Thursday, January 15, 2009

Understanding thyroid disease

Many people are affected by a thyroid disease. The symptoms of a thyroid problem are quite common symptoms so they can easily be confused with other issues. If you are experiencing any of these problems, you should consult your doctor so that they may run some tests to see if in fact you do have a thyroid disease.

The thyroid produces a hormone that will regulate your body’s metabolism. One of the biggest warning signs of a thyroid disease is a lack of energy. You will just feel run down, or even some of the smallest tasks will seem difficult. If you are experiencing any lack of energy that cannot be because of something else, you may have a thyroid problem.

Other symptoms that you may notice would be constipation and carpal tunnel. Carpal tunnel is a pain in your wrists or even numbness in your hands. These are another two of the more common symptoms that you will see early one. As with all the symptoms of a thyroid problem, these are common symptoms presented with many other illnesses.

Some of the later symptoms of a thyroid disease would be a poor appetite, weight gain, dry skin, and even hair loss. It is important that you discuss with your doctor some of the things that you are experiencing so that they can properly diagnose you and help you get treatment.

There are a few different tests that your doctor can do to see if you in fact do have a thyroid disease. Most common would be to do a simple blood test, which would stimulate your thyroid. If there is an excessive amount of hormone release, it could be a sign of a thyroid disease.

Your doctor may also want to run additional tests such as a thyroid scan or even an ultrasound. A thyroid scan takes a small amount of radioactive iodine and it is injected into the blood. Then, an x-ray image will be taken to see if there is an increased uptake of the material. This may be a sign of hypothyroidism.

It is important to understand the symptoms and causes of a thyroid disease so that you will be able to see the warning signs. Some thyroid diseases can be taken care of with medicine, while others may lead to cancer and require surgery. Detecting it early can help you get it back on track.

1 comment:

  1. According to your post "fatigue is one symptom of thyroid problem". I absolutely agree with you. Hypothyroidism occurs with a considerably higher frequency and symptoms that typically include hair Loss, fatigue, dry skin, weight gain, constipation and cold intolerance. Unfortunately, for some patients, fatigue persists, even after treatment for the thyroid condition but this can be stopped with the help of thyroid supplements .

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