Vim & Vigor - Summer 2011 - Community Healthcare - (Page 44)

CAUTION HYPOTHYROIDISM DETECT IT: Welcome to life in the slow lane. When thyroid hormone levels are too low, the body’s processes start slowing down. With your body making less heat and energy, you might feel colder, tire easily, tend to gain weight, feel sluggish and suffer from constipation. Hypothyroidism also can take a toll on your appearance, including hair loss (even on your eyebrows), drier skin and brittle ﬁngernails. It can even play havoc with your mood and memory, leaving you forgetful and depressed. Women might suffer from abnormal menstrual periods, either quite heavy or absent. NODULES NODULES DETECT IT: Most thyroid nodules don’t cause symptoms, so your doctor may be the ﬁrst to discover one or more during a routine physical exam. But you can be proactive by performing this easy self-exam recommended by Friedman once a year: “Stand in front of your mirror, put water in your mouth, look up somewhat and swallow. If it looks like your thyroid goes up and down fairly smoothly, you’re OK. If it looks like one side is bigger than the other, you should see a doctor.” If thyroid nodules cause symptoms, they may include pain in the neck, jaw or ear; difﬁculty swallowing; a “tickle in the throat”; or shortness of breath if they press on the windpipe. INSPECT IT: It’s important to detect nodules to rule out thyroid cancer. (The good news is, most thyroid cancers are curable and rarely cause life-threatening problems.) Screening may begin with blood tests to check whether your thyroid is functioning normally. To detect cancer, specialized tests may be performed, such as a thyroid ﬁne-needle biopsy, a thyroid scan or a thyroid ultrasound. The American Thyroid Association recommends thyroid cancers be removed by an experienced thyroid surgeon and noncancerous nodules that aren’t removed be watched closely with follow-up examinations every six to 12 months. DON’T VEER OFF COURSE: Because most thyroid nodules don’t cause symptoms, they easily slip under the radar. INSPECT IT: “Any of these symptoms are a cause to call your doctor, especially if they come on all of a sudden,” says Theodore C. Friedman, M.D., co-author of The Everything Health Guide to Thyroid Disease: Professional Advice on Getting the Right Diagnosis, Managing Your Symptoms, and Feeling Great. Friedman says measuring thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels in a sample of your blood is the best screening if you’re having symptoms that might be related to your thyroid. A high TSH level tells you the thyroid isn’t making enough of the hormone thyroxine (T4) and you have hypothyroidism. Even if your thyroid gland can’t work right, thyroxine (T4) replacement can restore your thyroid hormone levels and your body’s normal functioning. HYPOTHYROIDISM CAUTION DON’T VEER OFF COURSE: “The symptoms of hypothyroidism can easily be explained away,” says Alan P. Farwell, M.D., an endocrinologist and spokesman for the American Thyroid Association. You might be tempted to chalk it up to too much stress, depression or simply getting older. 44 Vim & Vigor · SUM M ER 2 011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Summer 2011 - Community Healthcare

Vim & Vigor - Summer 2011 - Community Healthcare
Contents
Community Message
When Stroke Strikes, Seconds Count
Rays of Hope Fight Cancer
Girl Talk
Say What?
Action Plan
Like This? Try That!
Being George Clooney
A Day in the Life of Your Heart
Unexpected Heroes
Get in Gear
A Real Lifesaver
A Real Lifesaver
Spotlight on Community Hospital
Spotlight on St. Catherine Hospital
Spotlight on St. Mary Medical Center
A Safer Hospital Stay

Vim & Vigor - Summer 2011 - Community Healthcare