I have an overactive Thyroid. What is the best way to treat this?

Answer 1

The most important thing is to find out what the cause of your overactive thyroid is. Hyperthyroidism is a symptom not a diagnosis.

The most common cause of hyperthyroidism is Grave's disease, which is easily treated with methimizole.

Thyroid cancer is a rare cause of hyperthyroidism. Radiation, chemo, or surgery, or all of the above would be needed.

Answer 2

There r three lines of treatment available for hyperthyroidism ( overactive thyroid _
Surgery - if it is over active nodule.
Radiation - But this may lead to hypothyroism later on in some cases.
medical tratment - Drugs which supresses thyroid harmone production like Neomarcazole .The doses can be adjusted according to nedd & Blood conc of thyroid harmones that is TSH ,T3 & T$. Doses can be regulated by repeated blood test whenever nedded.

Answer 3

Treatment
The major and generally accepted modalities for treatment of hyperthyroidism in humans are:

Surgery
Surgery (to remove the whole thyroid or a part of it) is not extensively used because most common forms of hyperthyroidism are quite effectively treated by the radioactive iodine method. However, some Graves' disease patients who cannot tolerate medicines for one reason or another or patients who refuse radioiodine opt for surgical intervention. Also, some surgeons believe that radioiodine treatment is unsafe in patients with unusually large gland, or those whose eyes have begun to bulge from their sockets, claiming that the massive dose of iodine needed will only exacerbate the patient's symptoms. The procedure is quite safe - some surgeons even perform partial thyroidectomies on an out-patient basis.

Radioiodine
In Iodine-131 (Radioiodine) Radioisotope Therapy, radioactive iodine is given orally (either by pill or liquid) on a one-time basis to destroy the function of a hyperactive gland. The iodine given for ablative treatment is different from the iodine used in a scan. Radioactive iodine is given after a routine iodine scan, and uptake of the iodine is determined to confirm hyperthyroidism. The radioactive iodine is picked up by the active cells in the thyroid and destroys them. Since iodine is only picked up by thyroid cells, the destruction is local, and there are no widespread side effects with this therapy. Radioactive iodine ablation has been safely used for over 50 years, and the only major reasons for not using it are pregnancy and breast-feeding.

Often, due to the difficulty of picking the correct dose, the treatment results in an opposite condition - hypothyroidism. However, that is usually easily treated by the administration of levothyroxine, which is a pure synthetic form of T4.

Thyrostatics
Thyrostatics are drugs that inhibit the production of thyroid hormones, such as methimazole (Tapazole®) or PTU (propylthiouracil). Thyrostatics are believed to work by inhibiting the iodination of thyroglobulin by thyroperoxidase.

If too high a dose is used in pharmacological treatment, patients can develop symptoms of hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism is also a very common result of surgery or radiation treatment as it is difficult to gauge how much of the thyroid gland should be removed. Supplementation with levothyroxine may be required in these cases.

Beta-blockers
Beta blockers do not treat, but rather mask, common symptoms of hyperthyroidism such as palpitations, trembling, and anxiety. Metoprolol is most frequently used to augment treatment for hyperthyroid patients.

Answer 4

I would recommend having this evaluated by an endocrinologist if you haven't already. They can help you figure out which is the best choice for your thyroid issue.

In the mean time here is an excellent newsletter from about.com on thyroid disease that may be able to give you some more help: http://www.thyroid.about.com

Answer 5

I've had thyroid problems...had the gland removed last January because of the nodule that was malignant. Your course of treatment will depend on the evaluation by a doctor. The doctor may ask you to take oral medications to try to make the gland work normally. Surgery should be considered only if medications doesn't work.

Answer 6

Iodine less salt consumption is the main cause. Consume salt which contain iodine. Normally women will have bigger thyroid than men.As you have said it is already over active, I fell you already in "thyroidism", before it turns "hypo" or "hyper", you should control it. Normally Docs prescribes a pill called " thyroxin", you have to take it life long. If the problem is more, you may need to go for an operation or radio therapy. Please consult your Doc . The problem might have come to you from your Mother. Because only women are prone to this problem and heretic in nature.