How Are Thyroid Problems Treated?

If you have been diagnosed with an overactive or underactive thyroid, you might not be very happy about your test results. After all, most people prefer to be perfectly healthy. The good news is that treating thyroid imbalances is ridiculously easy and effective. While it’s unlikely that your thyroid will ever recover and function normally, taking a pill once a day is not that big of a deal. It certainly beats having an incurable disease like cancer.

Medication Is Usually Necessary

In most cases, you will have to start taking medication immediately. Thyroid hormone replacements can be taken in pill form. The pills are tiny and easy to swallow, unlike certain brands of multivitamins. You need to take the pill at approximately the same time each day. Ideally, you should take your thyroid hormones early in the morning, at least 30 minutes before you eat anything.

While this may be annoying at first, after a while, it will become a habit that is hard to break. Initially, you’re going to have to be very vigilant about taking your medication in order to stabilize your hormone levels. Your dosage may have to be adjusted a couple of times until your hormone levels are well within the normal range.

Surgery Is Sometimes Recommended

A thyroid hormone imbalance is not necessarily an indication for surgery. However, surgery may be recommended if you have cancerous thyroid tissues, large thyroid glands (goiter), or overactive thyroid glands. Undergoing thyroid surgery is obviously riskier than merely taking medication. However, most people who suffer from a thyroid hormone imbalance don’t actually have to have an operation because of it.

Continual Monitoring Is Required

Once you have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism, you will need to undergo continual monitoring. This sounds a lot worse than it really is. Generally, it’s enough to check your hormone levels with a simple blood test once a year. Your doctor will prescribe your thyroid medication accordingly, and you can get refills throughout the year.

You may need to monitor your hormone levels more regularly under certain conditions. For example, if you are pregnant or have recently given birth, your dosage will probably need to be adjusted. And one thing that’s really important to remember: it takes about four to six weeks for your body to adjust to a new dosage. After that, our experts at the Revive Health Center will check your levels again and make recommendations accordingly. In the meantime, you need to try to be patient.