Dr. Oliver Fakelmeier
University of Kentucky Health Care
Your thyroid is a small but vital gland, and the hormones it produces help regulate many bodily functions, such as heart rate, body temperature and menstrual cycles. So, if your thyroid is not working properly, your quality of life could be significantly compromised.
More than 12% of Americans will develop a thyroid condition at some point in their lives, and women are five to eight times more likely than men to experience these problems, according to the American Thyroid Association.
What does the thyroid gland do?
(Photo from iStock / Getty Images Plus, via the University of Kentucky)
The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped gland that lies over your trachea. It produces thyroid hormone, a critical factor for fetal development in childhood as well as metabolism in adulthood.
Thyroid hormone doesn’t just mean gaining or losing weight; it is essential for life and acts on every tissue in your body to regulate protein synthesis and circulation.
What is thyroid disease?
Thyroid disease occurs when there are too many or too few thyroid hormones - hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, respectively. It also develops if there is a structural problem with the gland - an enlarged thyroid gland, thyroid nodules or thyroid cancer.
Hyperthyroidism, typically from Graves’ disease, can be cured by surgical removal of the thyroid gland. Hypothyroidism is often a consequence of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an inflammation of the thyroid gland that burns the thyroid gland, reducing its function.
What are the symptoms associated with thyroid disease?
Thyroid nodules often show no symptoms and are on the scans for other reasons. When they cause symptoms, you may notice:
• A bump or bump in the front of the door
• Difficulty swallowing
• Feeling stuck in your throat
• Feeling suffocated, especially when lying flat
• Voice changes
Symptoms of hyperthyroidism include:
• Heart palpitations or heart rate
• Anxiety
• Tremor
• Weight loss
• Heat intolerance
• Excessive sweating
• Menstrual disorders
Symptoms of hypothyroidism include:
• Fatigue
• Gaining weight
• Intolerance to cold
• Prison
• Dry goat
• Menstrual irregularities
In addition, women with hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism may find it more difficult to conceive.
How is thyroid disease diagnosed?
The first step in any assessment of the thyroid gland is to assess the function of the thyroid gland. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) is produced by the brain in response to low-circulating thyroid hormone, so elevated TSH indicates decreased thyroid function, and low TSH means overactive thyroid.
The best way to structurally assess the thyroid gland is a neck ultrasound, which examines the entire thyroid gland as well as the lymph nodes in the neck.
At UK HealthCare we strive to provide a comprehensive visit for every patient. All surgeons perform ultrasound in the office and, if necessary, biopsy in the office to make a diagnosis and determine a plan of surgical treatment. We achieve in one visit for most patients what would normally require three separate visits to different wards on different days.
How is thyroid disease treated?
Thyroid disease often requires surgery to remove a potentially cancerous nodule or nodule that causes annoying symptoms.
If your doctor determines that your entire thyroid gland needs to be surgically removed, you must take thyroid hormone for the rest of your life as a small pill every morning. We can often limit surgery to remove only half of the thyroid gland, and in many cases these patients will continue to produce enough thyroid hormone to avoid the need for supplementation.
Oliver Fackelmeier, MD, is an endocrine surgeon at the University of Kentucky HealthCare who specializes in the surgical treatment of benign and cancerous conditions of the thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal glands.