How to Treat Hyperthyroidism
Look for a change in heartbeat., Check for changes in your body temperature., Look for hand tremors., Pay attention to your breathing., Check your weight., Pay attention to your mood and concentration., Look for changes in menstrual cycles and bowel...
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Look for a change in heartbeat.
Because the hormone affects your heart rate, you can have a faster heartbeat, an irregular heartbeat, or a pounding heartbeat due to hyperthyroidism.
You'll usually feel an irregular or pounding heartbeat, but you can check to see if your pulse is 100 bpm or more.To check your heart rate, find your pulse.
Use a stopwatch to time 15 seconds while counting beats.
Multiply that number by four to get your beats per minute.
So if you have 25 beats or more in 15 seconds, you should talk to your doctor. -
Step 2: Check for changes in your body temperature.
That is, you may be more prone to sweating or notice the heat more.
You might also have hot flashes., You may also notice a tremor in your hand, which is related to the hormone., If you're having issues with breathing, you could have a hyperthyroid problem.
Pay particular attention to your breathing when you're sitting to see if you have trouble with it then., With too much of the hyperthyroid hormone in your body, your weight can fluctuate.
Most people lose weight.Oddly, the disease can also cause an increase in appetite., Hyperthyroidism can make you irritable.
In fact, you may find your moods swing from one extreme to another.
Additionally, it can affect your concentration., You may find you are having to go to the bathroom more often, and your menstrual cycles could change, either becoming heavier, lighter, or irregular.However, your periods are most likely to become lighter, or you may not have them at all., If you find yourself exhausted or notice that you seem weaker than usual, it can also be a symptom of hyperthyroidism., With hyperthyroidism, your thyroid can become enlarged.
Check for swelling near the bottom of your neck in the front., You may notice thinning hair, brittle hair, dry skin, bulging eyes, or thinning skin.,, If you have several of the symptoms above, check with your doctor.
Ask to be tested for hyperthyroidism., That is, many of these symptoms can point to other diseases, so your doctor may not immediately lean towards hyperthyroidism., The main way to check for hyperthyroidism is to have blood drawn.
Your blood will then be tested for its TSH level.
TSH, or the thyroid stimulating hormone, is produced by pituitary gland.
If you have too much of the thyroid hormone, the level of TSH will be pushed down because the thyroid is already stimulated too much.
Therefore, if your level of TSH is low, you likely have hyperthyroidism.Your doctor may decide to run additional tests, such as checking the levels of the thyroid hormones T3 and T4, or looking for antithyroid antibodies. , Hyperthyroidism is caused by other problems, often by either Graves' disease or overproducing nodules.
Your doctor can screen for these problems.To screen for the cause, your doctor may use radioactive iodine.
Your thyroid uses iodine when creating hormones, and your doctor can check to see how much iodine it has absorbed.
If it absorbs too much, it means your thyroid is likely making too much of the thyroid hormone thyroxine.Another way to screen for the cause is through a thyroid scan.
You are injected with a radioactive substance, which allows the doctor to create an image of your thyroid.Your doctor may also examine your thyroid with a thyroid ultrasound.
This procedure uses sound waves to create an image of your thyroid and does not use ionizing radiation. , The purpose of antithyroid medication is to change the rate that the thyroid creates hormones by slowing it down.
The main medication used today is methimazole.This treatment takes anywhere from 1 1/2 months to 3 months to work.One problem with this treatment is it doesn't always work permanently.Another issue is the drugs in this category can cause liver damage.
Propylthiouracil is more likely to cause liver damage than methimazole, which is why it is used less often., The point of the iodine is to shrink your thyroid glands to slow down production.
It may take up to half a year to work effectively.One problem with this treatment is it can slow down production too much, so you may end up needing to take a replacement hormone., A more extreme option is to have your thyroid removed completely using surgery, so that it can't produce more of the hormone thyroxine.
However, you will, of course, need to take a hormone replacement with this option, as your body needs that hormone to survive., You may also need to take drugs to treat the symptoms.
For instance, beta blockers, normally used to treat high blood pressure, can treat heart palpitations.Beta blockers can also help with symptoms such as nervousness and sweating., You may need to increase your calorie intake if your weight loss has negatively affected your health or if you have lost muscle mass.
Protein can help both with increasing your weight and building muscle., For instance, try meditation or yoga to help lower your stress level.For a simple meditation technique, try closing your eyes.
Breathe in slowly for four counts, and then breathe out slowly for four counts.
Repeat until you feel yourself calming down. , To help protect yourself against conditions such as osteoporosis, you can take a vitamin D supplement to help your bones absorb calcium.If you're an adult male under age 71, you should be taking 1,000 milligrams a day.
Women should take 1,000 milligrams per day, as well, until you reach age 51, when you should be taking 1,200 milligrams per day., Caffeine can make certain side effects of the disease worse, such as the fast heart rate and anxiety.
Be sure you pay attention to hidden caffeine.
For instance, you may not realize that chocolate contains some caffeine., Smoking can put you at risk for developing Graves' ophthalmopathy. -
Step 3: Look for hand tremors.
-
Step 4: Pay attention to your breathing.
-
Step 5: Check your weight.
-
Step 6: Pay attention to your mood and concentration.
-
Step 7: Look for changes in menstrual cycles and bowel movements.
-
Step 8: Notice fatigue.
-
Step 9: Check for swelling.
-
Step 10: Look for cosmetic changes.
-
Step 11: See your doctor.
-
Step 12: Know the disease is hard to diagnose.
-
Step 13: Have blood drawn.
-
Step 14: Look for the cause.
-
Step 15: Using antithyroid medication.
-
Step 16: Trying radioactive iodine
-
Step 17: which you take orally.
-
Step 18: Have your thyroid removed.
-
Step 19: Treat the symptoms.
-
Step 20: Adjust your diet.
-
Step 21: Decrease your stress to relieve anxiety.
-
Step 22: Take vitamin D. Hyperthyroidism can make your bones more brittle.
-
Step 23: Skip caffeine.
-
Step 24: Try to quit smoking if you have Graves' disease.
Detailed Guide
Because the hormone affects your heart rate, you can have a faster heartbeat, an irregular heartbeat, or a pounding heartbeat due to hyperthyroidism.
You'll usually feel an irregular or pounding heartbeat, but you can check to see if your pulse is 100 bpm or more.To check your heart rate, find your pulse.
Use a stopwatch to time 15 seconds while counting beats.
Multiply that number by four to get your beats per minute.
So if you have 25 beats or more in 15 seconds, you should talk to your doctor.
That is, you may be more prone to sweating or notice the heat more.
You might also have hot flashes., You may also notice a tremor in your hand, which is related to the hormone., If you're having issues with breathing, you could have a hyperthyroid problem.
Pay particular attention to your breathing when you're sitting to see if you have trouble with it then., With too much of the hyperthyroid hormone in your body, your weight can fluctuate.
Most people lose weight.Oddly, the disease can also cause an increase in appetite., Hyperthyroidism can make you irritable.
In fact, you may find your moods swing from one extreme to another.
Additionally, it can affect your concentration., You may find you are having to go to the bathroom more often, and your menstrual cycles could change, either becoming heavier, lighter, or irregular.However, your periods are most likely to become lighter, or you may not have them at all., If you find yourself exhausted or notice that you seem weaker than usual, it can also be a symptom of hyperthyroidism., With hyperthyroidism, your thyroid can become enlarged.
Check for swelling near the bottom of your neck in the front., You may notice thinning hair, brittle hair, dry skin, bulging eyes, or thinning skin.,, If you have several of the symptoms above, check with your doctor.
Ask to be tested for hyperthyroidism., That is, many of these symptoms can point to other diseases, so your doctor may not immediately lean towards hyperthyroidism., The main way to check for hyperthyroidism is to have blood drawn.
Your blood will then be tested for its TSH level.
TSH, or the thyroid stimulating hormone, is produced by pituitary gland.
If you have too much of the thyroid hormone, the level of TSH will be pushed down because the thyroid is already stimulated too much.
Therefore, if your level of TSH is low, you likely have hyperthyroidism.Your doctor may decide to run additional tests, such as checking the levels of the thyroid hormones T3 and T4, or looking for antithyroid antibodies. , Hyperthyroidism is caused by other problems, often by either Graves' disease or overproducing nodules.
Your doctor can screen for these problems.To screen for the cause, your doctor may use radioactive iodine.
Your thyroid uses iodine when creating hormones, and your doctor can check to see how much iodine it has absorbed.
If it absorbs too much, it means your thyroid is likely making too much of the thyroid hormone thyroxine.Another way to screen for the cause is through a thyroid scan.
You are injected with a radioactive substance, which allows the doctor to create an image of your thyroid.Your doctor may also examine your thyroid with a thyroid ultrasound.
This procedure uses sound waves to create an image of your thyroid and does not use ionizing radiation. , The purpose of antithyroid medication is to change the rate that the thyroid creates hormones by slowing it down.
The main medication used today is methimazole.This treatment takes anywhere from 1 1/2 months to 3 months to work.One problem with this treatment is it doesn't always work permanently.Another issue is the drugs in this category can cause liver damage.
Propylthiouracil is more likely to cause liver damage than methimazole, which is why it is used less often., The point of the iodine is to shrink your thyroid glands to slow down production.
It may take up to half a year to work effectively.One problem with this treatment is it can slow down production too much, so you may end up needing to take a replacement hormone., A more extreme option is to have your thyroid removed completely using surgery, so that it can't produce more of the hormone thyroxine.
However, you will, of course, need to take a hormone replacement with this option, as your body needs that hormone to survive., You may also need to take drugs to treat the symptoms.
For instance, beta blockers, normally used to treat high blood pressure, can treat heart palpitations.Beta blockers can also help with symptoms such as nervousness and sweating., You may need to increase your calorie intake if your weight loss has negatively affected your health or if you have lost muscle mass.
Protein can help both with increasing your weight and building muscle., For instance, try meditation or yoga to help lower your stress level.For a simple meditation technique, try closing your eyes.
Breathe in slowly for four counts, and then breathe out slowly for four counts.
Repeat until you feel yourself calming down. , To help protect yourself against conditions such as osteoporosis, you can take a vitamin D supplement to help your bones absorb calcium.If you're an adult male under age 71, you should be taking 1,000 milligrams a day.
Women should take 1,000 milligrams per day, as well, until you reach age 51, when you should be taking 1,200 milligrams per day., Caffeine can make certain side effects of the disease worse, such as the fast heart rate and anxiety.
Be sure you pay attention to hidden caffeine.
For instance, you may not realize that chocolate contains some caffeine., Smoking can put you at risk for developing Graves' ophthalmopathy.
About the Author
Richard Wright
Committed to making cooking accessible and understandable for everyone.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: