What is Hyperthyroidism?

Hyperthyroidism, or over-active thyroid, refers to conditions caused by excessive thyroid hormones Free T3 and Free T4. Hyperthyroidism is where your hormonal system is not functioning because too much of your metabolic hormone is being produced and released into your system.

This means the rate in which your burn fat and calories will be hugely accelerated, instigating rapid fat loss, excess sweating, heart palpitations, anxiety, nervousness and mood swings.

Initially this might sound like a fabulous way to lose weight fast, so you can throw out your diet pills and quick fat loss fads and drop pounds “naturally.” However, if left untreated, hyperthyroidism can cause serious and permanent health issues.

Common causes

The most common cause of hyperthyroidism is autoimmune conditions. Autoimmunity is where the immune system mistakenly begins to perceive the thyroid as a foreign body and begins to attack it. Other common causes can be lumps on the thyroid (nodules) or if the thyroid is inflamed (thyroiditis).

Graves ’ disease: This is where your thyroid gland is producing too much hormone. This can also lead to the development of a goitre, or enlarged thyroid gland. This condition affects more women than men at a ratio of 7:1. (Women: 100/100,000 compared to Men: 33/100,000). Graves peaks in the third to fourth decade of life and is rare before 10 years of age. Like other thyroid complaints and autoimmune conditions, Graves has a familial predisposition and can overlap with another autoimmune thyroid condition called Hashimoto’s disease.

Thyroiditis: This is a disease that can trigger thyroid hormone to be released from your stores when they aren’t required. This will cause hyperthyroidism temporarily, usually for a few weeks or months, and it can be associated with pain or be painless.

Nodules: If the nodules in your thyroid are overactive it can result in thyroid disease. When there are many lumps present it’s known as a toxic multi- nodular goitre.

Case Study

Jan was extremely upset and worried as her doctor had told her that she may need to have her thyroid removed because her blood tests had came back alarmingly low. He had told her that her thyroid was overactive-hyperthyroid. Further investigation and testing was done and her clinical diagnosis found the exact opposite; she actually had an under-active thyroid! She had all the symptoms, her temperature was low and she had slow reflex speed. She was treated with herbal supplements and specific nutrients at the right doses for 2 months and she is now symptom free and feels fantastic! She also still has a fully functional and healthy thyroid as, with treatment, it did not require surgical removal.

The take-away? There are diagnosis and treatment options available, both medicinal and natural, to treat these conditions