You often hear some people say that they have a high metabolism while some complain of having a slow metabolism.
Metabolism is the chemical process in which the body breaks down the food that you eat into some form of energy. The thyroid plays a vital role when it comes to metabolism. It is said that the gland is responsible for regulating and controlling your metabolism.
The thyroid gland makes two primary thyroid hormones named T3 (triiodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxine). The level of thyroid hormones in your body should be steady and constant as a drop or a rise in the level of thyroid hormones can lead to severe thyroid diseases.
In this article, you will be acquainted with some of the most common thyroid related disorders that you must be aware of.
- Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism is a disorder where your thyroid gland produces fewer thyroid hormones than it is supposed to. It is observed that hypothyroidism is common in older adults more than among the young crowd. Hypothyroidism patients suffer from serious symptoms like fatigue, chronic dry skin condition, sensitivity to cold and trouble thinking clearly. If left untreated, hypothyroidism might increase your cholesterol level and lead to other severe life-threatening ailments. - Hyperthyroidism
As the name suggests, hyperthyroidism is a disorder where the thyroid gland in your body produces and releases more thyroid hormones than usual. Some of the common symptoms of hyperthyroidism are anxiety, nervousness, hand tremor, fatigue, mood swings, weight loss, rapid heartbeat and trouble getting sleep. - Thyroid cancer
Thyroid cancer is another common thyroid disease that people of all age, especially women suffer from. Some of the common symptoms of thyroid cancer are a change in voice, lump in the neck and hoarseness in the voice. The good news is that thyroid cancer has an excellent survival rate and with thyroid surgery, you can manage and improve your thyroid situation. - Goiter
Goiter is a thyroid condition that cannot go unnoticed. In goiter, the thyroid gland that is present in the front of your neck swells and you see an evident bulge in your neck. There are two kinds of goiter – toxic and non – toxic. A toxic goiter is caused by hyperthyroidism when the level of thyroid hormones in your body rises above the normal level. On the other hand, non – toxic goiter is caused by some kind of iodine deficiency in the body, which makes it less harmful than the goiter caused by hyperthyroidism. - Thyroiditis
Thyroiditis refers to the thyroid disease where the person experiences severe inflammation of the thyroid. The inflammation is a result of some kind of abnormality in the thyroid functioning. In thyroiditis, the thyroid cells often get destroyed, which hampers the production of thyroid in the thyroid gland, leading to an abnormal level of thyroid in your body. Thyroiditis is often accompanied by an enlarged neck which is hypersensitive to touch.
If you suspect that you suffer from any of these thyroid diseases, then consult a doctor immediately. Fortunately, today there are several treatments available to manage and control all kinds of thyroid related diseases.
