Hyperthyroidism & Hypothyroidism
Managing Your Thyroid Disease
Have you or your child been diagnosed with thyroid disease? We understand how the diagnosis can be scary. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We believe the first step in managing your thyroid disease is understanding how your thyroid works and what issues might be causing your disorder.
What Does the Thyroid Do?
Your thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the front of your neck. It releases thyroid hormones (T3 and T4) into your bloodstream which then control your metabolism. Your metabolism is the process of how your body turns the food you eat into energy. When your thyroid is working right, it releases the proper amount of hormones, and replaces them as they are used up.
The pituitary gland at the base of your brain controls the thyroid. It monitors and controls the amount of thyroid hormones in your bloodstream. When the pituitary gland senses thyroid hormone levels that are too high or too low, it adjusts the amounts with its own hormone. This hormone is called thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). The TSH travels to the thyroid and communicates what the thyroid needs to do to get the levels of thyroid hormones back to normal.
Thyroid disease results when the thyroid makes too much or too little of the thyroid hormones your body needs to function properly.
Who Gets Thyroid Disease?
Anyone of any age can have thyroid disease – men, women, teenagers, and infants. It can be present at birth and it can develop as you get older (often after menopause in women). Thyroid disease is also very common, with nearly 20 million people in the US having some type of thyroid disorder. Women are 5-8 eight times more likely to be diagnosed with thyroid disease than men.
You may be at a higher risk of developing a thyroid disorder if you have any of these risk factors:
- You have a family member with thyroid disease.
- You have an autoimmune disorder.
- You take a medication that’s high in iodine.
- You’re a woman older than 60.
Types of Thyroid Disorders
There are 3 main types of thyroid disorders:- Hyperthyroidism
- Hypothyroidism
- Thyroiditis
What Is Hyperthyroidism?
Hyperthyroidism is when you have an overactive thyroid. This means your body makes too much thyroid hormone. This condition is also known as thyrotoxicosis.
Hyperthyroidism FAQs
Q: What causes hyperthyroidism?
A: The most common cause (70%) of hyperthyroidism is simply the overproduction of the thyroid hormone by the thyroid gland. This is called Grave’s disease. It’s an autoimmune disorder where antibodies attack the thyroid gland and cause it to overproduce thyroid hormone. Grave’s disease is hereditary and is more common in younger women.
Another cause of hyperthyroidism is nodules in the thyroid that grow and cause increased production of the thyroid hormone. This condition is called multinodular goiter or toxic nodular.
Q: What are some hyperthyroidism signs and symptoms?
A: Some of the common symptoms of hyperthyroidism include:
- Enlarged thyroid gland
- Weight loss
- Anxiety
- Nervousness
- Irritability
- Rapid pulse
- Heart palpitations
- Brittle hair and nails
- Difficulty sleeping
- Increased sweating
- Vision problems or bulging eyes
- Muscle weakness in your arms and legs
- Lighter menstrual flow
Since so many of these symptoms can be caused by other disorders, it’s important to get a physical exam, blood tests, and possibly a scan that can help diagnose hyperthyroidism. Your treatment will depend on your specific situation.
What Is Hypothyroidism?
Hypothyroidism is when you have an underactive thyroid gland. This means your body doesn’t make enough thyroid hormone. There is no cure, but it can be treated so that you can bring achieve normal levels.
Hypothyroidism FAQs
Q: What causes hypothyroidism?
A: There are many causes of hypothyroidism, some more common than others. We’ve listed the causes from most common to least common.
- Autoimmune disorder (such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis)
- Surgical removal of the thyroid (due to cancer, Grave’s disease, etc.)
- Radiation therapy
- Congenital hypothyroidism (when a baby is born with it)
- Thyroiditis
- Some medications
- Too little or too much iodine in your diet
- Damage to your pituitary gland
Research is still being done to determine the exact relationship between obesity and hypothyroidism. The two are closely linked, but it’s not completely clear which one is the causative factor for the other. You are definitely at a much higher risk of developing hypothyroidism if you are obese.
Q: What are some hypothyroidism signs and symptoms?
A: Some common symptoms of hypothyroidism include:
- You have started feeling cold all the time.
- You get tired more easily.
- Your skin and hair are drier.
- You’re forgetful.
- You’re gaining weight.
- You have frequent constipation.
- You have heavy or irregular periods.
These symptoms are common with a number of other disorders, so it’s important to get thyroid blood tests along with a physical exam.
What Is Thyroiditis?
Thyroiditis refers to a group of disorders that cause inflammation of your thyroid gland. Some conditions are temporary, while others cause permanent hypothyroidism. Thyroiditis is frequently an autoimmune disorder, where antibodies mistakenly attack the thyroid.
Symptoms are generally the same as hypothyroidism.
Types of Thyroiditis
Common types of thyroiditis include:
- Hashimoto’s thyroiditis – hypothyroidism caused by an autoimmune response, usually permanent.
- De Quervain thyroiditis (subacute thyroiditis) – painful thyroid with hypothyroidism possibly caused by a virus, usually resolves with treatment.
- Painless thyroiditis – hypothyroidism caused by autoimmune response that usually resolves, but can be permanent
- Post-partum thyroiditis – hypothyroidism caused by autoimmune response that usually resolves in 12-18 months, but may recur with future pregnancies
How Cima Health Can Help
Cima Health provides restorative, lifelong solutions that target the root cause of your thyroid disease, and help you manage it effectively. Your care will start out with a comprehensive evaluation to assess your overall health. We will also ask questions about your work and home life, lifestyle, and habits before making recommendations for an integrative plan of care. Together, we come up with non-invasive and successful treatments. The goal is to help you manage your thyroid disease and relieve any associated symptoms. We want to inspire you to achieve whole-body wellness, and live a long and healthy life.
Helping you manage your thyroid disease involves several treatment modalities, all of which you can receive in one location. They include:
Let’s take a look at how each of these areas works together to help you manage your thyroid issues.
Chiropractic Care
Did you know that chiropractic care may help you regulate your thyroid? Your thyroid gland is located right between the lowest cervical vertebra (C5) and the highest thoracic vertebra (T1). The nerves that communicate between your brain, your thyroid, and the rest of your body travel directly into and through the spinal cord, which is protected by the spinal column. If a vertebra near the thyroid gland has even the slightest subluxation, it can impede the communications that are necessary for proper thyroid function.
When you visit one of the chiropractors at Cima Health, a spinal adjustment will realign your vertebrae, improve communications, and may even help you reduce or eliminate your thyroid medications. A study published in 2017 did a case study of a woman with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and secondary hypothyroidism. After just two months of chiropractic care, she had significant improvement in her IBS and was able to discontinue her thyroid medication completely when a thyroid function test confirmed her hypothyroidism had resolved.
Our Palm Beach Gardens chiropractors are all highly trained professionals and include:
If your child has thyroid issues, you may want to book an appointment with Dr. Natalie, as one of her specialties is pediatric care. She can also help you manage your thyroid issues during pregnancy and in the postpartum period.
Functional Medicine
Our functional medicine team will play an integral part in you or your child learning how to manage your thyroid issues. We’ll start with a blood chemistry analysis that can help identify the root cause of your thyroid issues. Testing will also show if you have sensitivities or nutrient deficiencies, and more. We’ll identify factors inhibiting the proper production of thyroid hormone and develop a personalized plan that may include:
- Meal plans for supporting and optimizing thyroid health
- Limiting foods that interfere with thyroid health
- Supplement suggestions
- Weight loss tips
- Stress reduction tips
- Calls for you to stop smoking if you currently smoke
Since being overweight or obese is a major risk factor for developing a thyroid disorder, if you’re overweight, we’ll start with a customized weight loss program. Eating a lower calorie, nutrient-rich diet that keeps you feeling full longer can make it easier to lose weight. Our goal is to help you shed excess pounds in a healthy manner, and learn new ways of thinking about food to so you maintain a healthy weight and support thyroid health.
Physical Fitness
Another component to managing your thyroid levels and preventing hypothyroidism is getting plenty of exercise. Scientific analysis shows that obesity is strongly associated with an increased risk of hypothyroidism. While exercise won’t treat the underlying thyroid disorder, it can help reduce thyroid symptoms like mood problems, trouble sleeping, and weight gain.
Combined with a healthy hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism diet, exercising more will help you manage your thyroid disorder. Our physical fitness team of personal trainers can help develop an exercise plan that works with your current capabilities and inspires you to meet or exceed your weekly goals. This can mean starting out with basic, low-impact exercises and working your way up to intermediate and advanced exercises.
Massage Therapy
Massage therapy can help reduce your stress level, and help you relax. This is important to supporting a healthy thyroid function, because when you’re stressed, your body produces cortisol. Too much cortisol can interfere with proper thyroid function. In addition, high levels of stress can leave you vulnerable to autoimmune thyroid problems. And of course, a good massage just makes you feel good and more positive about your day.
The entire team at Cima Health works together to provide you with restorative, lifelong solutions.
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Book an Appointment
Managing your thyroid levels is easier when you have a caring team on your side. If you want to do all you can for your thyroid health, book an appointment today. One of our chiropractors will do a comprehensive examination to develop an integrative plan of care to help you improve your thyroid function, and inspire you to achieve whole-body wellness.
