Thyroid Disorders

The thyroid is a small butterfly-shaped gland inside the neck, located in front of the trachea (windpipe) and below the larynx (voicebox). It produces two thyroid hormones - tri-iodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) - that travel though the blood to all tissues of the body.

Thyroid hormones regulate how the body breaks down food and either uses that energy immediately or stores it for the future. In other words, our thyroid hormones regulate our body's metabolism.

Another gland, called the pituitary gland, actually controls how well the thyroid works. The pituitary gland is located at the base of the brain and produces thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). The bloodstream carries TSH to the thyroid gland, where it tells the thyroid to produce more thyroid hormones, as needed.

Thyroid hormones influence virtually every organ system in the body. They tell organs how fast or slow they should work. Thyroid hormones also regulate the consumption of oxygen and the production of heat.

 

Symptoms

  • Swelling in the Neck
  • Weight Gain or Loss
  • Changes in Heart Rate
  • Changes in Energy or Mood
  • Hair Loss
  • Feeling Too Cold or Hot

 

What is the treatment for Thyroid Disease?

Depending on the specifics of the disease being treated, medications, surgery or radioactive therapy may be used as treatment modalities.

Medications

Medications may be used to treat hyperthyroidism to reduce the production of thyroid hormone, its release from the gland and/or to treat the signs and symptoms that occur in hyperthyroidism such as a rapid heart beat. In hypothyroidism, synthetic thyroid hormone is used to replace the inadequacy of thyroid hormone. Occasionally, in the case of a large goiter, Thyroid hormone replacement may be given in small doses in an attempt to shrink the gland size. It should be mentioned that there are "natural" thyroid compounds available on the market. These vary in their effects and in their dosing and are beyond the scope of this discussion. Steroids and other anti-inflammatory medications, such as NSAIDs, may also be used to reduce inflammation of inflamed thyroid glands.

Surgery

Surgery is the treatment of choice when the thyroid gland is causing compressing the airway resulting in difficulty in breathing or swallowing. In addition, surgery can performed to remove a nodule that is overactive, remove a goiter that is disfiguring, or when cancer is a possibility. Depending on the reason for the surgery, part of a lobe, a whole lobe or the whole thyroid (perhaps with surrounding tissue) may be removed. When the entire thyroid gland is removed, medical replacement with synthetic thyroid replacement is required

Radioactive ablation

When hyperthyroidism is inadequately responding to medications, radioactive ablation may be tried. In contrast to the scans described above, the iodine in this situation is labeled with a tracer that destroys the thyroid tissue. Ablation is used in cases of hyperthyroidism that do not respond to medications, particularly Graves' disease. This form of therapy is also used along with surgery to treat certain forms of thyroid cancer.