What happens when you have a overactive thyroid symptoms or
over active thyroid? Are there any side effects of overactive thyroids signs?
If you have an overactive thyroid or an overactive thyroid symptons you have hyperthyroidism. The thyroid, in this case, produces an overabundance of hormones that affects your entire body. This leads to thyrotoxicosis a condition that comes from a toxic excess of thyroid hormone in your body. While there is a potential for this from people taking excess thyroid hormone, it also comes from the overproduction of the hormone by the thyroid gland.
The thyroid produces several different hormones but the two most important ones are T3 and T4. T3 is a combination of the tyrosine produced in the thyroid with three molecules of iodine. T4 is the same tyrosine but combined with four molecules of iodine. The T3 directly relates to the body's metabolism and if the body runs short, it converts the T4 to T3.
The pituitary gland located in the brain tells the thyroid when to release more hormones by releasing TSH. It in turn receives a signal from the hypothalamus that it needs to release the hormone. The amount of hormone in the blood dictates the whole cycle. If any of the three glands overproduce a hormone, the person develops hyperthyroidism.
Causes of Overactive Thyroid
Some patients show no symptoms of overactive thyroid. People over the age of 70 normally don't display symptoms of the disease either. The more obvious the overactive thyroid symptoms, the more severe the degree of hyperthyroidism.
Picture Barney Fife and you'll have the look of a person with hyperthyroidism. He's thin, nervous and often agitated. Hyperthyroidism causes weight loss, so normally thin people aren't necessarily hyperthyroid victims. People with hyperthyroidism have tremors or shaking. They find that warm rooms are far more intolerable because of the increased fuel they burn. There's often excessive sweating when a person has hyperthyroidism.
Besides the increased weight loss, the person has a rapid heartbeat. Everything in their body seems to work more rapidly, including their bowels. Since the metabolism is increased, they digest and evacuate waste faster and therefore have an increase in bowel movements. Often these are loose and accompanied by gastrointestinal upset.
While the body undergoes the rapid internal activity, including a racing heart, it wears itself out and the hyperthyroid victim becomes exhausted and chronically fatigued. Women tend to have more irregular periods and scantier ones when they appear. Not only does the heart race but the victim of the hyperactive thyroid also has a racing mind that makes their concentration difficult.
Other symptoms of hyperthyroidism include hair loss, muscle deterioration, bulging "spaced out" eyes, moist skin that's warm to the touch, breathlessness and chest pain.
While older patients may not show these signs, they may have the irregular heartbeats and that can create heart failure.
The thought of eating all you want and still losing weight brings a smile to most people's faces, but it isn't wonderful when it's part of an overactive thyroid symptoms problem. The condition may even get far more serious if left untreated. A thyroid storm can occur. The thyroid storm brings with it mental confusion and changes, delirium occasionally, high blood pressure, heart failure and fever.