The thyroid is a condition when your thyroid gland gets overactive or underactive in the production of crucial hormones responsible for overall bodily functions.
One of them is Hyperthyroidism, or high thyroid (overactive thyroid), A condition where your thyroid gland produces more than sufficient amounts of thyroxine hormones inside the body.
As a result, it will excessively increase the metabolism of your body, causing unnecessary weight loss and irregular heartbeat.
Fortunately, there are various treatments available at the moment to treat high thyroid as doctors may recommend anti-thyroid medications or functional medicine treatments to reduce the release of thyroid hormones.
Symptoms
During the initial stages, you may not experience any issues, and people often ignore these minute symptoms since it can be hard for them to relate those issues with the thyroid.
Hyperthyroidism can also trigger mild symptoms that are associated with other diseases too. This can sometimes make it challenging for both the patient and the doctor to craft a strict thyroid treatment plan.
Here’s a list of symptoms that might be triggered by hyperthyroidism:
- Unwanted weight loss, even when there is no change in your daily calories intake.
- Irregular or rapid heartbeat. -Poundage on your heat.
- Improved hunger.
- Irritability, anxiety, and nervousness.
- Sensitive to hot temperature.
- Irregular menstrual patterns.
- Sweating
- Frequent bowel movements.
- Muscle weakness, fatigue.
- Skin thinning.
- Sleeplessness.
- Brittle, fine hair
Older people may or may not experience most of these symptoms unless they get mild or clearly visible such as heat intolerance, rapid heart rate, and getting tired even after regular activity.
Hyperthyroidism Causes
Some reasons can trigger hyperthyroidism, which causes your thyroid gland to release too much thyroxine in your body.
- Graves’ disease is a condition when your immune system begins to attack to the body itself. It causes your thyroid gland to produce more thyroxine.
- Hyperfunctioning of nodules can also improve the production of T4 or thyroxine and even might swallow the thyroid gland.
- You might also suffer from thyroiditis after pregnancy due to autoimmune disease or unknown conditions. However, the inflammation caused due to pregnancy can increase the production of thyroid hormone, which will further get exposed to the bloodstream. As a result, thyroiditis might cause pain in some patients, while some may not feel anything.
Prevention
Making some harsh and healthy changes in your diet is very important in order to prevent hyperthyroidism, which is the core purpose of eating more sodium and calcium. Not to mention, hyperthyroidism can also make your bones weak and thin, inviting more problems in the later stages of your life.
To prevent hyperthyroidism from amplifying, one should seek proper treatment from a doctor. Most of the time they’ll recommend anti-thyroid medication and other treatments to relieve your symptoms and bring the hormone production back to a normal pace.
It is always advised to take Calcium and vitamin D supplements recommended by your doctor to improve the strength of your body.
High Thyroid Treatment
Fortunately, Hyperthyroidism can be treated easily through various treatment methods. If you are suffering from high thyroid, the doctor might recommend some of the following treatments:
Medication
An overactive thyroid gland can only get back to normal when there is a hormone to reduce the production of thyroid hormones.
Doctors often recommend taking a thyroid treatment that includes anti-thyroid medications like methimazole (Tapazole) to resist the thyroid gland from releasing more hormones.
Radioactive Iodine
Radioactive iodine is another highly prescribed form of high thyroid treatment that destroys the overactive cells responsible for releasing excess hormones.
This might sometimes lead to common side effects such as sore throat, dry eyes, dry mouth, and a change in taste. It is strictly advised to take proper precautions as directed by the doctor to prevent radiation from spreading to other cells.
Surgery
Another thyroid treatment includes surgery of your thyroid gland in which all or a section will be surgically removed. Afterward, you have to take medication for thyroid hormone to keep a proper hormonal balance inside the body. This will prevent your body from underactive thyroid where the body doesn’t produce enough hormones.
Apart from this, you are also required to consume beta-blockers to manage sweating, high blood pressure, anxiety, and rapid pulse.
Functional Medicine
Functional medicine is useful in treating chronic thyroid illnesses, focusing on a patient-centered approach instead of a disease-focused approach.
Functional medicine doctors know the importance of a healthy body and are more respectful toward their patients, as this includes medical treatments coupled with an increased focus on emotional, lifestyle, dietary, and even socialization, that affects your disease and health.
Cautions
To be on the safe side, you should seek proper treatment and bring some changes in your lifestyle and eating habits.
People who suffer from hyperthyroidism usually have an unhealthy lifestyle and bad eating habits, which not only invites severe hyperthyroidism but also triggers other health complications. It is better to indulge in daily exercise and healthy eating to ensure better functioning of your thyroid gland.
Getting on a functional medicine plan for treating your thyroid would be optimal as it ensures a healthy life in the long run instead of suppressing the symptoms in the short run.
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