Thyroid is overactive, small in length, and butterfly-shaped at the bottom of your neck. It overproduces thyroxine; this is an important hormone inside the body. The thyroid gives the system to regulate various metabolic functions in your body. Overactive makes the metabolic rate increase, hence bringing several problems into the body.
This blog will teach us what hyperthyroidism is, generally, the symptoms of hyperthyroidism are discussed, and also some medicines used in treating it on the basis of drugs like Neo Mercazole containing Carbimazole within them.
What is Hyperthyroidism?
Hyperthyroidism is the medical situation wherein the thyroid gland will make certain there may be too much thyroid hormone. The thyroid gland controls metabolism within the human frame. Metabolism, consequently, is the price at which the body expends energy. More than the normal level of thyroid hormone caused accelerated metabolism. Some of the manifestations and symptoms of the disease include the following: the patient loses weight, has a rapid heart, and has palpitations. It tends to affect more women than men. Other than that, it tends to affect the older age group above 60 years.
The causes of hyperthyroidism are mainly from Graves’ disease. It is an autoimmune disease as the immune system attacks a part of the thyroid gland with the ultimate goal of releasing excess hormones. Other diseases which cause hyperthyroidism include thyroid nodules, thyroiditis, and excess iodine intake.
Common symptoms of Hyperthyroidism
Because thyroid hormone influences nearly all tissues in the body, general signs of hyperthyroidism are varied and not very distinctive. Some will have very few symptoms while others will have more bothersome difficulties. Among the more common symptoms of hyperthyroidism are the following:
- Unexplained weight loss: Rapid weight loss does not occur when appetite and food intake are increased.
- Tachycardia: The most common presenting symptom from hyperthyroidism is tachycardia; that is, more than 100 beats in one minute may lead to arrhythmia or palpitations.
- Irritability and Anxiousness: The hyperthyroidism patient usually becomes irritable or nervous and jittery. Such restlessness may be accompanied by tremors and hand shaking.
- Sweating and Heat Intolerance: Many patients with hyperthyroidism note a tendency to feel hot or to perspire excessively even in a cool environment.
- Fatigue and Muscle Weakness: Though the acceleration in energy metabolism occurs, an overall feeling of generalized fatigue and muscle weakness, especially in the arms and thighs, may be present in hyperthyroidism patients.
- Alteration in Menstrual Pattern: Often, alteration in the pattern of menstruation or light flow or menstrual stoppage is found among women who are diagnosed with hyperthyroidism.
- Increased Hunger: The patients of hyperthyroidism hold uncontrolled increases in hunger, although they lose unintended body weight due to it.
- Sleep Disorder: It creates sleep disorder as it creates botheration in falling or even staying asleep due to increased metabolic activity inside a human’s body.
- Swollen thyroid: The gland swells; medically known as goiter. Swelling behind the neck, scientifically known as goiter.
- Hair and skin: tend to get brittle, break or crack easily. Nails become brittle, tearing or ripping easily. The skin becomes weak, tearing or ripping easily.
The moment one shows any of the symptoms mentioned above, he or she should visit a doctor for the diagnosis and correct assessment.
Hyperthyroidism Test
A diagnosis of hyperthyroidism is a diagnosis established by a set of tests that your doctor will carry out:
- Physical Check-Up During the consultation, your doctor will be instructed to make a physical check-up for your neck in case your thyroid is enlarged or if nodules do exist. He is to observe whether you have rapid heartbeats, trembling hands, or excessive sweating.
- Blood tests: The most specific test from the blood for the diagnosis of hyperthyroidism is TSH and thyroxine, or T4, tests in your blood. If the TSH level is low and the T4 level is high, then the test will confirm hyperthyroidism.
- Thyroid Scanning: This imaging test will assist to determine if it’s miles a whole thyroid gland involvement or if it simplest issues one nodule for instance within the case of Graves’ disease.
- Radioactive Iodine Uptake Test: This is going to measure the amount of iodine which you are taking, which your thyroid absorbs. In very few cases, this test is going to differentiate causes of hyperthyroidism depending on different aetiologies.
Management of Hyperthyroidism
Hyperthyroidism is manageable and exists a treatment for hyperthyroidism. Established treatment processes must be based on cause, severity of the disease, patient’s age, and health status. A general overview of the treatment is as follows:
1. Medications: Neo Mercazole
Neo Mercazole is just another generic name for the most commonly used medication in the treatment of hyperthyroidism: Carbimazole. The tablets either initially lower or eventually decrease the thyroid hormone secretion within the gland. Neo Mercazole is mainly given to patients who have mild to moderately hyperthyroid patients before surgery or radioactive iodine therapy.
Working Mechanism of Neo Mercazole
Carbimazole will inhibit the use of iodine by the thyroid. The thyroid gland will continue to use iodine in the synthesis of the thyroid hormones; hence, carbimazole will reduce the levels of thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) in blood and thus relieve symptoms caused by hyperthyroidism.
Follow a prescription that will put you on regular visits to your doctor monitor the effectiveness of your thyroid.
2. Radioactive Iodine Therapy
In radioactive iodine therapy, this radioactive iodine is ingested and is captured by the thyroid and blocks the iodine availability to the thyroid. It would thereby subsequently reduce the amount of T4 and T3 circulating in the blood and therefore alleviates the hyperthyroidism symptoms.
The radioactive iodine is administered orally in the form of a capsule or liquid solution. The radioactive iodine in the thyroglobin kills the over-functioning thyroid cells hence stopping the production of hormones.
The treatment is highly effective and mainly causes hypothyroidism; that is, the thyroid becomes under-active and hence permanently needs replacement by thyroid hormones.
3. Beta Blockers
Although beta blockers are not curative of the hyperthyroidism disease as itself, they relieve part of the symptoms that appear with the condition which include a fast heartbeat, tremors, and anxiety. They would be given for a relatively short term only, so the patient would feel at least relief about some of the symptoms before the alternative program of treatment.
4. Surgery (Thyroidectomy)
However, if patients cannot be treated using their prescribed medicine and also have large goiters or nodules in the thyroid, then necessary medical treatment involves surgery. A surgical operation where only a part of the gland or the entire gland is removed from the body is referred to as thyroidectomy. Most of the patients, after treatment, will require thyroid hormone replacement therapy for the rest of their lives.
5. Lifestyle Changes
The treatments for hyperthyroidism are mainly drugs starting with Neo Mercazole among others. Controlling one’s lifestyle also helps in controlling the symptoms. Proper diet, hydration, and stress level management will also promote one’s general well-being.
Complications If Hyperthyroidism Remains Untreated
Hyperthyroidism, if left untreated may lead to several complications amongst which includes:
Heart Diseases: Hyperthyroidism makes the heart race at a rate at which someone is bound to develop atrial fibrillation. That is another good reason why you are today on that list of people who have a risk factor for stroke and heart failure.
Osteoporosis: The number of hormones from the thyroid gland makes bones thin progressively with time. This keeps you at a higher risk and more prone to fractures and ease in breaking.
Thyroid Storm: It leads to extreme cases of thyroid storm, a condition that is potentially life-threatening during which your body becomes hyperactive and typically produces high fever, tachycardia, and delirium. This may even become a kind of medical emergency.
Conclusion
One critical aspect through which hyperthyroidism will affect your quality of life if not controlled is by making the lifestyles of patients unproductive qualitatively. The main reason for this explains why, each time you or your family member identifies early signs of hyperthyroidism, an appointment should be made with your doctor to manage the disease. It may be managed either by drugs, for instance, Neo Mercazole, or radioactive iodine therapy; it can also be attained by lifestyle modification, and proper management will help you regain your life and health.
Any patient suspecting the disease, hyperthyroidism, or experiencing some signs of the disease is referred to his or her physician and asked to seek further action that should be taken. Hyperthyroidism most often can be effectively treated and cured if properly followed up.
