Thyroid For Dummies, UK Edition

Alan L. Rubin, Dr. Sarah Brewer, Sarah Brewer

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9780470031728
• eBook ISBN: 9781119997764
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Diseases & Allergies

Includes information on the latest thyroid treatments Understand and manage your thyroid condition Don't get pushed around by the little gland in your neck. Whether you suffer from an underactive or overactive thyroid, nodules, or a goitre, Thyroid For Dummies has all the jargon-free information you need to get to grips with the problem and expert advice on how to get your condition under control. Discover how to
* Tell if you have a thyroid problem
* Understand the treatments on offer
* Deal with your condition day-to-day
* Get the right diet and exercise
* Manage thyroid conditions in children and older people

Part I

Understanding the Thyroid

In this part . . .

What, exactly, is the thyroid gland, and what does it do? In this part, you discover how important this little gland in your neck really is, what function it plays in your body, and how to determine if it is functioning properly. We show you that your thyroid affects your mind as well as your body in critical ways.

Chapter 1

Bigging It Up: The Huge Role of a Little Gland

In This Chapter

Crunching numbers: The incidence of thyroid disease

Recognising signs, symptoms, and risk factors of thyroid disease

Appreciating your thyroid’s hard work

Giving a sick thyroid some TLC

Pinpointing times of life that pose special risks

Your thyroid is a little like Victor Meldrew, who often doesn’t get the respect he feels he deserves. Anyone who watches prime-time TV knows the importance of other body parts – the heart, lungs, and wedding tackle sure get a lot of press. But unless you come face-to-face with a thyroid problem, chances are you don’t hear much about what this little gland does and its vital importance to good health.

The fact that you’re reading these words suggests you’ve encountered a thyroid problem personally. Perhaps you’ve recently had a thyroid condition diagnosed. Or maybe your husband, wife, mother, or friend is receiving treatment for a thyroid problem. If so, you’ve probably found out at least a little about this mysterious gland, and now you’re looking for answers to the obvious questions that keep popping up in your mind:

What causes this condition?

What types of symptoms are related to this problem?

How is this condition treated?

What are the consequences of leaving it untreated?

Does treatment end the problem forever?

What can I (or my husband, wife, mother, or friend) do to help get back to optimal health?

This book aims to answer most of your questions. As doctors and researchers are constantly discovering new things about the thyroid, however, the information here is only as complete as our current knowledge. But if you’re looking for concrete information about how the thyroid functions, and what to do when a problem occurs, you’re holding the right paperback.

Discovering the Extent of the Problem

Thyroid disease – which is the collective term used for medical disorders of the thyroid, the majority of which are covered in this book – is one of the most common conditions in the world. Research indicates that thyroid disease affects more than 200 million people around the globe. In the United Kingdom alone, an estimated 4.5 million people have a thyroid problem out of a population of around 60.5 million. And that’s just the ones who are properly diagnosed; a further two million people are believed to have over or underactive thyroid glands that remain unrecognised, although these cases are often mild.

The incidence of thyroid disease (the number of new cases identified annually) becomes even higher when careful autopsies are carried out on people who did not die of a thyroid condition. As many as 60 per cent of the people autopsied are found to have growths on the thyroid, and 17 per cent have small areas of cancer that were not detected during life.

These numbers are statistics, but thyroid disease affects individuals. You’ll be encouraged to know that many people in the public eye have gone on to great accomplishments after being treated successfully for thyroid conditions. Some of the people you may recognise include:

Olympic gold medal-winning sprinter, Gail Devers, had hyperthyroidism, while runner Carl Lewis had hypothyroidism.

Author Isaac Asimov had thyroid cancer at the age of 52 and went on to live a further 20 years, eventually dying at the age of 72 from unrelated causes.

Singer Rod Stewart had surgery to remove a thyroid growth.

World-class golfer Ben Crenshaw had hyperthyroidism.

Former United States President George Bush, former first lady Barbara Bush, and even their dog Millie, had hyperthyroidism – an unusual clustering that prompted extensive investigation of their water supply, although no cause was ever found.

While this list is far from exhaustive, it helps to drive home the point that, if diagnosed and treated, thyroid conditions don’t need to hamper your lifestyle.

Identifying an Unhappy Thyroid

Getting down to basics, your thyroid gland lives just below your Adam’s apple, at the front of your neck. (Chapter 3 gives a more detailed explanation of how to find your thyroid.) If your thyroid becomes visible in your neck, if that area of your neck is tender, or if you have some trouble swallowing or breathing, consider visiting your doctor for a thyroid checkup. Any change in the size or shape of your thyroid may mean it’s not functioning properly, while soreness or tenderness can mean you have an infection or inflammation (see Chapter 11). Sometimes, a thyroid develops a growth called a nodule, which despite its benign sounding name is always tested to rule out cancer (see Chapter 7).

As well as changes in the size and shape of the gland, people with a malfunctioning thyroid usually develop other associated symptoms.

If your thyroid becomes underactive, a condition known as hypothyroidism, you tend to put on weight, feel cold, tired, slow down, and often a little depressed. Although this description doesn’t sound very specific, and these symptoms can indicate any number of other physical problems, an underactive thyroid gland is a common enough cause to ask your doctor to check things out, especially if you are over the age of 35. Chapter 5 gives you the specifics about the causes and symptoms of hypothyroidism.

If your thyroid function is too high, a condition known as hyperthyroidism, you may lose weight, feel hyper and warm, and notice that your heart tends to race. You may have trouble sitting still, and your emotions may change very rapidly for no clear reason. These symptoms are a little more specific than those for low thyroid function, but again, they can easily result from some cause not related to your thyroid. Chapter 6 offers a detailed look at hyperthyroidism.

The best way to determine whether a thyroid problem exists is to ask your doc...

Table of contents

• Title
• Contents
• Introduction
• Part I : Understanding the Thyroid
• Part II : Treating Thyroid Problems
• Part III : Managing Your Thyroid
• Part IV : Special Considerations in Thyroid Health
• Part V : The Part of Tens
• Part VI : Appendixes
• : Further Reading