Many people have a thyroid gland that does not produce enough thyroid hormone to meet the body’s requirements. This is known as hypothyroidism, and it is most usually caused by an underactive thyroid gland as a result of Hashimoto’s disease. Other causes of hypothyroidism include surgical removal, thyroid gland loss following radiation treatment, or a nonfunctioning pituitary gland. The most prevalent reason for thyroid hormone replacement is hypothyroidism.
Thyroid hormone is required for the health of all of your body’s cells. Thyroid hormone differs from most drugs in that it is used to replace a missing hormone. The goal of thyroid hormone therapy is to mimic normal thyroid function as nearly as possible. Thyroid hormone is accessible in the form of levothyroxine, which is biologically equal to thyroxine, your thyroid hormone (T4). It is most usually prescribed as a tablet; however, it is now also available as a gel capsule or a liquid. The only risks associated with thyroid hormone use are consuming too much or too little. Your thyroid function will be checked by your doctor to ensure that it remains within the normal range.
Types of Thyroid disease and their treatment
When your thyroid is abruptly or chronically overactive, a condition known as hyperthyroidism occurs, and you produce an excessive amount of thyroid hormone. Hyperthyroidism is most commonly caused by the autoimmune disorder Graves’ disease, but it can also be caused by thyroid nodules that produce extra thyroid hormone, or thyroiditis.
Hyperthyroidism is treated by stopping the thyroid from overproducing hormone, limiting the thyroid’s ability to create the hormone, or surgically or using radioactive iodine ablating the thyroid gland.
Beta-blockers should be used to treat all hyperthyroid individuals at first. Graves’ disease therapy options include:
- Methimazole (Tapazole), propylthiouracil (PTU), and carbimazole are antithyroid medications (Neo-Mercazole). Methimazole is the primary antithyroid medication in the United States because PTU can produce major negative effects. (However, due to a slightly higher risk of birth abnormalities linked with methimazole, PTU is suggested for treatment during the first trimester of pregnancy.)
- RAI, commonly known as radioiodine ablation, is a type of radioactive iodine treatment. This treatment entails ingesting a dosage of radioactive iodine, which is then absorbed by the thyroid and destroys (or ablates) all or part of the gland’s ability to produce thyroid hormone.
- Thyroidectomy is the surgical removal of all or part of the thyroid. Women who are pregnant, nursing, or have young children who want to avoid radiation exposure can choose surgery.
Treatments for Goiter
- A goitre is an enlarged thyroid that can occur in both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism.
- If you have a goitre, depending on its size and location, it may cause a feeling of fullness in your neck, pain, and, less commonly, difficulty swallowing or breathing.
- If you have a small goitre that isn’t causing any symptoms and isn’t accompanied by any changes in your thyroid levels, your doctor may decide to monitor it rather than treating it.
- Thyroid hormone replacement therapy is often used to treat a small, symptomatic goitre. The medications may delay or stop the growth of your goitre in some situations, but they are unlikely to decrease it.
Treatment of Nodules
The vast majority of thyroid nodules are harmless. Many healthcare providers choose to monitor individuals with small, benign nodules that cause no symptoms. 3 A significant proportion of the population—some experts believe the majority of people—have these asymptomatic nodules and do not require additional treatment.
If the nodule is associated with hyperthyroidism, radioactive iodine (RAI) may be used to shrink both the nodule and the thyroid gland. If the benign nodule grows in size and is unresponsive to medicine or RAI, surgery is frequently advised.
Thyroiditis treatment
Thyroiditis is a condition in which your thyroid gland becomes inflamed. While autoimmune (Hashimoto’s) thyroiditis is the most frequent, other types of thyroiditis exist, such as postpartum thyroiditis, De Quervain’s (also known as subacute or granulomatous) thyroiditis, and viral thyroiditis.
If the thyroiditis is severe, doctors may prescribe steroid medicines to minimize inflammation, as well as thyroid hormone replacement drugs, to allow the thyroid to rest from its duty of hormone synthesis.
Treatment of Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism is a disorder in which the thyroid is underactive, chemically damaged, or surgically removed, leaving it unable to produce adequate levels of thyroid hormone. We’ve saved it for last since most other thyroid treatments–because they entail radioactively ablating or surgically removing the thyroid–often result in hypothyroidism.
The treatment of Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune illness that frequently causes hypothyroidism, is more contentious. Most mainstream healthcare practitioners think that Hashimoto’s disease does not require treatment, and they only use thyroid hormone replacement medicines when Hashimoto’s has caused thyroid disease.
Conclusion
The thyroid gland is an endocrine gland located in the neck that has two linked lobes. The thyroid isthmus, a thin band of tissue also known as the isthmus bridge, connects the lowest portions of these two lobes. The gland is placed in the front of the neck, directly below Adam’s apple. The thyroid gland is made up of spherical thyroid follicles under the microscope. Thyrocytes, and thyroid follicular cells, line these follicles. It may also contain parafollicular cells on occasion. These cells form a ring around the lumen known as the colloid.
T3 (Triiodothyronine), T4 (Tetraiodothyronine or Thyroxin), and Calcitonin are hormones secreted by the thyroid gland. Thyroid hormones have a variety of effects on our bodies. They raise the BMR (basal metabolic rate), as well as the heart rate and strength. Furthermore, these hormones are required for optimal cell growth and calcium homeostasis. The thyroid-stimulating hormone, or TSH, regulates T3 and T4 release. This TSH is hidden in our brain’s anterior pituitary gland. TSH secretion is regulated by thyroid releasing hormone (TRH), which is produced in the hypothalamus of the brain.