General Information about the Thyroid Gland

Thyroid Disorders

Additional Resources

Women's Wellness

Thyroid Disorders

• Hypothyroidism
• Hyperthyroidism
• Postpartum Thyroiditis
• Thyroid Cancer

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Hypothyroidism

• Know the Facts
• Know the Risk Factors
• Manage Your Risk Factors
• Work with Your Doctor

Know the Facts

• Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) is a disorder in which the thyroid makes too little of a thyroid hormone that your body needs to function properly.
• Hypothyroidism is the most common type of thyroid disorder.
• The most common cause of hypothyroidism, in the United States, is Hashimoto's disease.
• Hashimoto's Thyroiditis is a type of autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks and destroys the thyroid gland. (Normally, the body's immune system protects you from disease).
• When damage is done to the thyroid, it can become larger. This is called goiter.
• Not getting enough iodine in a person's diet can also cause hypothyroidism, but this is more common outside of the United States. In the U.S., many products such as salt and bread are supplemented with iodine, making iodine deficiency rare.
• If left untreated, hypothyroidism can interfere with ovulation and can cause an increased risk of miscarriage.

• Signs and Symptoms

  Signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid, include:
• Fatigue.
• Weight gain.
• Muscle weakness; muscle cramps.
• Mood swings; depression.
• Forgetfulness.
• Hoarse voice.
• Dry, coarse skin and hair.
• Trouble swallowing.
• Constipation.
• Not being able to stand the cold.
• Increased cholesterol.
• Heavy or irregular periods.
• Trouble getting pregnant.
• An enlarged thyroid (goiter).

Some patients with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis may have no symptoms.

Detection

A simple blood test for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) will tell if your body has thyroid hormone levels in the normal range.

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Know the Risk Factors

Factors that can increase the chance of getting hypothyroidism are:

• Being female.
• Being over 40 years of age.
• Having a close family member with thyroid disease.
• Having a family history of autoimmune diseases.
• Having recently delivered a baby.

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Manage Your Risk Factors

If you develop any of the symptoms of hypothyroidism, speak with your doctor about having a TSH test.

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Work with Your Doctor

Your doctor should discuss the normal range of TSH for you. If you have hypothyroidism, work with your doctor to maintain your TSH level within the normal range.

• Thyroid Hormone Replacement
• Hashimoto's Thyroiditis can usually be treated with thyroid hormone replacement. A small pill taken once a day should be able to regulate the thyroid hormone in the body to normal levels. This medication will, in most cases, need to be taken for the rest of the patient's life.
• When trying to determine the correct hormone dosage, you may have to return to your doctor several times for adjustments in medication.
• A yearly visit to your doctor will help keep your levels normal and help maintain normal health.
• If you note any changes or the return of symptoms, return to your doctor to see if you need to have your medication changed.

• Over-treatment of hypothyroidism can mimic hyperthyroidism.

  It is also important to know that too much thyroid replacement hormone can mimic the symptoms of hyperthyroidism. This is a condition that occurs from overproduction of thyroid hormones.

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Hyperthyroidism

• Know the Facts
• Know the Risk Factors
• Manage Your Risk Factors
• Work with Your Doctor

Know the Facts

• Hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid) is a disorder in which the thyroid makes too much of the thyroid hormone that your body needs to be healthy.
• Hyperthyroidism affects women more than men.
• In young women, Graves' disease is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism.
• Graves' disease is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system "tricks" the thyroid into making too much thyroid hormone.
• In patients with Graves' disease, the entire thyroid gland becomes enlarged and overactive.
• Graves' disease is also called diffuse toxic goiter.
• The incidence is about 5 in 10,000 people.
• Older women may get another form of hyperthyroidism called toxic nodular goiter.
• In toxic nodular goiter, overactive thyroid cells form a lump in the neck (called a thyroid nodule) that makes more thyroid hormone than the body needs.
• Some thyroid disorders initially cause overactive thyroid, but at a later point in time cause underactive thyroid, due to damage done to the thyroid gland.
• If left untreated, hyperthyroidism can lead to serious complications, including birth defects in pregnancy, increased risk of a miscarriage, and in extreme cases, death.
• Signs and Symptoms
  Signs and symptoms of hyperthyroidism or overactive thyroid include:
• Weight loss without dieting.
• Feeling irritable and nervous.
• Muscle weakness and tremors.
• Having menstrual periods that are lighter in flow and irregular.
• Troubled or disturbed sleep.
• Having an enlarged thyroid (goiter).
• Not being able to tolerate the heat.
• Increased perspiration.
• Palpitations or rapid heart beat.
• Frequent bowel movements.
• Fine or brittle hair.
• Problems seeing or eye irritations.
• Grave’s Disease is the only kind of hyperthyroidism that is associated with inflammation of the eyes, swelling of the tissue around the eyes, and protrusion, or bulging, of the eyes.
• Pretibial myxedema.
  Pretibial myxedema is a lumpy, reddish thickening of the skin in front of the shins. This skin condition is usually painless.

The symptoms of hyperthyroidism can occur gradually or very suddenly and are sometimes confused with other medical problems. Women can have Grave's Disease and have no obvious symptoms at all.

• Detection

  A simple blood test for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) will tell if your body has thyroid hormone levels in the normal range.

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Know the Risk Factors

Factors that can increase the chance of getting hyperthyroidism are:

• Being female.
• Being over 40 years of age.
• Having a close family member with thyroid disease.
• Having a family history of autoimmune diseases.

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Manage Your Risk Factors

If you develop any of the symptoms of hyperthyroidism, speak with your doctor about having a TSH test.

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Work with Your Doctor

There are many treatments for Graves' disease:

• Medications: There are some prescription medications that can lower the amount of thyroid hormones produced by the body, regulating them to normal levels.
• Surgery: Part or all of the thyroid gland will be removed. In most cases, people who have surgery for Graves' disease will develop an under-active thyroid (hypothyroidism), and will have to take thyroid replacement hormones for the rest of their lives.
• Radioactive iodine: The iodine damages thyroid cells to shrink the thyroid gland and reduce hormone levels. Like surgery, this condition usually leads to hypothyroidism, requiring medication for the rest of the patient's life.

  After your doctor treats you, you should return to your doctor at least annually to make sure that your thyroid levels are normal.

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Postpartum Thyroiditis

After giving birth, a woman's thyroid can swell and become larger or inflamed. This can cause changing levels of thyroid hormone in the body. Sometimes, high thyroid hormone levels can be followed by low levels of thyroid hormone. This condition usually goes away, in six months or less, with no permanent damage to the thyroid.

While common, thyroid disorders after pregnancy are often hard to detect since some of the symptoms, such as having trouble sleeping, fatigue, depression, or weight change are viewed as normal when a woman has a new baby. The symptoms can also be mild. Usually, only short-term treatment is required until the thyroid recovers normal function. Sometimes after pregnancy, a woman can get hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid), which persists and needs long-term treatment with medication.

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Thyroid Cancer

Know the Facts

Thyroid cancer is most often found as a nodule or lump in the thyroid gland. It is not a common type of cancer and most thyroid nodules are benign (not cancer). Other signs of thyroid cancer include swelling in the lymph nodes of the neck and trouble swallowing or breathing.

Know the Risk Factors

Although anyone can get thyroid cancer, people who as children had head or neck x-ray treatments for tonsillitis or other conditions (from about the 1920s to the 1960s) are more likely to get this cancer.

Work with Your Doctor

Thyroid cancer is treated with surgery, which removes the bulk of the cancer, sometimes followed by radioactive iodine therapy, which kills remaining cancer cells. Treatment for thyroid cancer may lead to hypothyroidism, requiring medication for the rest of the patient's life.

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