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Hyperthyroidism
February 4, 2009 |
Justin Hall enjoys playing bass guitar in his band. But one day Justin noticed some
uncomfortable changes in his body.
“I had really bad heart palpitations and it was extreme and I had tremors. I felt
like I was shaking on the inside. Sometimes I just wanted to hurry up and just get
off stage because I felt like I was going to die any minute,” Hall says.
Eager to learn why he was feeling this way, Justin went to see his physician. After
a few tests he learned that his thyroid was working too hard and the diagnosis was
hyperthyroidism.
The symptoms of hyperthyroidism sounded very familiar to Justin. Dr. Athan Drimoussis
is an endocrinologist with Lee Memorial Health System. He says, “He will break down
a lot of calories, thus lose weight. Insomnia, ability to sleep, it will go down.
Feeling shaky, sweaty, palpitations.”
The thyroid gland is actually just a small, butterfly-shaped gland that’s located
at the base of your neck, but that small gland has a big effect on how your body
operated. Dr. Drimoussis says, “It gives energy or fuel for every single cell of
your body.”
There are several treatment options to get the thyroid hormone back to normal levels.
“In general, we can give them thyroid hormone blockers, a medication that blocks
excess thyroid hormone production. And also we can give them radioactive iodine,
which is specific radiation for the thyroid cells,” adds Dr. Drimoussis. In some
cases the physician may need to surgically remove part of the thyroid gland.
For Justin, he’s happy to be feeling like his old self
once again. “I was glad just
to get out of there knowing that, yes, I don’t have it no more. Not a good feeling.” |
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