Thyroid For Dummies, UK Edition E-Book

Alan L. Rubin

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Seitenzahl: 463

Beschreibung

Includes information on the latest thyroid treatments Understand and manage your thyroid condition Don't get pushed around by the little gland in your neck. Whether you suffer from an underactive or overactive thyroid, nodules, or a goitre, Thyroid For Dummies has all the jargon-free information you need to get to grips with the problem and expert advice on how to get your condition under control. Discover how to * Tell if you have a thyroid problem * Understand the treatments on offer * Deal with your condition day-to-day * Get the right diet and exercise * Manage thyroid conditions in children and older people

Leseprobe

Thyroid For Dummies

by Alan L. Rubin, MD and Dr Sarah Brewer

Thyroid For Dummies®

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd The Atrium Southern Gate Chichester West Sussex PO19 8SQ England

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data: A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN-13: 978-0-470-03172-8

ISBN-10: 0-470-03172-7

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Bell & Bain Ltd, Glasgow

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Authors

Dr Sarah Brewer qualified as a doctor in 1983 from Cambridge University. She was a full-time GP for five years and now works in nutritional medicine and sexual health. Sarah is currently completing an MSc in Nutritional Medicine at the University of Surrey, Guildford.

Although her first love is medicine, her major passion is writing. Sarah writes widely on all aspects of health and has written over 40 popular self-help books. She is a regular contributor to a number of newspapers and women’s magazines, and appears regularly on TV and radio. She was voted Health Journalist of the Year 2002.

Alan L. Rubin, MD, is one of the US’s foremost experts on the thyroid gland in health and disease. He is a member of the Endocrine Society and has been in private practice specialising in thyroid disease and diabetes for over 30 years. Dr. Rubin was Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at UC Medical Center in San Francisco for 20 years. He has spoken about the thyroid to professional medical audiences and non-medical audiences around the world. He is a consultant to many pharmaceutical companies and companies that make thyroid products.

Dr. Rubin has written extensively on the thyroid gland as well as diabetes mellitus. As a result, he has been on numerous radio and television programs, talking about the cause, the prevention, and the treatment of conditions of the thyroid. He is also the best-selling author of Diabetes For Dummies and Diabetes Cookbook For Dummies.

Dedication

From Alan: This book is dedicated to my wife, Enid, who was there for every page. She smilingly let me do my work, sometimes into the wee hours of the morning, and missed many an opportunity to go out to dinner or a movie so that I could produce this book for you. If you have a fraction of the support in your life that she has given me, you are a lucky person, indeed.

Authors’ Acknowledgements

From Alan: The great publisher and midwife, Kathy Nebenhaus, deserves enormous appreciation for helping me to deliver yet another bright-eyed baby. Her optimism and her enthusiasm actually made this book possible. Her assistant, Natasha Graf, played a huge role in ironing out the inevitable problems that arise when book-publishing and medicine meet.

My editor, Joan Friedman, did a magnificent job turning my sometimes- incomprehensible prose into words that you can understand. She also conducted a whole orchestra of other editors who contributed to the book, including Robert Annis, Christy Beck, Mary Fales, Alison Jefferson, and Greg Pearson.

My thanks to Dr. Catherine Bain for the technical editing of the book.

Librarians Mary Ann Zaremska and Nancy Phelps at St. Francis Memorial Hospital were tremendously helpful in providing the articles and books upon which the information in this book is based.

My teachers are too numerous to mention, but one person deserves special attention. Dr. Francis Greenspan at the University of California Medical Center gave me the sound foundation in thyroid function and disease upon which this book is based.

Finally, there are my patients over the last 28 years, the people whose trials and tribulations caused me to seek the knowledge that you will find in this book.

This book is written on the shoulders of thousands of men and women who made the discoveries, tried the medications, and held the committee meetings. Their accomplishments cannot possibly be given adequate acclaim. We owe them big time.

From Sarah: Thanks to Alan L. Rubin, MD, author of the original US version of Thyroid For Dummies. The quality of his original script made my job easy, as I had so very little to do when adapting his excellent book for the UK market.

Publisher’s Acknowledgements

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Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development

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Cover Photo: GettyImages/Marc Romanelli

Cartoons: Ed McLachlan

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Contents

Title

Introduction

About This Book

Conventions Used in This Book

What You Don’t Have to Read

Assumptions

How This Book Is Organised

Icons Used in This Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I : Understanding the Thyroid

Chapter 1: Bigging It Up: The Huge Role of a Little Gland

Discovering the Extent of the Problem

Identifying an Unhappy Thyroid

Recognising Who’s at Risk

Realising the Importance of a Healthy Thyroid

Treating What Ails You

Understanding the Consequences of Delaying Treatment

Giving Your Thyroid a Hand: Healthy Lifestyle Choices

Paying Special Attention: Pregnant Women, Children, and Older People

Staying Informed

Chapter 2: Feeling Fragile: The Emotional Effects of Thyroid Problems

Exploring How an Underactive Thyroid Slows Your Thoughts

Seeing How an Overactive Thyroid Can Trigger Anxiety

Fighting Depression

Chapter 3: Discovering How Your Thyroid Works

Locating the Thyroid

Producing Thyroid Hormones

Understanding the Function of Thyroid Hormones

Chapter 4: Testing Your Thyroid

Checking Blood Levels of Thyroid Hormones

Taking Non-Hormonal Blood Tests

Determining the Size, Shape, and Content of Your Thyroid

Part II : Treating Thyroid Problems

Chapter 5: Dealing with an Underactive Thyroid

Living with Autoimmune Thyroiditis

Identifying Hypothyroidism

Diagnosing Severe Hypothyroidism

Treating Hypothyroidism

Chapter 6: Taming an Overactive Thyroid

Picturing Hyperthyroidism

Listing the Signs and Symptoms of Hyperthyroidism

Confirming a Diagnosis of Hyperthyroidism

Determining Whether Graves’ Disease Is the Culprit

Recognising Other Causes of Hyperthyroidism

Choosing the Best Treatment for Graves’ Disease

Treating Other Causes of Hyperthyroidism

Surviving Thyroid Storm

Chapter 7: Getting the Low-Down on Thyroid Nodules

Discovering a Thyroid Nodule

Evaluating Cancer Risks

Securing a Diagnosis

Treating Cancerous Nodules

Dealing with Nodules That Are Non-Cancerous

Ignoring Small Nodules

Chapter 8: Coping with Thyroid Cancer

Determining What Causes Thyroid Cancer

Identifying the Types of Thyroid Cancer

Staging Thyroid Cancer

Treating Thyroid Cancer

Following Up Cancer Treatment

Chapter 9: Learning about Multinodular Goitres

Exploring How a Multinodular Goitre Grows Up

Choosing to Treat It or Ignore It

Making a Diagnosis

Treating a Multinodular Goitre

Part III : Managing Your Thyroid

Chapter 10: Taking Care with Drugs That Affect Your Thyroid

Revealing the Drug–Food–Thyroid Connection

Identifying the Effects of Specific Substances

Preventing Harmful Drug Interactions

Discovering Whether You’re at Risk

Chapter 11: Spotting Thyroid Infections and Inflammation

Putting a Face on Subacute Thyroiditis

Coping with Postpartum and Silent Thyroiditis

Identifying Acute Thyroiditis

Diagnosing a Rare Form of Thyroiditis

Chapter 12: Overcoming Iodine Deficiency Disease

Realising the Vastness of the Problem

Facing the Consequences of Iodine Lack

Endemic Cretinism

Managing the Problem of Iodine Deficiency

Drawbacks of Iodisation

Chapter 13: Going In: Surgery on the Thyroid Gland

Deciding When Surgery Is Necessary

Talking Things Over

Preparing for Surgery

What Happens During Surgery

Considering a New Approach

Possible Complications

Recuperating After the Operation

Chapter 14: Exciting New Approaches in Thyroid Treatment

Preventing Ill Effects of Large Doses of Iodine

Finding Out More about Hypothyroidism

Dealing with Hyperthyroidism

Treating Goitres and Nodules

Developing New Approaches in Thyroid Cancer

Tackling Iodine Deficiency Disease

Chapter 15: Living with Thyroid Problems: Diet and Exercise

Guaranteeing Your Best Nutrition

Maintaining a Healthy Weight

Clarifying the Thyroid–Weight Connection

Considering Iodine in Your Diet

Exercising for Your Thyroid

Introducing Leptin: The New Hormone on the Block

Chapter 16: Helping Yourself: Herbs and Homeopathy

Finding a Reputable Practitioner

Digging into Medicinal Herbs

Understanding Homeopathy

Part IV : Special Considerations in Thyroid Health

Chapter 17: Examining the Genetic Link to Thyroid Disease

Genetics for Beginners

The Origins of Genetic Thyroid Diseases

The Future of Managing Hereditary Thyroid Disease

Chapter 18: Controlling Thyroid Disease during Pregnancy

Looking at Normal Thyroid during Pregnancy

Pregnancy and Hypothyroidism

Hyperthyroidism in Pregnancy

Finding New Thyroid Nodules during Pregnancy

Chapter 19: Developing Thyroid Conditions in Childhood

Understanding the Onset of Thyroid Function

Screening the Newborn

Coping with Hypothyroidism in Children

Dealing with Hyperthyroidism in Children

Diagnosing Goitres in Children

Linking Nodules and Cancer in Children

Chapter 20: Maturing: Thyroid Disease in Later Life

Assessing the Extent of the Problem

Understanding Sources of Confusion in Diagnosis

Discovering Hypothyroidism in Older People

Managing Hyperthyroidism in Older People

Checking Out Thyroid Nodules in Older People

Part V : The Part of Tens

Chapter 21: Ten Myths about Thyroid Health

I’m Hypothyroid, So I Can’t Lose Weight

I’m Hyperthyroid, So I Can’t Gain Weight

Breastfeeding and Antithyroid Pills Don’t Mix

Brand Name Thyroid Hormone Pills Are Best

I Have to Take Thyroid Medication for Life

Natural Thyroid Hormones Are Better Than Synthetic Hormones

Thyroid Disease Is Catching

Iodine Deficiency Is a Medical Problem

The Higher My Autoantibody Levels, the Worse My Thyroid Disease

Clinical Symptoms Are More Reliable Than Blood Tests

Chapter 22: Ten Ways to Maximise Thyroid Health

Screening at Appropriate Intervals

Checking Thyroid Function As Your Body Changes

Performing a ‘Neck Check’

Getting Enough Iodine to Satisfy Your Thyroid

Stopping Thyroid Medication, If Possible

Using Both Types of Thyroid Hormone

Preventing the Regrowth of Thyroid Cancer

Anticipating Drug Interactions

Protecting Your Thyroid from Radiation

Keeping Up-to-Date with Thyroid Discoveries

Part VI : Appendixes

Appendix A: A Glossary of Key Terms

Appendix B: Sources of More Information

: Further Reading

Introduction

As part of my medical training, I (Sarah) was taught by an enlightened physician, Dr David Rubenstein of Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge. He encouraged me to do three things when evaluating a patient with puzzling symptoms: Think Drugs (so as not to miss unsuspected side effects), Think Dirty (to exclude syphilis, a disease that mimics so many other conditions) and Think Thyroid – because under and overactive thyroid problems are so often missed, especially in older people.

I went on to make a career out of thinking drugs and thinking thyroid (thinking dirty is no longer as necessary as it was just a generation ago).

For hundreds of years, people understood that a connection exists between a strange looking growth in the neck and certain diseases. Until about 60 years ago, confusion reigned as people with similar growths in their necks often have opposite symptoms. One group shows excessive excitement, nervousness, and shakiness, while the other has depression, sleepiness, and general loss of interest. What the two groups have in common is that they are mostly all women.