Your thyroid produces triiodothyronine, calcitonin, and tetraiodothyronine. Sometimes, your thyroid doesn’t work properly, though, and you develop thyroid disease. Thyroid disease is a general term that refers to disorders that affect your thyroid function, in particular, your hormone levels. When your hormone levels are abnormal, you may feel a variety of symptoms that affect everything from your weight to your energy levels to your eyes.
Fortunately, you may find help from our Lake Oconee primary care center. In some cases, you may receive a referral to a specialist.
Here are signs that you may need to get treatment for thyroid disease.
Experience Unexplained Weight Loss or Weight Gain
Unexplained weight loss or weight gain can be a sign of thyroid disease. Thyroid hormones play a role in your metabolism, specifically triiodothyronine. On the other hand, tetraiodothyronine affects your digestion.
With hypothyroidism, your body doesn’t produce enough hormones. Therefore, your body doesn’t carry out the functions that the hormones regulate properly, so you may gain weight.
On the other hand, if you have hyperthyroidism, your body produces too much hormone, in particular, thyroxine. This hormone affects your metabolism, so when your body produces too much, your metabolism speeds up. You lose weight unintentionally.
Therefore, unexplained weight loss or weight gain that’s continuous is a cause for you to visit a thyroid disease doctor for treatment.
Have a Slow or Rapid Heartrate
Thyroid hormones affect your heart rate. A healthy adult who doesn’t smoke usually has a heart rate of between 60 to 100 beats per minute. Athletic individuals may have a lower heart rate. If you have hypothyroidism, your heart rate may be under 60 beats per minute. With hyperthyroidism, your heart rate may be faster than 100 beats per minute. You want to get these issues under control. Some people experience immediate effects of an abnormal heart rate like fainting spells, shortness of breath, or dizziness. However, both forms can cause complications, such as heart failure.
Have Irregular Periods
When you don’t produce enough thyroid hormones, your body’s functions may slow down, including your menstrual cycle. On the other hand, an overproduction of thyroid hormones causes the opposite effect on your menstrual cycle.
Therefore, if you have thyroid disease, you may notice a change in your menstrual cycle. Your period may be lighter or heavier. You might notice that your period becomes erratic. It’s possible that your period will even stop for several months or longer.
Experience Chronic Fatigue
Thyroid hormones are necessary for energy metabolism. When your body produces an abnormal amount, you don’t have the energy that you once did before the thyroid disease developed. You may notice that you suffer from chronic fatigue, which will cause you to feel tired on a regular basis. You might also wake up feeling unrefreshed.
Have Thinning Hair
Thyroxine and tetraiodothyronine are necessary for hair growth. Specifically, these hormones are necessary for the production of keratinocytes. When your body doesn’t make keratinocytes quickly enough, you’ll notice that your hair doesn’t grow as fast. This happens if you have hypothyroidism. However, with both hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism, your hair may begin to thin because of the effect of the hormones on hair growth.
Experience Eye Problems
Thyroid diseases can cause your eyes to swell. They may even begin to bulge. Some people notice that their eyes feel gritty like something is in them. Your eyelids may look puffy, too. A problem with your thyroid could also lead to vision changes, such as double vision.
Why Choose Our Eatonton, GA Doctors for Your Thyroid Disease
The symptoms of a thyroid issue are a nuisance and can affect a variety of aspects of your overall health, but immediate treatment can ease the symptoms and prevent complications.
A doctor from Lake Oconee Concierge Medicine can detect the symptoms and possibly provide treatment, or refer you to someone who can help. We have practitioners who care and always treat you as a top priority, whether you’re visiting our Lake Oconee primary care center or are in need of our Lake Oconee urgent care services.
Call Lake Oconee Concierge Medicine, serving Eatonton and the nearby Georgia region, if you have signs of a thyroid problem. You may call us at 706-484-9824, or use our online appointment scheduling tool.
