Overactive thyroid

Hyperthyroidism or overactive thyroid is a medical condition caused by a surplus of circulation of free thyroxine (T4) or free triiodothyronine (T3), or both. Overactive thyroid causes in humans are Graves' disease. This is the major reason for overactive thyroid with about 70-80% diagnosis confirming this fact. Others could get a overactive thyroid condition because of toxic thyroid adenoma, toxic multinodular goiter or even overload thyroid hormone from pills. In rare instances, Amiodarone, a heart medicine can cause it.


Overactive thyroid causes should not be confused with true hyperthyroidism. This includes subacute and other forms of thyroiditis. When you are affected with overactive thyroid, you are likely to experience increased clinical weight loss. Intolerance to heat, excessive fatigue, tiredness, hyperactivity, touchiness, lethargy, depression, polyuria, and sweating are profound symptoms. Patients may also experience palpitations and arrhythmias, breathlessness (dyspnea), loss of libido, nausea/vomiting, and even excessive diarrhea. Very often, elderly patients may not show such symptoms of overactive thyroid and would only experience fatigue and weight loss, which leads to apathetic hyperthyroidism.Overactive thyroid also brings on neurological symptoms such as trembling, chorea, myopathy, and intermittent paralysis.

Overactive thyroid diagnosis is possible through blood tests. This is done by measuring the level of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in the blood. In case reports show a low TSH it points to greater than before production of T4 and/or T3. During tests for overactive thyroid certain antibodies are measured. This includes anti-TSH-receptor antibodies in Graves' disease.

In relation to overactive thyroid treatment there are various alternatives that physicians present, based up on a patients condition.

Surgery for overactive thyroid involves removal of the thyroid or a part of it. Though an option, it is not the most commonly suggested treatment. This is because overactive thyroid can be efficiently treated with the radioactive iodine method. Nevertheless, a number of Graves' disease patients who may be intolerant to medicines or refuse such treatment decide on for surgical involvement. This is because some patients have extremely large glands and may even have bulging eyes. In such instances radioiodine treatment is thought to be unsafe because huge dose of iodine is though to exaggerate the patient's symptoms.

Radioiodine therapy is an oral prescription either in pill or liquid form. The iodine used varies from iodine used in a scan. Radioactive iodine is given prescribed after a regular iodine scan, and dose of iodine is determined as per the condition.