According to Dept. of Health, one out of eight women will develop thyroid disorder
One out of every eight American women will develop a thyroid disorder, according to the National Women’s Health Information Center of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In addition, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists just released new guidelines for diagnosing these disorders, resulting in at least twice as many people who may currently have thyroid disease.
The thyroid gland may be small, but it’s mighty. According to one endocrinologist at the Mayo Medical School in Jacksonville, if your thyroid doesn’t work properly, then neither do you.
Its hormone – Levothyroxine – affects every organ, every tissue and every cell in the body. A malfunctioning thyroid causes disturbances in body weight, muscle strength, skin health, cholesterol levels, memory, menstrual cycles, heart rate and energy levels.
The most common thyroid disorder is hypothyroidism, when the thyroid is not producing enough of its hormone. In many cases, it’s due to Hashimoto’s disease.
Hashimoto’s is another of the autoimmune disorders that affects women more often than men -by 10 to one. With Hashimoto’s, the body thinks the thyroid is a foreign substance that needs to be destroyed. As damage is done to the thyroid, it becomes enlarged forming a goiter.
Sometimes this swelling is found by the patient who may feel fullness or a vague discomfort in the neck area, but more often it’s found by a physician who’s seeing the patient for another complaint.
A few patients may have no symptoms other than the swelling. More common complaints are fatigue, sensitivity to cold, unexplained weight gain, muscle weakness or cramps, a thickening of the skin, dry or brittle hair (and in some cases, thinning or loss), brittle fingernails, an increase in menstrual flow, constipation, slow heart rate and depression. What can be really frustrating, as I found out a few years ago in my own experience, is that these symptoms seem so unrelated – it’s hard to make a connection between constipation, thinning hair and a hormone disorder.
In about one-fourth of the cases, patients may also develop diabetes, pernicious anemia, Addison’s disease or a number of other autoimmune diseases.
Hashimoto’s and hypothyroidism occur over a period of time – onset of the disease is slow. Maybe you’ve been feeling under the weather for months, more tired than usual. But until your thyroid hormone actually bottoms out and is recognized through blood tests, you’re missing out on available treatment. If you have any of the above symptoms, see your doctor and ask for lab tests to determine your thyroid function.
At the other end of the thyroid spectrum is the overactive thyroid. Referred to as hyperthyroidism, the thyroid gland secretes too much hormone and can also result in a swollen thyroid, or goiter.
The symptoms will be somewhat different than hypothyroidism and can include weight loss, nervousness or irritability, sensitivity to heat, irregular menstrual periods, disturbed sleep, eye irritations, palpitations or rapid heartbeat, sweating, muscle tremors and frequent bowel movements.
The most common form of hyperthyroidism is Graves’ disease. Women are seven to eight times more likely to contract Graves’ disease than men, and most often between the ages of 20 and 60. Approximately half a million new cases in the U.S. are diagnosed each year.
Though there are hereditary connections to both Hashimoto’s and Graves’, many researchers believe Graves’ can be triggered by an emotional stress, such as the death of a loved one. This is because stress accounts for increased levels of cortisone and adrenaline in the blood, which in turn affects antibody production by the immune system.
Like Hashimoto’s, Graves’ has a gradual onset. Months may pass before you realize you are sick. As with other forms of thyroid disorder, a blood test will confirm the presence of the disease.
One set of symptoms peculiar to Graves’ that’s not usually present in other kinds of hyperthyroidism involves the eyes. You may experience inflammation of the eyes, swelling of the tissues around the eyes and protrusion of the eyes.
You may also notice excess tearing or the feeling of grit in your eyes, a widening of space between your eyelids, excessive staring or blinking, light sensitivity or limited eye movements.
In addition to medication and treatment for the disease itself, extra care will be needed for eye symptoms, such as applying cool compresses, wearing sunglasses, using lubricating eyedrops and elevating the head of your bed.
In all likelihood, as hyperthyroidism progresses you will eventually develop hypothyroidism. The prognosis for both types of thyroid disorders is encouraging, and treatment can be as simple as taking a pill.
(Jan Hawkins is a freelance health care journalist residing in northern Kentucky.)