Your thyroid is a tiny, butterfly-shaped gland located in your throat, in front of your windpipe. Chances are you’ve probably never given it much, if any, thought. But if you’ve ever been diagnosed with thyroid problems, you know that this small gland can have a big impact on your health.
Thyroid problems are one of the most common health conditions, yet because they share many common symptoms with other medical disorders, they are frequently misdiagnosed or go unnoticed and untreated. The reason many people remain undiagnosed is that symptoms of a possible thyroid problem are easily attributed to another cause: fatigue, anxiety, depression, irritability, unexplained weight gain or weight loss, carpal tunnel syndrome, changes in bowel habits or the menstrual cycle, difficulty concentrating, and excessively dry skin or hair.
The thyroid produces hormones that regulate the speed of the body’s metabolic functions. Thyroid hormones affect many vital body functions: the heart rate, the respiratory rate, the rate at which calories are burned, skin maintenance, growth, body temperature, muscle strength, brain and nervous system, cholesterol levels, fertility and digestion, to name a few. “When your thyroid produces too little or too much of these hormones, it can throw your body’s delicately-tuned balancing act out of kilter,” says General Surgeon Michael Heuman, M.D. “Left untreated, thyroid disease can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, infertility, osteoporosis, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, anemia, arthritis, autoimmune disorders and intestinal problems.”
Thyroid problems can arise due to several factors: an infection; recent childbirth; a family history of thyroid disorders; excessive exposure to radiation, such as x-rays; inadequate nutrition; and cancerous or non-cancerous tumor growth. Thyroid conditions affect primarily older people and women. Women are five to ten times more likely than men to be afflicted by thyroid problems. One in eight women in America will develop a thyroid disorder over her lifetime. Older women and women who have recently had a baby are more likely to develop a thyroid condition — more than 15 percent of women are diagnosed with hypothyroidism by the age of 60 and up to 20 percent of women develop a post-partum thyroid disorder.
The most common thyroid conditions are hypothyroidism, where the thyroid doesn’t produce enough thyroid hormone; and hyperthyroidism, in which the thyroid becomes overactive and produces too much thyroid hormone.
To keep tabs on your thyroid, be sure to see your doctor for regularly scheduled physicals – and if you’re experiencing any symptoms that suggest a thyroid problem, ask for a thyroid test, a simple blood test. The good news is, thyroid problems are very treatable and there are several options: antithyroid medication, radioiodine therapy, or surgery, to name a few. Your physician can help decide the best course of treatment for you.