Is your doctor prescribed you a thyroid function test or thyroid screening?
Worried about what the thyroid is? Stop scratching your heads! The following article will give helpful insights into thyroid disease, symptoms, causes, and treatment methods.
The thyroid gland is a little gland situated in the front of the neck and encircled by the windpipe (trachea). Like a butterfly, it has two broad wings that wrap around the side of your throat and is smaller in the center. One gland is the thyroid. Your body comprises glands that produce and release chemicals that enable various bodily functions. Hormones produced by your thyroid assist regulate several important bodily processes.
Your whole body may be affected if your thyroid is not functioning properly. A disease called hyperthyroidism can arise if your body produces excessive amounts of thyroid hormone. Hypothyroidism occurs when the thyroid gland produces insufficient amounts of thyroid hormone. Because both ailments are significant, your healthcare provider must treat them.
What is Thyroid disease?
The phrase “thyroid disease” refers to a group of medical conditions that prevent your thyroid from producing the appropriate number of hormones. Usually, your thyroid produces the hormones necessary to maintain healthy bodily functions. Your body burns through energy too quickly when the thyroid produces too much thyroid hormone. The term for this is hyperthyroidism. Using energy too quickly can create more negative effects than fatigue, including a quicker heartbeat, unintentional weight loss, and even anxiety. The converse is that your thyroid may produce too little thyroid hormone. The term for this is hypothyroidism. You may experience fatigue, weight gain, and even physical limitations if your body produces too little thyroid hormone.
Symptoms of Thyroid
It is simple to mistake an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) for another disorder because many of its symptoms are similar to those of other diseases. Since symptoms often come on gradually, you may go years before you realize you have a health issue.
If you find any of these symptoms, then you should get diagnosed with a thyroid function test or thyroid screening.
Common symptoms include:
- tiredness
- constipation
- depression
- muscle cramps
- being sensitive to cold
- weight gain
- dry and scaly skin
- brittle hair and nails
- loss of libido (sex drive)
- slow movements and thoughts
- muscle aches and weakness
- pain, numbness, and a tingling sensation in the hand and fingers (carpal tunnel syndrome)
- irregular periods or heavy periods
Causes of Thyroid
Although an excess of thyroid hormones is the cause of all forms of hyperthyroidism, there are other ways the ailment might manifest itself:
- Graves’ disease: Overproduction of thyroid hormone.
- Subacute thyroiditis: Thyroid inflammation that results in the “leakage” of extra hormones, causing transient hyperthyroidism that typically lasts a few weeks but may last for months.
- Dysfunction of the pituitary gland or malignant thyroid gland growths: Although uncommon, these factors can also lead to hyperthyroidism.
- Toxic adenomas: Some goiters may contain a number of these nodules. These nodules form in the thyroid gland and leak thyroid hormones, disturbing the body’s chemical balance.
Treatment for Thyroid
The typical course of treatment for hypothyroidism is daily administration of the synthetic thyroid hormone levothyroxine (Levo-T, Synthroid, others). This oral medication treats hypothyroidism by restoring adequate hormone levels and reverses its signs and symptoms.
Soon after beginning treatment, you’ll probably start to feel better. The medication may be able to prevent any weight gain while gradually bringing down the condition’s elevated cholesterol levels. Levothyroxine therapy is likely to be a lifetime, although your doctor will probably check your TSH level once a year because the dosage you require may change.
Now that you have understood the thyroid symptoms, causes, and treatment, it’s time to get an appointment at the best diagnostic services in Hyderabad. We would love to suggest you Tesla Diagnostics, one of the leading diagnostic centers in Hyderabad. Come! Book an appointment and get different thyroid function tests done at considerable prices.