When your thyroid, a small butterfly-shaped gland in your neck, is over-active, you can be said to have hyperthyroidism. This is sometimes known as thyrotoxicosis. In very basic terms, your thyroid gland is producing too much of the thyroid hormones. Thyroid hormones have multiple roles in the body, from controlling your metabolic rate to bone health, temperature regulation, digestion and muscle function.

The symptoms of hyperthyroidism can be unpleasant and harmful. Fortunately, treatment is generally very effective.

Hyperthyroidism symptoms

Many different symptoms can indicate that your thyroid is overactive. These can include:

• Fatigue and exhaustion
• Sense of weakness in your muscles
• Anxiety and irritability, as well as other mood changes
• Insomnia
• Heightened energy, with hyperactivity
• Heat sensitivity and excessive sweating
• Shaking, twitching, or trembling with no other clear reason
• Palpitations
• Diarrhea
• Excessive thirst
• Urinary urgency and increased frequency
• Itchiness
• Decreased libido
• Hives
• Hair loss and thinning
• Weight loss
• Increased appetite
• Eye complaints
• Swelling evidenced on your neck, known as a goiter

If you believe you have the symptoms of an overactive thyroid, it is important to go to your GP who will be able to run tests to diagnose you. Simple blood tests are often all that is needed.

Bear in mind that you are unlikely to experience all of these symptoms, so do get checked out if you are only experiencing some. It’s also important to recognize that the symptoms of hypothyroidism don’t always come on gradually, or suddenly – it can be a mix. The severity can also vary from individual to individual. Your symptoms may be caused by something else, but it’s worth being sure.

Leaving hyperthyroidism undiagnosed and untreated won’t only leave you struggling with difficult symptoms. It can also cause long-term health complications including vision problems and a ‘thyroid storm’ which can be life-threatening. Untreated hyperthyroidism can also be dangerous in pregnancy, leading to complications such as pre-eclampsia and premature birth.

Hyperthyroidism causes

It’s worth noting that hypothyroidism is considerably more common in women. It tends to develop and become evident between age 20 and 40.

The causes of hyperthyroidism are generally quite varied. These include:

• Graves’ disease: This is the most common cause of an overactive thyroid and accounts for the majority of hyperthyroid cases. Graves’ disease is an autoimmune condition; your immune system effectively attacks the thyroid, causing damage. We don’t know what causes Graves’ disease itself, but there is often genetic predisposition and certain lifestyle factors, e.g. smoking, can increase your risk.
• Nodules or lumps: Occasionally, nodules form on the thyroid gland stimulating hormone production. These lumps aren’t normally cancerous. This is a more common cause of hyperthyroidism in those aged over 60.
• Medication: In some cases, medications used to treat another condition may cause hyperthyroidism. This may happen if a medication contains iodine. An example is a medication for arrhythmia called amiodarone.

There are some other causes but these are generally rarer. Complications of pregnancy can trigger hyperthyroidism, as can a particular benign tumor of the pituitary gland called an adenoma. Rarely, hyperthyroidism is caused by thyroid cancer.

Hyperthyroidism diagnosis

Diagnosis of hyperthyroidism is usually by way of a simple blood test. This looks at the different thyroid hormone levels in your blood. It is commonly known as a thyroid function test.

Specifically, the thyroid function test will measure the amounts of:

• Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH)
• Triiodothyronine (T3)
• Thyroxine (T4)

For a diagnosis of hyperthyroidism, you would expect to see low levels of TSH and high levels of T3 or T4, or both. Normal values are gained by looking at others in your age group, as it is normal for levels to change with age.

If your tests indicate hyperthyroidism, you may be sent for more tests to discover the cause. For example, for Graves’ disease you may have another blood test known as the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) test. You may also be sent for a scan.

Hyperthyroidism treatment

In the vast majority of cases, hyperthyroidism is treatable.

There are three primary treatments for hyperthyroidism:

• Taking long-term medication to prevent your thyroid gland from producing too much of the thyroid hormones.
• Undergoing a type of radiotherapy called radioiodine treatment to break down some of the excess cells in the thyroid.
• Thyroid removal surgery (this then requires long-term thyroid medication).

The most common medications used to treat hyperthyroidism are called thionamides, such as Propylthiouracil tablets . These medications prevent your thyroid from producing too much of the thyroid hormones.

It can take quite a while for the medication to have a noticeable effect on your symptoms. So, don’t be surprised if it takes a couple of months. Sometimes your GP will prescribe other medications, such as beta blockers, to help alleviate your symptoms, whilst you are waiting for the thyroid medication to start working.

Sometimes, taking medication can be a short-term event and is enough to ‘calm’ the thyroid and stop excess hormone production. Other hyperthyroid sufferers need to take the tablets for years. Some will need to take medication for life.

As with all medications, you may experience some side effects, especially when you first start taking them.

Radioactive iodine treatment and surgery are also sometimes used as treatments for hyperthyroidism.

If you have surgery to remove your thyroid gland, this will cause hypothyroidism. Your body will be unable to produce the hormones needed. Therefore, those with hypothyroidism caused by thyroid removal surgery, need to take different thyroid medication, to replace the missing hormones. We’ve explained previously about the importance of replacing missing T3 and T4 thyroid hormones with medications such as Armour Thyroid.

Being in control of your hyperthyroidism

It’s essential that you are properly diagnosed with hyperthyroidism by a medical professional.

As with all long-term conditions, feeling in control of your condition and medication is vital. We ship hyperthyroid medication, such as Propylthiouracil tablets to the UK, Australia, Japan, Switzerland and many other countries around the world, putting you in control of your condition.