Hyperthyroidism: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment & Medication
Hyperthyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid
gland produces too many hormones. There are different causes, including
autoimmune disease, inflammation of the thyroid gland from Graves' disease, or
another cause, a tumor on your pituitary gland or adrenal glands that releases
more thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). Hyperthyroidism can also be caused by
some cancers and radiation therapy for cancer.
The symptoms of hyperthyroidism include anxiety and
irritability; difficulty sleeping; palpitations; diarrhea or constipation; heat
intolerance or heat sensitivity; weight loss with increased appetite and more
frequent bowel movements. Other symptoms may include brittle hair, dry skin,
elevated blood pressure, fast heart rate.
What Causes Hyperthyroidism?
The most common cause of hyperthyroidism is too much
thyroid hormone in your system because you're making too much thyroid hormone
(hyperfunctioning gland) or because your pituitary gland (a gland at the base
of your brain) over-produces thyrotropin (TSH), which causes more thyroid
hormone to be made in your body (hyperfunctioning glands).
What are the Symptoms of Hyperthyroidism?
Hyperthyroidism is a disorder of the thyroid or gland
of the neck that produces hormones. One of the symptoms is an abnormally fast
heart rate. Other symptoms can include weight loss, excessive sweating, tremors
in your hands and elsewhere, restlessness, frequent bowel movements, and muscle
weakness.
The most common symptom of hyperthyroidism is weight
loss, which affects about 80 percent of people with the condition. Other
symptoms include:
·
nervousness and restlessness
·
frequent bowel movements (more than three per
day) and sweating
·
anxiety and irritability (especially early in
the morning)
Who is at Risk for Hyperthyroidism?
Hypothyroidism is a condition where the thyroid gland
doesn't release enough hormones, while hyperthyroidism is when your thyroid
gland releases too many hormones.
According to WebMD, people with a family history of
autoimmune disease are at a higher risk for developing hyperthyroidism, while
people who have been diagnosed with Graves' disease or Hashimoto's thyroiditis
are at a higher risk for hypothyroidism. Hyperthyroidism tends to run in
families and can also be caused by radiation exposure from nuclear weapons
testing in the 1950s.
What impacts someone with Hyperthyroidism physically and emotionally?
For an individual who is suffering from
hyperthyroidism, the thyroid gland is overactive and produces too much
thyroxine. This can lead to several physical side-effects including weight
loss, increased appetite, tremors (shaking) in hands/fingers/joints,
difficulties with concentration and insomnia (trouble sleeping), sweating
(excessive), fatigue (feeling tired all the time), heart palpitations or
irregular heartbeat, visual disturbances such as seeing rainbows around lights
at night time and swelling around the neck.
The emotional impacts on a person with hyperthyroidism
may vary from no change to milder negative moods due to difficulty
concentrating or feeling more anxious.
Is treatment for Hyperthyroidism always necessary in pregnancy?
Treatment for hyperthyroidism in pregnancy is not
always necessary. The risks of untreated hyperthyroidism may include an
increased risk for miscarriage or low birth weight, preterm labor, or even
heart failure.
The treatment for hyperthyroidism during pregnancy is
usually radioactive iodine therapy, which involves taking a pill that contains
radioactive iodine.
The radioactive iodine destroys the thyroid gland and
reduces the amount of thyroxine produced in the body. In the US, radioactive
iodine therapy has been used since the 1950s to treat Graves' disease and
Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
What is the preferred treatment for Hyperthyroidism during pregnancy?
The goal of hyperthyroidism treatment is to control or
normalize thyroid hormone levels, but obtaining euthyroidism may not be the
ideal goal for every patient. In a retrospective study of 486 euthyroid
pregnant women and 389 euthyroid nonpregnant women, higher FT4 values were
associated with a lower frequency of miscarriages and with a longer gestation
in pregnancy. A randomized, prospective trial evaluated the effect of treatment
with antithyroid drugs on pregnancy outcomes in 41 women who had serum TSH
levels higher than 10 mU/L during pregnancy.