Five Symptoms Of An Overactive Thyroid

An overactive thyroid is technically called hyperthyroidism. This disorder causes a thyroid gland to make more of its hormone than your body can use to function optimally. In some cases, a tendency to experience this condition runs in families, but it might also be caused by a cyst on the thyroid gland, certain medications, or other illnesses.

This gland is located in the neck, but the hormones that it releases can affect many different parts of the human body. These range from skin to the circulatory system. As an aside, women are five times more likely to experience symptoms of overactive thyroid than men are.

Hyperthyroidism can cause many different symptoms and diseases. These range from weight loss to serious autoimmune disorders. The good news is that there are quite a few effective treatments for this disorder. A doctor should be able to recognize symptoms of overactive thyroid and prescribe the right solutions.

1. Unexplained Weight Loss And Appetite Changes

The hormone that the thyroid releases regulated metabolism, or the rate at which a body burns energy. One side effect could be a fairly quick and unexplained weight loss. In some cases, people who suffer from this condition say that they cannot gain weight no matter what they do.

On the other hand, some individuals experience an increased appetite and they actually gain weight. This is because eating seems to alleviate some of the other symptoms of having too much thyroid hormone, but these solution causes weight gain.

2. Aggravated Symptoms Of Other Conditions

The problem with having an accelerated metabolism might be the aggravation of symptoms of other health conditions. For example, diabetics often experience aggravated thirst and fatigue when they also have an aggravated thyroid.

3. Heat Intolerance

An overactive thyroid may warm up a human body. Symptoms of this include increased sweating, including sweating palms, and an intolerance for heat. In some cases, people may also experience shaking or tremors. Some sufferers say that these symptoms subside when they eat something, but they say that this leads them to overeat.

4. Mood Disorders

In many cases, hyperthyroidism can also aggravate or even cause mood disorders. Sudden and unexplained mood swings, anger, anxiety, or crying without a reason may be caused by having too much thyroid hormone in the body.

5. Other Symptoms Of Hyperthyroidism

Other symptoms could include thinning hair, constant fatigue, muscle weakness, hand tremors and shaking, a rapid heartbeat, or a dry and scratchy feeling mouth.

Treatment Options

In some cases symptoms are very mild, and it may be possible to treat the medical condition with a change of diet and/or prescription medication. With care, it may also be possible to get thyroid functioning back to normal in time.

In other cases, doctors may suggest options from surgery to radiation treatments. In the very worst cases, a patient may need to have this gland removed, but this means that they will need to rely upon medication for the rest of their lives, so this should be a last resort.