Hypothyroidism is common and affects about 4.6 percent of the U.S. population. Treatment with radioactive iodine is a form of radiation therapy used to treat most types of overactive thyroid. Radioactive iodine reduces your thyroid gland and reduces the amount of thyroid hormone it can make. Rarely, you may develop an overactive thyroid due to thyroid cancer that starts with your thyroid sacs. This can happen if cancer cells in the thyroid gland start to produce thyroxine or triiodothyronine. Hypothyroidism can become more or less severe and your dose of thyroxine may need to change over time.
Both conditions can be caused by other diseases that affect the functioning of the thyroid gland. All this is controlled by something called the pituitary gland. Located in the center of the skull, under your brain, the pituitary gland monitors and controls the amount of thyroid hormones in your bloodstream.
In some cases, hypothyroidism is the result of a problem with the pituitary gland, which is at the base of the brain. This gland produces thyroid stimulating hormone, which tells the thyroid gland to do its job. If your pituitary gland does not produce enough TSH, thyroid hormone levels will drop. Other causes of hypothyroidism include temporary inflammation of the thyroid gland or medications that affect thyroid function. While the body adapts to hormone replacement tablets, a doctor may increase or decrease the dose until thyroid hormone levels are normal.
Treatment with hyperthyroidism, on the other hand, can be temporary. Anti-turtle medications work by preventing the thyroid from producing too many hormones. Beta blockers are also sometimes used to minimize the effects of too much thyroid hormone on the body, such as palpitations. Simply put, with hypothyroidism or an inactive thyroid gland, the thyroid does not make enough thyroid hormone for the needs of the body.
The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped endocrine gland that normally occurs in the lower part of the neck. The task of the thyroid gland is to make thyroid hormones, which are excreted Hashimoto Thyroid Disease in the blood and then carried to every tissue in the body. Thyroid hormone helps the body use energy, stay warm and make the brain, heart, muscles and other organs work as they should.