous medical treatments that a patient might have undergone. For example,  the removal of a part of the thyroid gland. Let’s say that if a chunk of your thyroid gland was removed or rendered useless, the thyroid producing cells may not be enough to meet the requirements of your body, thus the occurrence of hypothyroidism.

The subtle and gradual nature of hypothyroidism makes it a tad difficult for an ordinary person without any medical knowledge to notice. Although each individual may have varying symptoms, here are the most common low thyroid symptoms:

• Increased menstrual flow in women
• Confusion
• Sides of eyebrows thin or fall out
• Orange-colored soles and palms
• Slow pulse
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Coarse, dry, and thickened skin
• Sparse, coarse and dry hair
• Constipation
• Weight gain

As you can see hypothyroidism covers a wide range of symptoms which can disguise themselves as other diseases. If you suspect that you may have any of these hypothyroidism symptoms then you should consult your physician as they can provide a proper diagnosis.

What Is The Purpose Of These Hormones In The Body?

• Regulate the body’s basal metabolic rate (BMR)
• Aids in protein synthesis
• Regulate body temperature
• Regulate fat, protein, carbohydrate and vitamin metabolism.
• Involved in the development of cells in the body.
• Regulates the circadian rhythm which involves sleep.

Another hormone produced by your thyroid is Calcitonin. This is significant because it is responsible  for the regulation of Calcium in the bones, as well as in your blood.

Low Thyroid Symptoms:

 Low thyroid disease usually develops gradually. This is the reason why patients may not be able to notice it soon. Some blame their age or getting older. When it continues to develop, it leads to a more obvious slowing down of the function of the body, hence, the signs and symptoms becomes more noticeable.

Fatigue – the patient feels tired and sleepy most of the time. Due to the low hormones in the body, fats and carbohydrates, needed for energy, are not metabolized. Hence, the patient lacks the energy to perform any activity.

Cold Intolerance – The patient has increased sensitivity to cold. Thyroid hormones are responsible for regulating body temperature. When the TH level is low, cold intolerance happens.

Constipation – Low thyroid slows down many of the body’s systems. It slows down digestion and peristalsis, and eventually elimination.

Weight Gain – due to decreased BMR.  Patients may experience weight gain, despite low appetite. However, weight gained by hyperthyroid patients is greater than that weight gained by a hypothyroid person.

Muscle Cramps, Muscle Weakness and Joint Pains - It is not understood why this occurs. But generally, hypothyroidism causes these symptoms. This occurs in patients with autoimmune thyroid disease where there is inflammation and swelling of the tissue. Thus, it compresses and affects not only the thyroid but the surrounding tissue as well.

Menstrual Changes – Early Menstruation (puberty), more frequent and longer periods, as well as dysmenorrhea  are common low thyroid symptoms. It is not clear why this occurs, but hypothyroid patients usually present this symptom.

Brittle Fingernails, Dry Hair and Skin and Hair Falling Out – Since our body system is slowed down in hypothyroidism, oil glands secretes sluggishly that’s why we have dry hair and skin. Hair falls out because the growth is interrupted and new hairs grow very slowly.

As you can see there are numerous low thyroid syptoms that you could exhibit if you have hypothyroidism. If you suspect that you have low thyroid levels that see your doctor as soon as possible as he can start you on a treatment plan.

The thyroid is a small, bow-tie shaped gland found under the skin of the neck just below the Adam’s apple. It produces hormones that are needed for the metabolism, burning of calories (fats and carbohydrates) and other vital processes needed by the body to function. It secretes and stores these hormones and releases it when the body demands for it. What are the names of these hormones that we are talking about? They are your Thyroxine (T4) and Triiodothyronine (T3).  Between the two hormones,  T4 is slower to react. Therefore, it is further converted into T3, which reacts faster to the needs of the body. 

The hypothalamus is also involved in this process. It releases another hormone called,  thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH). What does it do? It tells our pituitary gland, another gland that plays a key role in the release of T3 and T4, to release thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH).  From the name itself, our TSH, stimulates the thyroid to release T3 and T4. Hence, low thyroid levels in the blood will automatically invert.  The amount of T3 and T4 released depends upon the TSH it receives from the pituitary gland. Also,  the thyroid controls the quantity of hormones given to the system according to its needs. Therefore, if the patient has a disease associated with the hypothalamus or the pituitary gland, it may also directly affect the function of the thyroid.

Let’s proceed to the causes of hypothyroidism. The most common cause is an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Hashimoto was the first to describe it in 1912. An autoimmune disease is a process whereby your body makes antibodies against its own tissue.  In Hashimoto thyroiditis, the thyroid is the gland that is being attacked by the antibodies. It causes an inflammation and therefore affects the function of the thyroid disenabling it to release hormones into the blood stream. Thence, hypothyroidism follows.

Another cause is the surgery of the thyroid, wherein hypothyroidism becomes one of its complication. This procedure may be performed for patients with thyroid cancer. Radiation therapy is also another procedure for cancer patients. Both of these treatments may invariably affect the thyroid and its function.

Radioactive Iodine Therapy is a treatment for patients with Goiter or hyperthyroidism. It targets a portion of the thyroid to prevent enlargement of the thyroid (Goiter), as well as, increase production of hormones (hyperthyroidism). It can incapacitate the thyroid to produce sufficient hormones to meet the requirements of the body.

Some babies are born with a problematic thyroid.  Not only that, there are also cases wherein the thyroid is not present at all. The reasons may be unknown, or it could be inherited from their parents. Nonetheless, a screening test for newborns has been developed for this kind of disorder.

Iodine is an important requirement in the production of your T3 and T4.  It is found, not only in all food substances but also in water. The fortification of iodine in our table salt has alleviated this problem.

Patients with low thyroid levels manifest the following symptoms:

• Weight gain
• Fatigue
• Cold Intolerance
• Dry and coarse hair
• Sleepiness
• Dry skin
• Constipation
• Decreased Concentration
• Muscle Cramps
• Depression
• Irritability
• Memory loss

 The best we can do is to undergo therapy and sticking to your regimen. There is basically nothing we can do about except to learn living with hypothyroidism through educating yourself about the disease, treatments, as well as contraindications. Through this, symptoms are managed and you can continue living to the optimum level.

Here are few things that you can do in order to promote your wellness:

Support Group – they can be your family, friends or people who also have low thyroid levels. These people can help you accept and deal with the disease. Your family and friends can help you manage your condition.

Be Informed – As mentioned above, educating yourself about the disease can help you understand what your body is going through. So that you will know what you must not and must do to support it. Also, make it a point to educate your family and friends about it too. It is important that they know what you are going through and what they need to do when the need arises.

Consult Your Doctor – Co-manage your condition with your physician and therapist. Never make decisions, related to your health, without consulting them first.

Positive Attitude – Don’t let your hypothyroid condition pull you down. Remember that you are in charge.

Lifestyle Changes

• Eat well, follow the prescription of your doctor.
• Regular Exercise, as prescribed.
• Take medication regularly, never skip or miss a dose on purpose just because you feel better. Remember, hypothyroidism doesn’t go away. Once you stop your medication, symptoms will reappear. If you inadvertently missed taking it, call you doctor immediately and follow his advice. Medications may be changed or adjusted in some particular situations, such as pregnancy, menopause, as well as aging. Talk to your doctor about this.
• Monitor Hormone levels regularly – Drugs may be adjusted when hormone levels are low, or increased when too high. Talk to your doctor about this.

Hypothyroidism may constantly wax and wane, but the disease will never disappear. You will always have a hypothyroid condition. It is imperative that you follow what your doctor tells you. Living with hypothyroidism may be quite a challenge.  You may have mood swings, hypothyroidism weight gain, chronic fatigue, depression and be scared. Sometimes the symptoms can overwhelm you and you can find yourself at your wits end. These feelings are just normal. However you should not allow hypothyroidism to run your life. Hypothyroidism may be chronic, but it’s not fatal. And it’s definitely not a death sentence. You can live with this condition for a long, long time.

Most of the time, hypothyroidism weight gain is confused with common everyday  things the patient does. Though hypothyroidism can be easily treated, the bigger problem is losing the extra pounds accumulated by being afflicted by the disease. To keep the patient’s weight under
control, he or she must develop a medication, diet, and exercise plan with a health professional. This is an interconnected program, which mean that one will not work without the other. The silver lining in all of this is that hypothyroidism weight gain can easily be treated. All the patient needs to do is stick with the hypothyroidism treatments which include medication, diet, and exercise program given to him.

Although hypothyroidism weight gain can be easily controlled, other hypothyroid complications like high cholesterol levels can escalate to heart attacks or stroke if left unchecked. So make sure that you do regular blood tests, religiously follow your medication, watch what you eat,
and exercise regularly. Not to scare you, but being hypothyroid makes you susceptible to develop other conditions connected to hypothyroidism such as hypertension, and pre-diabetes. Add in the factor of genetics and it becomes a disaster waiting to happen. Losing those extra pounds under these conditions becomes top priority as one tries to increase the chances of mortality and living a regular life. Below are a few tips a hypothyroid patient should know.

Become Active

As hypothyroidism slows down the body’s metabolic rate, it is but natural for a patient to find ways to counter that effect. And what better way
to do it than exercising. A 30 minute workout everyday will surely help speed up the metabolic process thus minimizing weight gain.

Foods That Help Hypothyroidism

• Oily fish
• Bananas
• Whole grain cereals
• Sunflower seeds
• Avocado
• Olive oil
• Asparagus
• Apricots
• Spinach
• Carrots

Foods To Avoid With Hypothyroidism

• Soy products
• Peanuts
• Sweet potatoes
• Linseed
• Lima beans
• Mustard
• Kohibari
• Broccoli
• Kale
• Cabbage

Avoid Stimulants

• Cigarettes and Tobacco 
• Alcohol
• Cola
• Coffee

These stimulants affects the function of your thyroid.

Also, you need to reduce your stress level. Some studies have shown that stress can be a contributing factor for the development of hypothyroidism. If you ask me, the best stress reliever is exercise. So if you follow the medication, diet and exercise plans that were outlined by your physician then you may help reduce hypothyroidism weight gain.

Hypothyroidism treatments involve synthetic thyroid hormone therapy which is specifically used for the T4 form of thyroid hormone. Let me explain to you why it is used mainly for the T4 and not the T3 hormone, when in fact T3 is more active between the two.  Levothyroxine is the preferred therapy for majority of the patients because it is more stable, it has a long half-life and it should be taken only once a day. Not only that, synthetic T4 it easily converted to T3 in the blood. The conversion process is of course properly regulated by the bodily tissues. Levothyroxine doesn’t have any harmful side effects. Another advantage is, it is inexpensive.

Is there also a synthetic T3? Yes, there is. The name of the drug is liothyronine sodium (Cytomel). It is also a synthetic hormone like your levothyroxine. The disadvantages of this hormone therapy is the following: it is short-acting and it needs to be taken multiple times in a day. In short, the synthetic T4 is more convenient for the patients to take than the synthetic T3.

Patients typically show improvement after a week or two of treatment. You will notice that symptoms slowly disappear: your weight should reverse, there will be a decrease of cholesterol level and you will become more active. In short, you slowly go back to performing activities at the optimum level. After a year of getting hypothyroidism treatments and as your symptoms improve, your doctor may change your hormone dosage. It is determined by the checking your TSH level.

It is of utmost importance that you NEVER change medication brands without informing your doctor first. This is to make sure that you are receiving that right dosage and to prevent any adverse reaction that could be lethal. The hormone replacement should be taken at least 30 minutes before breakfast. And NEVER skip doses or abruptly stop taking the medication just because you feel better. Remember that hormone therapy for the treatment for hypothyroidism is LIFE-LONG. Therefore, when you stop taking the medication, hypothyroidism symptoms will reappear and you don’t want that. Avoid antacids and medications that contain iodine because they inhibit absorption of the drug.

Adults who receives hypothyroidism treatments usually require 1.6 microgram per kilogram per day or 100 to 150 micrograms per day. Children, on the other hand, requires large doses. People who have pre-existing or who may have heart disease  will start with less than or 25 micrograms of the medication. Replacement hormone therapy could aggravate the heart condition or may result in uncovering a heart problem. Patients usually report symptoms of chest pain or a heart attack it there is a an underlying heart condition.