How to diagnose Hyperthyroidism?

Michael Rosenberg

Specializes in translating complex information into readable, engaging content. Michael@top10us.com

Hyperthyroidism

Hyperthyroidism is a disease or disorder in which the body produces more than required thyroid hormones. This is the underlying reason behind the formation of the gut or thyroid on the front of the neck. The formation of the thyroid controls the process of metabolism. In other words, this change in metabolism is a symptom of this disease. The thyroid is an energy-producing hormone and there could be several reasons behind its overproduction in the body. This disease can increase the speed of several functions of the body and can result in acute loss of weight and an increase in sweating of the body. The most dangerous part is that it goes undetected completely till something serious has happened.

Moreover, the use of cancer drugs or radiation can also cause hyperthyroidism. Females are at greater risk of this disease. Older women are the most significant trigger of this disease.

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Hyperthyroidism Symptoms Checklist:

Initially, the disease is not visible enough through its symptoms. In other words, it doesn’t expose itself in the early stages. However, there are some social developments or changes in personality that occur due to this disease. There are situations in which a person feels stressed or frustrated. This frustration is mainly because of a lack of energy that results due to the overactivity of the thyroid.

Moreover, another symptom is the loss of sleep or insomnia, which is the primary indication among children. Lack of focus is another symptom of this disease. The dangerous thing is that these symptoms are similar to some other diseases, including depression. So hyperthyroidism is left untreated till the time it is visible enough to do real damage. However, some other common symptoms are:

Shortness of breath
Increased and imbalanced heartbeat
Sleeplessness
Hair loss
Muscle Pain
Shivering
Infertility
Weight loss
Hair thinning
Warm and moist hands and feet.

The trickiest part of this disease is that its symptoms are overlooked and confused with other illnesses that make the diagnostic process late. In this way, people go for self-medication and home remedies that may worsen the situation.

How do doctors diagnose this disease?

Physical examination

There could be multiple diagnostic techniques and phases for hyperthyroidism. One such phase is early detection in which physical exam and history of the patient play an important role. History includes weight loss or gain, periods, fertility issues, and some other symptoms in the patient or their family. The initial examination includes examining skin and nails. Brittle, weak, ridged, and rough nails are symptoms of the disease. Sometimes, your physician would ask you to eat or drink something and would watch your neck while you do so to look for any abnormal bulging.

Blood tests

Once doctors detect the disease by physical examination, they go for further tests to know for sure whether you have the disease or not. A blood test is a preliminary test of the disease and the following tests are usually performed to diagnose the disease.

TSH

This is one of the rapid detecting tests and the level of thyroxine is examined in this test. This test shows traces even before disease or other symptoms are prominent. Moreover, this test is used for suggesting medication or level of infection.

T₃&T ₄

These are two more tests used to diagnose the disease. A patient may have a high TSH level and high T4 level in hyperthyroidism.

A radioactive iodine intake test is also conducted to diagnose the disease in which the absorption of iodine by the thyroid is measured to assess the presence or the severity of the disease.

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Treatment:

Only after thorough testing and diagnosis are doctors in a better position to treat the patient according to the level of disease. However, there are some situations in which the condition is no longer treatable. However, it can be stopped to increase further. Moreover, there are situations where this disease is treatable and reversible. There are antithyroid medications available to fight the disease. These are oral medications that are responsible for reversing the process and decreasing the level of hormone. Weight gain and regularity of period is the indication that things are working in the right direction. However, the dosage amount depends upon the current condition of the disease. The level of TSH determines what should be the dosage size and how it should be taken. The treatment can take 6 to 8 weeks and sometimes it can be lifelong.

Moreover, the symptoms and treatment will be different if a patient has coronary artery disease. The treatments should not be ceased in case there is a little bit of improvement. However, it should be stopped once the doctor reconducts all the tests and they are normal.

Some people are not into medication much. They are always in search of some home remedies for every disease. So yes, there are some home remedies for such patients to recover from hyperthyroidism.

Home Remedies

Some of the tested remedies and preventive measures for hyperthyroidism are following.

A balanced diet is a cure for several diseases. A person must improve his diet and should go for non-iodized salt.
One should exclude sugar as much as possible from the food.
One should go for gluten-free food.
Increase food without salt.
Avoid dairy products.