The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland located in front of the neck. Its primary role is to regulate life-sustaining metabolism by producing thyroid hormones through iodine extracted from blood. The process helps your body break down food and convert it into energy, influencing your overall health.

The thyroid glands directly affect the body’s ability to digest food and derive energy at different rates. This gland is responsible for people having a fast or slow metabolism.

Exploring the lines of thyroid disease: causes, symptoms, and types, the following are the common types of thyroid diseases:

Hypothyroidism
When your thyroid gland doesn’t produce sufficient thyroid hormone, its hypothyroidism. In this case, you may experience sluggishness, be overly sensitive to cold, and lose appetite. It can slow down your metabolism rate and is hard to notice initially. The condition results from problems developed within the thyroid gland, the pituitary gland, or the hypothalamus. Hypothyroidism is very common among women. The symptoms include:

• Fatigue
• Poor concentration
• Feeling mentally sluggish or being depressed
• Fluid retention
• Dry skin
• Feeling cold
• Muscle and joint aches
• Constipation
• Prolonged or excessive menstrual bleeding

The common causes of hypothyroidism include:

• Hashimoto’s thyroiditis where the thyroid gland is gradually destroyed
• Surgical removal of a part of or the entire thyroid gland
• Certain medications taken to treat bipolar disorder or diabetes
• Excessive or insufficient iodine consumption
• Radioactive iodine treatment
• Pituitary gland damage
• Radiation therapy for certain cancers
• Damaged or absence of thyroid gland
• Turner syndrome (affecting only females)

Hyperthyroidism

Checking thyroid disease and its causes, symptoms, and types, hyperthyroidism is a condition where there is excessive production of thyroid hormone. This condition speeds up the metabolism process. Very often, an individual with hyperthyroidism will have more energy initially. However, energy levels break down quickly, leading to fatigue. These are the common symptoms experienced by someone with hyperthyroidism:

• An increased appetite
• Sensitivity to heat (heat intolerance)
• Fatigue and over-sweating
• Nervousness and restlessness
• An initial increase in energy levels that drop soon
• Nausea
• Difficulty sleeping or concentrating
• Irregular heartbeat
• Unintended weight loss
• Thin and brittle hair and hair loss
• Trembling hands
• Irritability
• Frequent bowel movements
• Muscle weakness
• Lighter menstrual flow or irregular periods

The most common causes of hyperthyroidism are:

• Graves’ disease (an autoimmune disorder causing an overactive thyroid)
• Excessive iodine consumption
• Thyroid nodules overproducing the thyroid hormone
• Toxic multinodular goiter that enlarges and produces excessive thyroid hormone

Hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism treatments
A person with hypothyroidism should manage the condition with thyroid hormone replacement available as pills. In most cases, the individual should take this medication forever. Gradually, it increases energy levels, promotes weight loss, and lowers cholesterol levels.

In thyroid disease causes, symptoms, and types, there are some effective treatments to address hyperthyroidism. These treatments are:

• Antithyroid medications that can reduce thyroid hormone production significantly. It’s very common and should be taken for the long-term.
• Radioactive iodine tablets stop thyroid cells from absorbing iodine and overproducing the hormone.
• Thyroidectomy where surgery is performed to remove the thyroid gland, partially, or entirely. Following surgical removal, consuming thyroid hormones is recommended.