Friday, January 16, 2009

Understanding Overactive Thyroid



An overactive thyroid can be a problem that may be hard to detect at first because the symptoms are commonly found in many problems. An overactive thyroid means that your thyroid is producing too much of its hormone, which is not a good thing. It can cause many symptoms that are not good for your health.

Some of the symptoms of an overactive thyroid would be shortness of breath, shaking, and frequent bowel movements. You will notice a major different in shortness in breath after you exercise. These symptoms can be confused with others because they are quite common.

Having trouble sleeping at night could be another sign of an overactive thyroid. You can perhaps even see some swelling in the neck area, and this may be a warning sign. If you are having some of these symptoms, you will want to get into your doctor’s office to have it checked out.

Your doctor will ask you some questions about what is going on to see if you are having thyroid problems. The first kinds of tests that they most commonly run is some simple blood work to check the levels of your thyroid hormones. These tests will be able to tell if you have an underactive or overactive thyroid.

There are a couple of other tests that your doctor may want to do to check your thyroid. The first is a thyroid scan. This is an ultrasound to look at your thyroid and measure it. They may even choose to do an iodine test where iodine is injected in your blood which will test your thyroid.

Once your doctor has run tests for your thyroid and discovered that it is in fact an overactive thyroid, they will want to start treatment. They will most likely put you on beta blockers, to help control the amount of hormone your thyroid produces. You do not want to take too much as it could cause an underactive thyroid. Finding the correct dosage could take time.

You will be placed on beta blockers typically for six to eighteen months to see if that corrects the problem. Your doctor will run periodic tests to monitor the hormone level to see if anything needs to be adjusted. Having an overactive thyroid is a problem that many have to deal with, but it can be taken care of with proper medication as well as proper monitoring.

Look for the warning signs and symptoms of an overactive thyroid and consult your doctor right away if you notice the symptoms. A diagnosis is simple, as well as treatment to solve the problem.


Photo: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

1 comment:

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