Thyroid hormones are produced by the thyroid gland, and their function is to set the speed at which all the cells in our body work. They are metabolic hormones, which should be in the normal range, neither high nor low.
Having low thyroid hormones means that the heart slows down (brachycardia), the intestine works less (constipation), the metabolism slows down (fat and cholesterol rises), the person is sleepy, swollen and tired.
If, on the other hand, there are too many hormones, the patient will be nervous, tachycardic, excited, with tremor, diarrhea, sleeping little and losing weight. Many ‘fat burning’ pills sold for weight loss have thyroid hormones in their composition. This is very dangerous in the sense that it leads to increased cardiac output (tachycardia and ischemic pathologies), increased oxygen consumption at the neuronal level (psychosis), increased digestive activity (diarrhea) and accelerated bone remodeling (osteoporosis).
Types of thyroid disorders
Thyroid disorders are many and varied. Hyperthyroidism due to autoimmune causes is very common and is called Graves’ Basedow disease. There are multiple treatments to control it: antithyroid drugs, radioactive iodine and thyroid surgery. Immune-mediated hypothyroidism is becoming a very common pathology and many people have it. But nowadays medicine gives a good answer to this disorder with a drug that carries this hormone and that is easily taken.
In any of the disorders, due to hormonal excess or defect, the thyroid gland must be studied because there may be nodules, which must then be analyzed. This is done by means of what is called “PAAF” (puncture/aspiration/needle/fine needle), a bloodless technique that is performed in minutes under ultrasound control.
If there is suspicion that the thyroid process may be malignant, a resection of the thyroid gland will be performed, partially or totally. If the surgeon is an expert, there are very few side effects from this intervention and it can be a very valid option when there are certain doubts. Subsequent treatment is straightforward and is usually uneventful.