Is Hyperthyroidism Good for Underweight Individuals?

Linda, a 25-year-old youtuber from Sydney, Australia suffered from Graves’ disease.

At a period of time, she was getting sick so often that she visited the doctors to find out the reason. The doctor noticed that her neck area was abnormally thick and sent her for an ultrasound and a nuclear testing to test the hormone level in her thyroid. After getting the results, she was diagnosed with Graves’ disease in August 2010. Since then, she has been taking medication every day and has to seek medical consultation from a specialist.

This disease has affected her entire life. She has to watch what she ate or she can gain weight easily. It also affects her mental well-being as she suffers from stress and anxiety issues. Now, she is seeking help by learning how to manage her coping mechanisms.

Before she had this disease, she was underweight. Now, she has gained between 7 to 9 kg and is of an average weight according to body mass index (BMI).  However, her weight is currently still unstable at the moment and is on medication.

To affected individuals like her, it is something very hard to cope with and is something that she has to embrace over time. From her experiences, it is important for loved ones to be there to give emotional support, especially during difficult times like this.

Video reference:

linnya, 2015. Day 107 - LifeBeyondTheGrave.com - Living with Graves Disease. [video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upZwa_CfHwg> [Accessed 21 November 2015].

She Could No Longer Dance Because Of Hyperthyroidism

Emma Tara, age 28, is an Australian professional dancer. She has been living with hyperthyroidism since young. When she was 18, she suffered from panic attacks and her weight kept fluctuating. She had 16 hours of sleep on the weekends and she thought that may be due to tiredness.

In 2011, Emma flew to Singapore for a dance contract to perform on a circus stage. Even after her performance, she worked out 2 to 3 times a day to lose the weight that she had gained. Nonetheless, she felt extremely exhausted yet she only had 1 to 2 hours of sleep every night. She also needed hair extensions because of her hair loss.

Emma recovered for a short period of time but suddenly, her life took a turn. as her body started to become very weak. Left with no choice, she left her dance contract. Soon, things got worse. Her eyes started to bulge out, her hands started trembling and her weight started dropping even though she ate like a horse.

In December 2013, Emma was diagnosed with Graves’ disease. Her heart started beating so fast that it could be seen popping out of her chest. Her daily activities were highly affected. She could not dance anymore as she will fall onto the ground and started shaking tremendously when she tried dancing. This impacted her mentality greatly and she felt so lost, alone and helpless. Recently, her conditions have improved and she got off her medications yet she is still unable to do cardio activities.

Video reference:

Emma Tara, 2015. Graves' Disease│Hyperthyroidism│My Story. [video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO28tT8IIjU> [Accessed 21 November 2015].

The Biochemistry behind Hyperthyroidism

Thyroxine (3,5,3′,5′-tetraiodothyronine) and triiodothyronine (3,5,3′-triiodothyronine) are thyroid hormones which are formed by the addition of iodine to the tyrosine part of a glycoprotein homodimer called thyroglobulin (Tg).

Tg produced by the thyroid gland acts as a substrate for the synthesis of thyroxine and triiodothyronine. Tg also stores inactive forms of thyroid hormone and iodine. Tg is secreted from the endoplasmic reticulum to its site of iodination, and subsequent thyroxine biosynthesis, in the follicular lumen.

Mutations in this gene cause thyroid dyshormonogenesis, which is a rare genetic disease that will manifest as goiter. Polymorphisms in this gene will cause an increased risk of having autoimmune thyroid diseases such as Graves’ disease (hyperthyroidism) and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (hypothyroidism).

Online references:

Encyclopædia Britannica, n.d. Thyroid hormone. [online] Available at: <http://global.britannica.com/science/thyroid-hormone> [Accessed 21 November 2015].

NCBI, 2015. TG thyroglobulin [ Homo sapiens (human) ]. [online] Available at: <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/7038> [Accessed 21 November 2015].

Picture reference:

[Chemical structures of thyroid hormones] n.d. [image online] Available at: <http://www.discoverymedicine.com/Hung-Yun-Lin/files/2011/04/discovery_medicine_paul_j_davis_no_59_figure_1a.png> [Accessed 21 November 2015].

Is Subclinical Hyperthyroidism Related to Frailty in Older Men?

The finding, subclinical hyperthyroidism may increase odds of frailty among older men, were published online on October 23, 2015 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

The study involves 1455 community-dwelling men older than 65 years. Some of them have subclinical hyperthyroidism at baseline and it is discovered that they are more likely to be frail than those with subclinical hypothyroidism.

Online reference:

Tucker, M. E., 2015. Subclinical Hyperthyroidism Linked to Frailty in Older Men. Medscape, [online] 16 November. Available at: <http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/854526> [Accessed 20 November 2015].

Picture reference:

[Grumpy old man] n.d. [image online] Available at: <http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1779048/images/o-GRUMPY-OLD-MAN-facebook.jpg> [Accessed 20 November 2015].

Hyperthyroidism vs. Hypothyroidism

	Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid)	Hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid)
Amount of thyroid hormones released	Too little	Too much
Metabolic rate	Decreases	Increases
Leading cause	Hashimoto’s disease (antibodies destroy thyroid cells)	Graves’ disease (antibodies activate thyroid cells)

Signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism vs. hyperthyroidism.

Online reference:

HealthyWomen, 2012. Thyroid disorders. [online] Available at: <http://www.healthywomen.org/condition/thyroid-disorders> [Accessed 19 November 2015].

Picture references:

[Hyperthyroidism symptoms] n.d. [image online] Available at: <https://nclexies.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/hyperthyroidism.jpg> [Accessed 19 November 2015].

[Hypothyroidism symptoms] n.d. [image online] Available at: <https://nclexies.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/hypothyroidism.jpg> [Accessed 19 November 2015].

Home Remedies for an Overactive Thyroid

One of the causes of hyperthyroidism is due to thyroiditis, as mentioned in the first post. To reduce inflammation of the thyroid gland, drink a glass of anti-inflammatory papaya juice every morning. Check out the video below to get the complete recipe with instructions and measurements.

Papaya helps to regulate the functions of thyroid glands. Both turmeric and ginger have anti-inflammatory properties that can help with the inflamed thyroid gland.

Some tips to note:

• Incorporate yoga or meditation into your daily routine as stress is responsible for hormonal imbalance

• Increase intake of cruciferous vegetable, such as cabbage and broccoli, which helps to control the level of thyroid activity

Hopefully this post will be useful to those suffering from hyperthyroidism. Take care. :)

Picture references:

[Cruciferous vegetables] n.d. [image online] Available at: <http://newsnews.perfectinter.net/post_image/2_1121_54> [Accessed 18 November 2015].

[Papaya juice] n.d. [image online] Available at: <http://www.graciemag.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Screen-Shot-2014-01-27-at-4.32.57-PM.png> [Accessed 18 November 2015].

[Yoga] n.d. [image online] Available at: <http://greatist.com/sites/default/files/styles/big_share/public/free-yoga.png?itok=uwn98osm> [Accessed 18 November 2015].

Video reference:

Homeveda - Home Remedies for You!, 2015. Home Remedies for Hyperthyroidism. [video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NNb_8raI20> [Accessed 18 November 2015].

Hyperthyroidism in Cats

In 1979, the first case of feline hyperthyroidism was reported. Since then, there has been a drastic increase in the number of cats affected and has become a major cause of death in cats. The thyroid gland in more than 95% of hyperthyroid cats are producing excessive thyroid hormones and less than 5% of hyperthyroid cats have cancer in the thyroid gland.

Enlarged thyroid gland in a cat.

However, the cause of hyperthyroidism in cats still remains unknown but it could be due to thyroid-disrupting compounds found in cat food, drinking water or the environment. Symptoms include weight loss, increase heart rate, diarrhoea and vomiting.

Meet Bingo. It suffers from hyperthyroidism.

Online reference:

Post Independent, 2015. Integrative Pet Vet: Thyroid disease epidemic in cats. [online] Available at: <http://www.postindependent.com/opinion/columns/18748055-113/integrative-pet-vet-thyroid-disease-epidemic-in-cats> [Accessed 16 November 2015].

Picture references:
[Enlarged thyroid gland in a cat] n.d. [image online] Available at: <http://vetbook.org/wiki/cat/images/thumb/0/07/Thy01.jpg/300px-Thy01.jpg> [Accessed 16 November 2015].

[Hyperthyroidism cat] n.d. [image online] Available at: <http://www.cat-health-guide.org/image-files/hyperthyroidismcat.jpg> [Accessed 16 November 2015].

Video reference:

Hyperthyroidism in cats, 2015. Vets Klinic. [video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71cEVpqaT_A> [Accessed 21 November 2015].