Hyperthyroidism is a condition where your thyroid overproduces a hormone called thyroxine. The thyroid is a butterfly shaped organ on the front of your neck. Its job is to regulate how your body uses energy. This affects a lot of different functions in your body. When you have hyperthyroidism, all these functions are sped up and can cause problems. Hyperthyroidism can be caused by a lot of different things. This condition can cause serious issues if left untreated, but there are many treatment options to manage it and live a healthy and happy life.
Hyperthyroidism does not pose a serious health hazard if properly treated, but it’s important to stay committed to the treatment plan your doctor establishes for you. The signs and symptoms of hyperthyroidism are found is a number of other health problems, so it may take some time for your doctor to properly diagnose you. They have to rule out other causes for the issues that you’re experiencing. If you are experiencing some or all of the symptoms listed below, it’s important that you contact your doctor for testing. One of the first tests your doctor will do involves taking a blood sample to figure out your thyroid hormone levels.
1. Excessive Sweating
Sweating is a way for your body to regulate its temperature. This is why when you go out on a hot day, you begin sweating. Your body creates the moisture all along your skin. As it evaporates, it dispels heat in order to keep your body cool. A healthy adult is capable of sweating around 2-4 liters per hours during extreme activity or extremely hot weather. Normal sweating can also be caused by eating spicy foods or under certain emotional conditions such as embarrassment. Women going through menopause may experience sweating in the form of night sweats or during episodes or hot flashes. These are all normal experiences of sweating and shouldn’t cause alarm.
Excessive sweating also known as hyperhidrosis is when sweating occurs with seemingly no cause. It can happen when a person is at rest and in cool temperatures. Excessive sweating can affect the whole body or be localized to one or a couple parts of the body. While excessive sweating is not always a sign of serious illness, it can damage a person’s quality of life, and it can cause physical and emotional discomfort. When combined with other symptoms on this list, it can point to hyperthyroidism.
2. Fatigue
Fatigue is feeling tired or exhausted. You may not be able to move around much before needing to sit down and rest. The tiredness can make it difficult to concentrate on tasks in your day-to-day. You may feel weak and lack the strength to carry out activities. Even simple things like walking through your house can seem like a massive chore when you’re fatigued. In the case of this condition, fatigue can happen even after getting adequate sleep. You may feel exhausted upon waking and throughout your day. In some cases, insomnia might develop as a result of your thyroid producing too much of its hormone.
3. Hyperactivity
Hyperactivity is used to describe several different types of signs and behaviors. You may experience anywhere between one to all of the characteristics of this symptom. You may experience an inability to concentrate or being easily distracted. The need for constant movement is a sign of hyperactivity such as wandering or leg shaking. It might come in the form of impulsiveness or reckless decision making. Anxiety can be caused by hyperactivity. The inability to partake in quiet activities like reading is a sign. You might be fidgety or jumpy. Nervousness with no apparent cause can also be a sign of hyperactivity.
4. Restlessness
Restlessness is the inability to relax. It’s normal to feel restless now and then. It can be brought on from stress at work or after a heated argument with another person. If you find that you’re restless without an outside cause, it may be a sign of health problems. Restlessness can come in the form of fidgeting or pacing. You may be unable to sit down or partake in quiet activities for more than a few moments at a time. You might find yourself moving from one activity to another, unable to comfortably stay focused on one activity for more than a few moments at a time.
5. Mood Swings
Mood swings are considered rapid changes in mood. These can happen at any time for any length of time. Mood swings might happen quickly with you experiencing sudden changes in mood many times throughout the day. Other times it may happen with less frequency such as one dramatic shift in a day. The type of moods you can swing from vary from person to person. It’s rare for mood swings to be the only symptom of hyperthyroidism. Even if your mood swings aren’t caused by your thyroid, they can still affect your life negatively, and you should contact your doctor if you’re experiencing them.
6. Insomnia
Insomnia is a persistent difficulty with sleeping. This can be characterized by difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or a combination of both. You may lay in bed for hours before you’re able to fall asleep. You might be able to fall asleep only to wake a couple hours into sleeping. Hyperthyroidism isn’t the only reason you might develop insomnia. The causes of this symptom are numerous and can vary from work related stress to serious health problems. When insomnia is caused by hyperthyroidism, in most cases it will subside once treatment for the thyroid is put in place by your doctor.
7. Abnormal Heart Rhythm
One of the signs of hyperthyroidism is an abnormal heart rhythm. Abnormal heart rhythms can be the heart pumping slower, faster, or at irregular intervals. In people with an overactive thyroid, they can experience a heart rhythm that is faster than normal. It may feel like your heart is fluttering in your chest. This can sometimes cause chest pain and feeling short of breath. It can feel like your heart is pounding or skipping a beat. Persistent abnormal heart rhythms can be an indicator of a serious health problem. You should contact your doctor if you experience persistent abnormal heart rhythms.
8. Puffy Eyes
An overactive thyroid can cause the tissue and muscles around and behind the eyes to become inflamed and swell. This gives the appearance of puffy eyes. It can cause the eyes to look like they’re bulging from their sockets. This can affect eye movement. In severe cases, it can cause issues with your vision. Most cases of this symptom are mild, but there have been instances of the eye bulging so much that the eyelid cannot fully shut. This can cause a slew of other problems with the eye. If the swelling gets severe enough it can cause permanent damage to the ocular nerve.
9. Weight Loss
One of the things the thyroid regulates is the metabolism. When a thyroid is overactive, it speeds up the metabolism. This can cause you to lose weight suddenly and seemingly without obvious cause. While this may seem more like a perk then a symptom, sudden weight loss can be dangerous. If left unchecked, you might face serious malnutrition. If your metabolism is working faster than you can eat to keep up with it, your body will begin breaking down your muscles for energy. When it runs out of muscle to break down, it’ll move on to breaking down your organs.
10. Diarrhea
Diarrhea is one of the more common signs of an overactive thyroid. Since hyperthyroidism causes the bodily functions to speed up, your digestive system pushes things through it at a faster pace too. This causes diarrhea. If you have persistent diarrhea, it can cause you to become dehydrated. Persistent diarrhea can mean your body doesn’t have enough time to absorb all of the nutrition from the food and drink you consume. This ties directly into our previous symptom of weight loss. It doesn’t matter how much you’re eating if your body is pushing it all out before it has a chance to absorb the needed nutrition.
11. Panic Attacks
Not many people realize that an overactive thyroid can cause panic attacks. This can lead to being misdiagnosed with a panic disorder. Panic attacks can make you feel like you’re going crazy. It comes on as a sudden surge of overwhelming fear and anxiety. An attack can last from a few minutes to a couple of hours. Your extremities and face might tingle or feel numb. You may feel an urge to run away and hide. Your heart beat can speed up and sound louder. It can make your chest feel heavy and give you the sensation of not being able to catch your breath.
12. Irritability
Irritability is a form of mental agitation. It can make you feel like you’re on the edge of losing your cool. Everyone gets irritable now and then, but if you frequently find yourself snapping at friends and loved ones, it may be an overactive thyroid. It’s rare for irritability to be the only symptom of hyperthyroidism, but if you’re irritable and experiencing other signs and symptoms in this list, then you should set up an appointment with your doctor. Your doctor will be able to run a variety of tests to figure out if your symptoms are caused by an overactive thyroid or another health issue.
