Thyroid disorders are medical conditions that affect the function of the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland is located at the front of the neck and produces thyroid hormones that travel through the blood to help regulate many other organs, meaning it is an endocrine organ. These hormones normally work in the body to regulate energy consumption, infant development and childhood development.
There are five general types of thyroid disorders, each with its own symptoms. A person may have one or more different types at the same time. The five groups are:
- Hypothyroidism (low function) caused by insufficient free thyroid hormones
- Hyperthyroidism (high function) caused by too many free thyroid hormones
- Structural abnormalities, usually a goiter (enlargement of the thyroid gland)
- Tumors that may be benign (non-cancerous) or cancerous
- Abnormal thyroid function tests without any clinical symptoms (subclinical hypothyroidism or subclinical hyperthyroidism).
In some types, such as subacute thyroiditis or postpartum thyroiditis, symptoms may disappear after a few months and laboratory tests may return to normal. However, most types of thyroid disease do not go away on their own. Common symptoms of hypothyroidism include fatigue, low energy, weight gain, inability to tolerate the cold, slow heartbeat, dry skin and constipation. Common symptoms of hyperthyroidism include irritability, anxiety, weight loss, rapid heartbeat, inability to tolerate heat, diarrhea and enlargement of the thyroid gland. Structural abnormalities may not cause symptoms, but some people may notice symptoms of hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism associated with the structural abnormality or swelling of the neck. Rarely, goiter tumors can cause airway compression, compression of blood vessels in the neck or swallowing problems. Tumors, often called thyroid nodules, can also have many different symptoms, ranging from hyperthyroidism to hypothyroidism to swelling in the neck and compression of structures in the neck.
Treatment BeterKlinic
BeterKliniek is the clinic for Integrative Medicine that bridges regular and non-regular medicine.
An van Veen (physician) and Michael van Gils (therapist) look for the cause of a condition or disease. That is where the treatment starts otherwise, as people often say, it is 'carrying water to the sea'. We call this cause medicine. Sometimes it is also desirable to treat the symptoms (at the same time). We call this symptom medicine.
Chronic disorders often have their cause in epi- genetics. You can schedule a free informative telephone consultation (phone number 040-7117337 until 1 p.m.) at BeterKliniek to discuss your symptoms so that we can provide you with further advice.
