Checking your thyroid: symptoms and diseases associated with the
thyroid gland; how to check your thyroid gland? Also know about
Hyperthyroidism and Hypothyroidism.
The thyroid gland is a small gland that can be found in the front
portion of the neck that is responsible for producing hormones
responsible for the regulation of the rate at which each and every
cell in your body processes. Thyroid is usually quarter sized, but
many problems can lead to checking your thyroid. Some of the
disorders include hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, pregnancy, and
Graves ‘disease, thyroiditis and iodine deficiency.
Thyroid diseases can significantly have a great impact on a person's
health. If the thyroid is secreting lesser amounts of thyroid
hormone, the metabolism rate of the body slows down, leading to
listlessness and other problems; however, an over secretion of
thyroid hormone will result in a faster heart rating and feelings of
anxiety. Hence checking your thyroid on a regular time intervals is
recommended by many doctors to avoid any serious complications.
Symptoms and diseases associated with the thyroid gland
In case you experience any of the understated symptoms and/or
disease signs, it’s time that you go for checking your thyroid
diagnosis.
Graves' disease
This disorder is one of the leading causes of enlarged thyroid
gland. In Grave's disease, being an autoimmune system disorder,
there is production of antibodies by the immune system that causes
the production of large quantities of hormones by the thyroid gland.
This over production, also called as hyperthyroidism, results in
non-painful swelling in the thyroid gland.
Hashimoto's disease
In this disease, your own immune system destroys the thyroid gland.
The swollen and enlarged thyroid occurs since it is more damaged and
has lost the ability to produce thyroid hormones. In case you
experience any such symptoms, checking your thyroid should be your
next immediate step!
Thyroiditis
This disorder is caused at times when you experience inflammation in
the thyroid gland. Some kinds of thyroiditis are highly painful,
especially during swallowing down or putting pressure on the gland.
Such a condition of inflammation can also occur due to
hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. In such conditions, checking your
thyroid becomes mandatory.
Thyroid Nodules
These are very small growths that develop within the thyroid gland.
These nodular growths can feel like hard lumps near the throat. Most
of the thyroid nodules are only benign over-growths in the thyroid
tissue, although some nodules can also be cancerous. A biopsy for
checking your thyroid is the best and the only option that can
determine if the lump is cancerous.
How to check your thyroid?
Not only people suffering from thyroid related problems but also
those who are healthy and normal should embark on the mission of
checking your thyroid so as to keep any sort of intricacies and
problems at bay.
Lab Testing: TSH, T3, T4
Lab testing, along with the symptom testing stated above, can prove
to be a very accurate method to determine where in your thyroid
chain you are experiencing problems.
The first step in checking your thyroid is to diagnose your TSH,
which is the thyroid stimulating hormone of your system. This is a
precautionary start to figure out if your thyroid is suffering from
over or under functioning issues. If the TSH levels in checking your
thyroid is high, there are chances that your thyroid is not properly
functioning. This is a symptom of hypothyroidism. However, if the
TSH test shows low, then your thyroid is overactive. This is a
symptom of hyperthyroidism.
One of the greatest challenges most of the people experience with
identifying the thyroid problems is that the TSH results they get
seem normal, but they still experience thyroid symptoms. Once you
receive the TSH results (high, normal or low) after going through
checking your thyroid and you are suspecting of a thyroid problem
still, you can go ahead with exploring your T4 and T3 tests (total,
reverse and free). These are the chemicals produced by your body
when it is “talking” to the thyroid gland. These are individual
tests that can be taken to identify these levels that can help
detect the thyroid problems you are facing.
Treatments or preventive measures that can be adopted
If you spot or experience any of the above stated symptoms or an
unlikely lump in your throat, it’s probably time to go checking your
thyroid and consult your doctor so that you can determine the cause
of the enlarged thyroid.
Some disorders, causing hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, can be
efficiently treated with oral medicines. Hashimoto's Disease, for
instance, is usually treated by thyroid replacement therapy, while
the treatment of Grave's Disease is done with anti-thyroid medicines
in combination with beta drug blockers. These drugs and herbal
therapies such as Endosterol reduce the goiter size as well as
associated symptoms.
However, many times more invasive type of treatment is needed on the
presence of a thyroid problem. Thyroid cancer needs to be treated by
surgery called as thyroidectomy, which involves the removal of the
entire gland. For those suffering from thyroid nodules or
hyperthyroidism radioactive treatment of iodine is a suggested
solution. Unless a person is suffering from thyroid cancer, doctors
generally try not to remove the thyroid by surgical procedures.
