If it is not treated, hyperthyroidism can lead to serious problems with the heart, bones, muscles, menstrual cycle, and fertility. Thyroid hormone helps the body use energy, stay warm and keep the brain, heart, muscles, and other organs working as they should. In a person with hyperthyroidism, the thyroid gland makes and releases too much thyroid hormone, which controls your metabolism.
Hyperthyroidism can cause nervousness, irritability, moodiness, increased perspiration sweatiness , rapid heartbeat that tends to be more noticeable at night, hand tremors, and weight loss. Other symptoms can include increased sensitivity to heat, loose stools, weight loss, fatigue, muscle weakness and difficulty sleeping.
A telltale sign of hyperthyroidism is an enlarged thyroid gland, called a goiter, which can appear as a swelling at the base of the neck. Other physical changes can include very smooth skin, protruding eyes, brittle nails and hair loss. The doctor will make a diagnosis of hyperthyroidism based on symptoms, a physical exam and blood tests to measure thyroid hormones.
The physical exam will include a check for an enlarged thyroid gland, rapid pulse, very smooth skin, eye changes and a tremor in the fingers or hand. There are several treatments for hyperthyroidism. Your doctor will choose an appropriate treatment based on your age, your physical condition, the cause of your hyperthyroidism and how severe your condition is, Dr.
Burroughs says. You will also have regular thyroid hormone tests to check your levels of hormones called T4 and T3. These tests are a good way to know how well your treatment is working. If your symptoms do not go away after your initial treatment, you may need to repeat the treatment or try a different treatment.
Sometimes treatment cures your hyperthyroidism but may cause hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism is the opposite of hyperthyroidism—instead of making too much thyroid hormone, your body is now making too little thyroid hormone. Hypothyroidism is most common after treatment with radioactive iodine. But it can also occur after surgery and sometimes after taking antithyroid medicine. Be sure to call your doctor if you start to gain weight, feel tired, or feel cold more often than usual.
These symptoms may mean you have hypothyroidism and you need to take a different medicine called thyroid hormone medicine.
For more information, see the topic Hypothyroidism. If radioactive iodine or antithyroid medicines are not working well, you may need:. After treatment with radioactive iodine, you may develop hypothyroidism too little thyroid hormone. Call your doctor if you have any of the symptoms of hypothyroidism such as gaining weight, feeling tired, or feeling cold more often than usual.
If you do have hypothyroidism, you may need to take thyroid hormone medicine for the rest of your life. People who smoke are more likely to develop Graves' disease and Graves' ophthalmopathy, also called thyroid eye disease, than people who do not smoke. Be sure to see your doctor regularly so he or she can be sure that your hyperthyroidism treatment is working, that you are taking the right amount of medicine, and that you are not having any side effects.
If you have Graves' ophthalmopathy , you may need to use eyedrops to help moisten your eyes and wear sunglasses to protect your eyes. Antithyroid medicine is often used for hyperthyroidism, because it works more quickly than radioactive iodine therapy.
Radioactive iodine therapy destroys part or all of the thyroid gland, depending on the dosage used. But antithyroid medicine does not cause permanent thyroid damage. You may take antithyroid medicine before you have radioactive iodine treatment or surgery—to bring your metabolism to normal, to make you feel better, or to reduce the chances of more serious problems.
Antithyroid medicine does control hyperthyroidism in many people. But the medicine does have some drawbacks. Your doctor may prescribe additional medicines to treat symptoms caused by hyperthyroidism, such as rapid heartbeat or dry eyes. These medicines can help you feel better while you wait for another treatment to begin to work. Surgery for hyperthyroidism thyroidectomy removes part or all of the thyroid gland. Doctors rarely use this surgery to treat hyperthyroidism.
You may need surgery if:. If you are having surgery, your doctor will have you take antithyroid medicines before surgery to bring your thyroid hormone levels as close to normal as possible.
After surgery, your doctor will check your thyroid hormone levels regularly, because you may develop hypothyroidism too little thyroid hormone. Hypothyroidism is treated with thyroid hormone medicine. Surgery is the fastest way to treat your hyperthyroidism. But it is not used very often and is more risky than other treatments. Radioactive iodine is considered by many doctors to be the best treatment for hyperthyroidism.
You swallow it in a liquid form or capsule, and the iodine is taken up by your thyroid gland. The radioactivity in the iodine kills most or all of the tissue in your thyroid gland.
But it does not harm any other parts of your body. The main drawback of radioactive iodine is that it can damage your thyroid gland so that your body no longer produces enough thyroid hormone. This is a common result of treatment.
And most people who receive radioactive iodine eventually develop hypothyroidism having too little thyroid hormone. If you develop hypothyroidism, you will need to take thyroid hormone medicine for the rest of your life. Radioactive iodine should not be used by children or by women who are pregnant, women who are breastfeeding, or women who want to become pregnant within 6 months of treatment.
Doctors have used radioactive iodine to treat hyperthyroidism for more than 60 years. There is no evidence that radioactive iodine causes cancer, infertility, or birth defects. Author: Healthwise Staff. Medical Review: E. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor.
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Learn how we develop our content. To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. Updated visitor guidelines. You are here Home » Hyperthyroidism. Top of the page. Topic Overview What is hyperthyroidism? What causes hyperthyroidism? This topic focuses on hyperthyroidism caused by Graves' disease. What are the symptoms? You may have no symptoms at all.
Or: You may feel nervous, moody, weak, or tired. Your hands may shake, your heart may beat fast, or you may have problems breathing. You may be hot and sweaty or have warm, red, itchy skin. You may have more bowel movements than usual. You may have fine, soft hair that is falling out. You may lose weight even though you eat the same or more than usual. How is hyperthyroidism diagnosed? How is it treated? Radioactive iodine is the most common treatment.
Most people are cured after taking one dose. It destroys part of your thyroid gland, but it does not harm any other parts of your body.
Antithyroid medicine works best if your symptoms are mild. These pills do not damage your thyroid gland. But they do not always work, and you have to take them at the same time every day. If they stop working, you may need to try radioactive iodine. Health Tools Health Tools help you make wise health decisions or take action to improve your health.
Decision Points focus on key medical care decisions that are important to many health problems. Cause Graves' disease is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism. Other common causes include: Thyroid nodules. Thyroid nodules are abnormal growths in the thyroid gland that can make too much thyroid hormone. For more information, see the topic Thyroid Nodules. Thyroiditis occurs when your body makes antibodies that damage your thyroid gland.
You can also get thyroiditis from a viral or bacterial infection. At first, thyroiditis may cause your thyroid levels to rise as hormone leaks out from the damaged gland. Later, levels may be low hypothyroidism until the gland repairs itself.
Symptoms You may have hyperthyroidism if you: Feel nervous, moody, weak, or tired. Have hand tremors, or have a fast or irregular heartbeat, or have trouble breathing even when you are resting.
Feel very hot, sweat a lot, or have warm, red skin that may be itchy. Have frequent and sometimes loose bowel movements. Have fine, soft hair that is falling out. Lose weight even though you are eating normally or more than usual. Specific symptoms of Graves' disease People with Graves' disease often have additional symptoms, including: Goiter , which is an enlarged, painless thyroid gland.
Thickened nails that lift off the nail beds. Pretibial myxedema, which is lumpy, reddish, thick skin on the front of the shins and sometimes on top of the feet.
Clubbing fingers with wide tips. Graves' ophthalmopathy , which causes bulging, reddened eyes , among other symptoms. Complications Graves' ophthalmopathy is a possible complication of hyperthyroidism. If you do not treat your hyperthyroidism, you may: Lose weight because your body's metabolism is faster. Have heart problems such as rapid heart rate, atrial fibrillation , and heart failure.
Have trouble replacing calcium and other minerals in your bones, which can lead to osteoporosis. For example, most patients with thyroid cancer can be cured through surgery and radioactive iodine treatments see Thyroid Cancer brochure. While their cancer is cured, the curative treatment results in hypothyroidism requiring thyroid hormone replacement for life.
Antithyroid medication, radioactive iodine, and surgery are all effective treatments and can restore thyroid function to normal. However, the thyroid stimulating antibodies may return causing the Graves disease to relapse.
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