How do you know if your thyroid is making you sick?

Living with some kind of thyroid nodules as an individual can cause you serious problems and make you have issues with your thyroid gland. The small shaped organ plays vital role in regulating several bodily functions through hormone production.

Thyroid hormones tend to influence metabolism, energy levels, heart rate, and overall well-being. When the thyroid is not functioning properly, it can lead to a range of health issues.

When your thyroid starts acting up, you may also begin to experience either an overactive thyroid called hyperthyroidism or an underactive thyroid called hypothyroidism. These two conditions come with different symptoms that will start making you sick.

In this article, you’ll be learning more on the signs and symptoms of these two thyroid conditions that will give you an understanding of if your thyroid is making you sick, so you can take adequate steps on getting a medical care.

How do you know if your thyroid is making you sick?

Hypothyroidism condition slows down your metabolism and typically occurs when the thyroid gland produces insufficient amounts of thyroid hormones.

Hyperthyroidism condition speeds up your metabolism and typically occurs when the thyroid gland produces excessive amounts of thyroid hormones.

More so, nodules which are lumps that develop within the thyroid gland can also cause symptoms or be a sign of thyroid cancer if they’re not benign.

From these three conditions, you’ll know if your thyroid is making you sick when you’re experiencing the following signs and symptoms:

• Mood Changes: Depression is strongly linked to hypothyroidism and anxiety is linked to hyperthyroidism. This could be a sign that your thyroid is already troubling you.
• Constant fatigue and weakness coupled with unexplainable weight loss are also associated with hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism respectively.
• Pregnancy Problems: Untreated thyroid condition maybe one of the reasons for your complications during pregnancy. There are also possibilities of having a miscarriage or stillbirth.
• Foggy Brain: When hypothyroidism slows down the actions of hormones that sends actions to the brain for it work efficiently, you may experience a “brain fog” and begin to have issues with thinking properly, remembering things and finding it hard to focus.
• Difficulty in Swallowing: Condition due to large nodules can alter your esophagus and make you experience difficulties when swallowing.
• Hair Loss: This occurs when you have a severe thyroid condition that spans over a long period of time. You may start seeing your scalp more or seeing changes in the overall thickness of your hair.
• Hoarseness or Voice Changes: Condition due to nodules can affect vocal cords and results to loss of voice quality.
• Breathing Problems: Though very rare, condition due to nodules can compress the windpipe and cause breathing difficulties.
• Low Sex Drive: When metabolism slows down in your body it affects all organs include those that secrete sex hormones.
• Blurry Vision: At times, thyroid condition can make the muscles that control your eyes get bigger and may leads to double or blurry vision.

Read also:

1. TIRADS 5 Thyroid Nodules
2. Tirads 4
3. TIRADS 3
4. TIRADS 2
5. TIRADS 1

Conclusion

Recognizing the signs and symptoms of thyroid conditions associated with hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, and thyroid nodules, is essential for early or timely intervention and treatment.

Reference

1. Allen DB, Dietrich KA, Zimmerman JJ. Thyroid hormone metabolism and level of illness severity in pediatric cardiac surgery patients. J Pediatr. 1989;114:59–62. [PubMed]
2. Baker BA, Gharib HG, Markowitz H. Correlation of thyroid antibodies and cytologic features in suspected autoimmune thyroid disease. Am J Med. 1983;74:941–44. [PubMed]
3. Baker JR, Saunders NB, Wartofsky L, Tseng YL, Burman KD. Seronegative Hashimoto Thyroiditis with thyroid autoantibody production. Ann Int Med. 1988;108:26–30. [PubMed]
4. Bober SA, McGill AS, Tunbridge WMG. Thyroid function in hyperemesis gravidarum. Acta Endocrinol. 1986;111:404–410. [PubMed]
5. Borst GC, Osburne RC, O’Brian JT, Georges LP, Burman KD. Fasting decreases thyrotropin responsiveness to thyrotropin-releasing hormone: a potential cause of misinterpretation of thyroid function tests in the critically ill. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1983;57:380–383. [PubMed]
6. Belfiore A, LaRosa GL, Padova G, Sava L, Ippolito O, Vigneri R. The frequency of cold thyroid nodules and thyroid malignancies in patients from an iodine-deficient area. Cancer. 1987;60:3096–3102. [PubMed]
7. Brent GA, Hershman JM, Braunstein GD. Patients with severe nonthyroidal illness and serum thyrotropin concentrations in the hypothyroid range. Am J Med. 1986;81:463–466. [PubMed]
8. Bruun T, Kristoffersen K. Thyroid function during pregnancy with special reference to hydatidiform mole and hyperemesis. Acta Endocrinol. 1978;88:383–389. [PubMed]
9. Caradoc-Davies TH, Loan P, Campbell AJ. Why are the sensitive TSH assay and TRH stimulation test frequently low in very old euthyroid subjects. NZ Med J. 1988;101:662–663. [PubMed]
10. Ceccarelli C, Pacini F, Lippi F, Elisei R, Arganini M, Miccoli P, Pinchera A. Thyroid cancer in children and adolescents. Surgery. 1988;104:1143–1148. [PubMed]
11. Codaccioni JL, Orgiazzi J, Blanc P, Pugeat M, Roulier R, Carayon P. Lasting remissions in patients treated for Graves’ hyperthyroidism with propranolol alone: a pattern of spontaneous evolution of the disease. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1988;76:656–662. [PubMed]
12. Cohen JH, Ingbar SH, Braverman LE. Thyrotoxicosis due to ingestion of excess thyroid hormone. Endocrine Rev. 1989;10:113–124. [PubMed]
13. David LE, Lucas MJ, Hankins GDV, Roark ML, Cunningham FG. Thyrotoxicosis complicating pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1989;160:63–70. [PubMed]
14. Degroot LJ, Larsen PR, Refetoff S, StanburyJB. The thyroid and its diseases. New York: Wiley, 1984.
15. Ferreiro JE, Arguelles DJ, Rams H. Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis. Am J Med. 1986;80:146–150. [PubMed]
16. Fish LH, Mariash CN. Hyperprolactinemia, Infertility, and hypothyroidism. Arch Intern Med. 1988;148:709–711. [PubMed]
17. Frishman WH. Circulatory and metabolic aspect of beta-adrenergic blockade. Am Heart J. 1988;116:1393–1404. [PubMed]
18. Gambert SR. Atypical presentation of thyroid disease in the elderly. Geriatrics. 1985;40:63–69. [PubMed]
19. Griffin JE. Southwestern internal medicine conference: the dilemma of abnormal thyroid function tests—is thyroid disease present or not? Am J Med Sci. 1985;289:76–88. [PubMed]
20. Hamburger JI. The various presentations of thyroiditis. Ann Int Med. 1986;103:579–589. [PubMed]
21. Hamburger JI. The autonomously functioning thyroid nodule: Goetsch’s disease. Endocrine Rev. 1987;8:439–447. ,1987. [PubMed]
22. Hannequin P, Liehn JC, Maes B, Delisle MJ. Multivariate analysis in solitary cold thyroid nodules for the diagnosis of malignancy. Eur J Cancer Clin Oncol. 1988;24:881–888. [PubMed]
23. Hay ID, Klee GO. Thyroid dysfunction. Endocrinol Metab Clin N Am. 1988;17:473–508. [PubMed]
24. Hsu C, Boey J. Diagnostic pitfalls in the fine needle aspiration of thyroid nodules: a study of 555 cases in Chinese patients. Acta Cytologica. 1987;31:699–704. [PubMed]
25. Ingbar SH, Braverman LE. The thyroid: a fundamental and clinical text. Philadelphia: JB Lippincott Company, 1986.
26. Jacobson DH, Gorman CA. Endocrine ophthalmopathy: current ideas concerning etiology, pathogenesis, and treatment. Endocrine Rev. 1984;5:200–220. [PubMed]
27. Juras N, Banovac K, Sekso M. Increased serum reverse triiodothyroine in patients with hyperemesis gravidarum. Acta Endocrinol. 1983;102:284–287. [PubMed]
28. Khafagi F, Wright G, Castles H, Perry-Keene D, Mortimer R. Screening for thyroid malignancy: the role of fine-needle biopsy. Med J Australia. 1988;149:302–307. [PubMed]
29. Khir ASM. Suspected thyrotoxicosis. Br Med J. 1985;290:916–21. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
30. Lambert TJR, Davidson R, McLellan GH. Euthyroid hyperthyroxinaemia in acute psychiatric admissions. Aust N Zeal J Psych. 1987;21:608–614. [PubMed]
31. Lang W, Borrusch H, Bauer L. Occult carcinomas of the thyroid: evaluation of 1,020 sequential autopsies. Am J Clin Path. 1988;90:72–76. [PubMed]
32. Leisner B. Ultrasound evaluation of thyroid diseases. Hormone Res. 1987;26:33–41. [PubMed]
33. Lever EG, Medeiros-Neto GA, DeGroot LJ. Inherited disorders of thyroid metabolism. Endocrine Rev. 1983;4:213–239. [PubMed]