Symptoms and Causes of Hyperthyroidism

Symptoms and Causes of Hyperthyroidism

The thyroid hormone acts as the pace-keeper of the body's processes and the pace itself is referred to as metabolism. Thus a subsequent rise in the thyroid hormone speeds up the functions of the body. The thyroid gland is also instrumental in regulating body temperature. It secretes two different hormones that determine the speed at which the body burns calories and releases energy. If the hormone production is high then the condition is hyperthyroidism but when it is low, the resultant condition is hypothyroidism.
There are a varied number of symptoms and most of which are in response to stimuli.
Acute weight loss coupled with a huge appetite, intolerance to harsh weather, weakness, fatigue, irritability, depression, apathy, polyuria and sweating are all part and parcel of the symptoms of hyperthyroidism. There may be seemingly alternate symptoms as well wherein patients may experience palpitations, or arrhythmias, possibly atrial fibrillation, dyspnea, nausea, vomiting and loss of libido. Older people might only show symptoms of fatigue and signs of weight loss which result in apathetic hyperthyroidism.
There could also be neurological manifestations such as myopathy, chorea, tremor or even periodic paralysis. A cardio embolic stroke may also occur due to atrial fibrillation and this is a rather serious complication of hyperthyroidism

Graves Disease Causes and Cures

Graves Disease Causes and Cures

It was perhaps even tougher for me, as I'm a holistic doctor that not only believes that there is a cause for every condition, but in most cases there also is a cure. And while there isn't a magic pill or supplement to cure Graves Disease, for many people it is possible to restore one's health through a natural treatment protocol. I'll briefly discuss this later in this article.
But first, here are some of the different Graves Disease causes:
Graves Disease Cause #1: inability to handle stress. Although most people know that stress can cause a lot of problems, most don't truly understand the impact that chronic stress can have on one's health over a period of many months or years. Our bodies were designed to handle acute stress situations, but not with chronic stress. As a result, a person who deals with chronic stress and does a poor job of managing it will most likely develop adrenal issues, which in turn can affect immunity, and over a period of time can lead to the development of an autoimmune condition.
Obviously it is not possible to completely eliminate the stress from your life. But most of us can do a much better job of handling stress. In fact, for anyone with Graves' Disease looking to restore their health, stress management is a key component.
Graves Disease Cause #2: Nutritional deficiencies. Having one or more nutritional deficiencies can cause or contribute to Graves Disease. There are many different nutritional deficiencies one can have, but two of the more common ones are iodine and Vitamin D. Many people wrongly assume that people with Graves' Disease have an excess of iodine, but this usually isn't the case. For more information on the importance of iodine and why most people are deficient in it, I highly recommend reading the book "Iodine, Why You Need It, Why You Can't Live Without It".
Vitamin D is another important nutrient when it comes to immunity. One of the big reasons many people are deficient in vitamin D is because they avoid the sun, and/or put sunscreen on every time they go outside. For more information about vitamin D, visit the website vitamindcouncil.

Hypothyroidism and Goiter - Hypothyroidism Causes Enlargement of the Thyroid

Hypothyroidism and Goiter - Hypothyroidism Causes Enlargement of the Thyroid

Hypothyroidism, in general, has exactly the opposite effects as those of hyperthyroidism, although it may be caused by autoimmunity as well but a kind of immunity that destroys the gland rather than stimulates it. Most of the patients first have autoimmune thyroiditis, an inflammation of the thyroid glands. This causes deterioration and eventually, fibrosis of the gland or the replacement of thyroid tissue with connective tissue. Fibrotic tissue is incapable of producing thyroid hormone and a deficiency in the hormone occurs. In most cases, an enlagement of the thyroid gland is observed.
Endemic Colloid Goiter
Around 50 milligrams of iodine are required every year for the normal functioning of the thyroid gland and for production of sufficient amounts of thyroid hormone. In some areas of the world like the Swiss Alps, the Andes, and the Great Lakes regions of the United States of America, there are less than adequate quantities of iodine in the soil for the foodstuffs to contain this yearly requirement. In the days when iodized table salt was not yet available, people from these areas developed extremely large thyroid glands called endemic goiters.
Endemic goiters develop when the lack of iodine prevents the formation of sufficient quantities of the thyroid hormones thyroxine and triiodothyronine. Because of the low concentrations of thyroid hormone, there is nothing that could inhibit the production of thyroid-stimulating hormone or TSH by the pituitary gland, which would result in the anterior pituitary gland secreting increased amounts of the hormone targeting the thyroid gland. The increased levels of TSH stimulate the thyroid gland to produce increased amounts of thyroglobulin. However, without iodine to bind to the tyrosine residues in the tyroglobulin molecule, there is still no production of hormones. This causes the thyroid gland to increase in size, sometimes to as large as 10 to 20 times its normal size.
Idiopathic Nontoxic Colloid Goiter
Similarly enlarged thyroid glands filled with colloid may also happen to people who do not have an iodine deficiency, unlike patients with endemic goiter. These people may have normal levels of thyroid hormone secretion but more often than not, the secretion of thyroid hormone is depressed like that of endemic goiter.
The exact cause for the enlargement of the thyroids of patients with iodiopathic nontoxic colloid goiter is not known. However, most of these patients do show signs of mild thyroiditis, which led to the suggestion that thyroiditis might lead to slightly lower concentrations of the hormone, which in turn could cause increase in TSH secretion and progressive growth of unaffected portions of the gland. This could explain why the thyroid glands of these patients are usually nodular, with some areas exhibiting growth while some are being destroyed by thyroiditis.