Hyperthyroidism…when Thyroid Secrets Too Much
Hyperthyroidism is a condition in which there is overproduction of thyroid hormone by the thyroid gland, causing the levels of thyroid hormone in the blood to be too high. People who have it are often said to have an "overactive thyroid". Unlike the Hypothyroidism the abnormally high level of thyroid hormone speeds up the body's metabolism. The energy at the cellular level is wasted unnecessarily.
What Are The Symptoms?
When the thyroid hormone stimulates cells, it causes major body functions to "go" a bit faster. Initially the patients experience palpitations since the heart rate increases. They also experience, breathlessness, trembling of hands and more sweating. They are unable to bear the hot climate. The use of muscle more efficiently makes the use of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, which ultimately leads to emaciation. They become easily tired.
The muscle tone of the digestive system increases which inhibits irritability and increased bowel movements. So intolerable appetite results with the overall metabolism and gastric disturbances would prevail
Mental alertness and thinking skills are sharpened, which makes the victims very irritable, nervous and unable to concentrate anything and suffers from loss of sleep. Women are predisposed to irregularity in periods. Many of these symptoms are similar to the changes experienced by women around the time of menopause and pregnancy, hence making a clear diagnosis is very important. Cardiac complaints like chest pain; failures are expected in advanced cases because the heart muscles exert great pressure while pumping.
The eyes become exophthalmic, protrudes due to the swelling of the tissues behind them to give an appearance of a starring and bug - eye in long running cases, Grave Disease, which is produced normally with a nodular, non-cancerous enlargement of thyroid gland.
Some Common Features Of Hyperthyroidism
- Irritability
- Nervousness
- Sleep disturbances
- Weight loss
- Muscle weakness
- Tremors
- Palpitation
- Excessive perspiration
- Irregular periods
- Heat intolerance
- Hair becoming thin and brittle
- Bulging of eyes– Exophthalmia
What Causes Hyperthyroidism?
Grave’s Disease is the most common cause for hyperthyroidism. This disease is an auto immune disease in which the body's immune system attacks its own cells. Graves' disease is more frequent in women than in men.
Sometimes appearance of Nodules in the thyroid could disturb and elevate the thyroid secretions. The thyroid is usually enlarged and painless. When the disease progresses, distinct nodules (lumps) may be felt with the fingertips
Auto immunity, infections and over medication are the other reasons, often provoked by stress and smoke in many cases.
Arthritis, High blood pressure and Diabetes mellitus develop as a parallel disease gradually monitoring with the weight and make them to say, “I take too little food, but I gain lot of weight”. Additional strain to the heart and blood vessels are also exerted by weight gain; make vessels atherosclerotic and heart with ventricular enlargement. The risk factors for heart attack and stroke are observed in hypothyroid individuals as the Bad cholesterol developers “LDL” Hypothyroidism patients has low heart and pulse rate.
Heredity
Heredity plays an important influential role. If relatives have an autoimmune disease this significantly increases the odds of a person developing hypothyroidism. But anyone can suffer. Age is also an influential factor. The elderly are more susceptible.
Auto Immune Reaction
It is the most common cause of hypothyroidism. The immune system is a complex network that normally defends the body against "invading" organisms and other foreign substances. When the immune system detects a foreign substance in the body, it responds to this by producing antibodies against the invaders.
These antibodies will recognize and attack this foreign substance when they next encounter. Some times the immune system mistakenly directs an immune "attack" against its own healthy cells. Antibodies are manufactured and misdirected against the thyroid gland. This reaction is medically termed as Hashimoto's Thyroiditis
Indurations
Sometimes the thyroid gland gets indurated with sequel to other diseases like respiratory infections. But it is mild and only temporary hypothyroidism. When swelling in the neck with pain is noticed with other disease mostly “Sub acute thyroiditis” would be the diagnosis This disorder is very common after pregnancy, particularly in the months after a baby is born, because the postpartum thyroiditis can begin around the time.
Swellings
The medical term “Goiter” usually with Iodine deficiency, but the Auto immune thyroiditis, sub acute thyroiditis and postpartum thyroiditis may cause diffuse swelling. Sometimes a nodule in the thyroid gland could develop and affect the function of thyroid in some occasions. They usually appear irregular in shape.
Drugs
Some drugs given for nonthyroid conditions have the side effect of inhibiting production of thyroid hormone within the thyroid gland. If these drugs are taken in large dosages or for a long time, hypothyroidism may result. Radiation also found as a cause for disturbance in the thyroid functioning.
Malfunctioning
Pituitary malfunctions which act as a secondary culprit and in some individuals hypothyroidism can also develop due to a problem in other parts of the thyroid hormone production line, the brain or pituitary gland. These cases of hypothyroidism, which do not originate in the thyroid gland, almost all of these cases are due to failure of the pituitary gland to produce or release the hormone TSH, which is responsible for stimulating the production of thyroid hormone in the thyroid gland.
How To Find?
Diagnosis of hypothyroidism is based on a person's medical history, physical examination, and blood tests. The signs and symptoms will be a clue to the doctor to evaluate very easily. A swelling with rubbery consistency would give a clue on Auto immune thyroiditis and painful during examination could be sun acute thyroiditis. However thyroid scan studies would give clear picture to differentiate the nodules.
A blood test for the thyroid hormones would make the correct diagnosis. Abnormally low levels of T4 and T3 indicate hypothyroidism is present. The TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) level is especially important in determining whether the condition is due to a problem in the thyroid gland or in the part of the brain that stimulates thyroid function. If the TSH level in the blood is high, the abnormality is within the thyroid gland.
A high TSH level suggests that the thyroid gland is not responding properly to the stimulating effect of the TSH on the thyroid gland. If the TSH level in the blood is low, the abnormality is within the brain or pituitary gland in the brain. It suggests that the pituitary is not releasing adequate amounts of TSH to stimulate the thyroid gland, despite levels of thyroid hormone low enough that it should do so.
Other blood tests include an antibody test, which is a blood test to detect antithyroid antibodies. High levels of these antibodies suggest that a person may have Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
How To Treat?
Hormone Replacement therapy is the most common treatment adopted by the patients today. The synthetic preparations of Thyroid secretions are replaced to compensate the underactive thyroid gland for the life medication. Despite of the “Tit for Tat” treatment, Homoeopathic approach is different from other systems, in which the focus is on the causative factor. The symptoms are expressed along with the deficient thyroid gland functioning, as a whole the collective symptoms will give correct picture of the disease with its causative factor.
Clinically homoeopathic remedies had given good result in an auto immune dysfunction, genetic mutations, indurations and even with swellings responded. There are plenty of clinical evidences to support its cure Homoeopathic Medicines acts on the body, acts on our immune system to fight with the disease on its own. The remedies are not in material dose. Simply diluted minute doses will stimulate our immune system and thus avoiding the side effects and recovery also possible permanently
About the Author
Christine
As a women who has hypothyroidism, I would like to share all of my knowledge to all of you about hypothyroidism and how can you make change of your life.
