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The thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland situated in the neck just below the Adam's apple. In spite of its size, the thyroid has a huge impact on one's hormones, metabolism, emotions, and overall health. The thyroid produces the body's thyroid hormones, primarily thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), which control your metabolism and promote the healthy development of many other systems in the body. In fact, a healthy thyroid keeps your heart, brain, digestive tract, muscles, nerves, and even your skin, hair, and nails in good condition. If you have a thyroid disorder, many or all of these vital body systems can be affected.
If your doctor diagnoses you with hypothyroidism, it simply means your thyroid isn't working as hard as it should. An under-active thyroid doesn't produce enough thyroid hormone that controls body temperature, and regulates the rate at which you burn fat and carbohydrates and produce protein. The result is that your body slows down, and you feel sluggish and less energetic.
Symptoms of hypothyroidism include:
If you have any of these symptoms, your doctor can run a blood test to screen your hormone levels. Hypothyroidism is generally treated with drug therapy, and does not require surgery.
The effects of hyperthyroidism are just the opposite of hypothyroidism. In this case, your thyroid is working too hard and overproducing thyroid hormones, making your body run faster than it should. Hyperthyroidism causes your metabolism to speed up to an abnormal rate, resulting in:
Treatment for hyperthyroidism can include medications to slow down the production of thyroid hormone, radioactive iodine to kill the thyroid cells, or surgery to remove the thyroid completely (thyroidectomy).
Sometimes the tissue in the thyroid will begin to grow abnormally, producing solid or fluid-filled lumps known as nodules. The thyroid may develop one or many nodules, which can sometimes be felt from outside the neck. Nodules are usually benign, or non-cancerous, but can sometimes be malignant, or cancerous. If the nodules are cancerous or very large, they will need to be surgically removed.
When the thyroid gland becomes enlarged, it is called a goiter. Although it is generally not uncomfortable, you may notice swelling in your neck, making your collars or necklaces tighter than normal. After a certain point, a goiter can interfere with your breathing and ability to swallow. A goiter may occur if you have hyper- or hypothyroidism; either the thyroid grows in an attempt to make more hormones, or the thyroid cells multiply faster than they need to. If a goiter does not get smaller after hormone treatment, it may need to be surgically removed.
To determine whether a nodule is cancerous or not, your doctor may conduct a fine-needle aspiration biopsy. After numbing the area around your thyroid, your doctor will pass a fine needle into the nodule to remove a small amount of cells, which will be examined under a microscope by a pathologist. If the nodule is found to be cancerous, it will need to be removed.
There are generally three reasons that all or part of your thyroid will need to be surgically removed:
During surgery, you will be given general anesthesia and IV fluid support so that you sleep comfortably through the entire surgery. The surgeon will then make an incision along the base of the neck, and remove half, most, or all of the thyroid gland. Once the surgery is complete, the surgeon will close the incision with sutures and or surgical glue.
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