Symptoms of hyperthyroidism

Symptoms of hyperthyroidism can often be seen in ordinary people on the street, without even suspecting that they are sick with something. Hyperthyroidism is a disease that is characterized by diffuse enlargement of the thyroid gland, increased secretion of thyroid hormones, and as a consequence - a violation of the functional state of internal organs and systems. This disease is also called Basedow's disease, Graves' disease, Flayani disease, Paris disease, thyrotoxicosis.

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Metabolism in hyperthyroidism

Thyroid hormones actively influence all processes in the body, and mainly metabolism. Thyroid hormones regulate both cellular respiration and the metabolism of the entire body.

Metabolism in hyperthyroidism is characterized by accelerated digestion processes, insufficient absorption of nutrients, and rapid excretion of metabolic products. The basal metabolic rate in such people is increased, due to which a huge amount of energy is formed. The effect of increased tone of the sympathetic nervous system on the gastrointestinal tract contributes to increased secretion of gastric juice - therefore, food is quickly digested and moves further. In the intestine, due to increased peristalsis, absorption processes are insufficient, so people are thin. Such an intensive digestion process contributes to rapid saturation and a rapid onset of hunger.

At the cellular level, due to the lack of nutrients, all energy is spent on ensuring the vital functions of the body's organs and systems. That is, the basal metabolism is maintained in excessive quantities and the remaining ATP is spent on thermal energy. This explains the moderate increase in temperature and increased sweating in patients with hyperthyroidism.

The meal regime also plays a role. Given the increased excitability of the nervous system, patients do not devote much time to the process of eating, and this further disrupts the regulation of this process.

The first signs of hyperthyroidism

Characteristic symptoms of hyperthyroidism are diffuse enlargement of the thyroid gland. This is noted by patients first of all, since hyperplasia gives a feeling of discomfort in the neck area and interferes with breathing. As a result, the functional activity of the gland increases and the synthesis of thyroid hormones increases, which in turn affects the internal organs.

The first signs of hyperthyroidism are usually non-specific, and patients do not pay much attention to them until problems with the internal organs appear. At the onset of the disease, muscle weakness and muscle cramps predominate, excitability is increased, fatigue is rapid, emotional lability, increased irritability, and the inability to concentrate is increased. Since thyroid hormones primarily affect the nervous system, nerve conductivity increases, which causes such changes. These symptoms occur at the beginning of the disease, and often the patient simply does not pay attention to them. Only when the thyroid gland increases to a significant size do patients consult a doctor. In this case, the gland is significantly enlarged in size, and when palpated, it usually reveals uniform thickening of the parenchyma, elastic consistency, it moves easily, is not fused with the skin, and has no signs of inflammation.

With a long-term course of the disease, in the absence of treatment, symptoms of damage to internal organs arise, which are more difficult to correct.

External changes in hyperthyroidism

Thyroid hormones influence trophic processes in the cell and in thyrotoxicosis, changes in cellular activity and differentiation occur.

Hair changes are characterized by their fragility, excessive hair loss, baldness. Hair structure becomes soft, thin, and quickly becomes greasy. This is due to the effect of excess hormones on the sebaceous glands, which stimulates their secretion of sebum. Hormones also affect the hair follicle, and it hypertrophies with a violation of the nutritional function of the hair itself.

Eye changes are a specific sign of hyperthyroidism. Eye symptoms of varying severity depend on the degree of thyrotoxicosis. They are a consequence of increased tone of the eye muscles, retraction of the orbital tissue and upper eyelids. All patients experience exophthalmos, often bilateral, which occurs at the onset of the disease and then progresses, and is accompanied by a pronounced shine in the eyes. In addition to exophthalmos, other signs also appear:

• Graefe's symptom - when looking down, the upper eyelid lags behind the lower one and a white stripe appears;
• Kocher's symptom - lag of the lower eyelid when looking downwards;
• Delrymple's symptom - wide palpebral fissure;
• Stellwag's symptom - infrequent blinking;
• Moebius symptom - blurred convergence, when the pupil constricts, one or both eyes deviate from the center.

Infiltration ophthalmopathy is the second eye symptom that is detected in 50% of patients as a result of damage to the orbital tissue and muscles by autoantibodies with the development of edema. In this case, pain occurs during movements of the eyeballs to the right and left and up and down, and sand and double vision are felt in the eyes. These signs occur in severe thyrotoxicosis.

Skin changes in hyperthyroidism also have their own characteristics. Firstly, people with this pathology look younger than their age. This is due to the fact that the skin is thin, velvety, delicate, wrinkles form late. If a person is ill for a long time, then skin changes are more serious. Infiltrative dermopathy is formed - thickening and compaction of the skin on the front surface of the shin and feet. The skin in this place does not gather into a fold. In a more severe course, swelling of the shin with bright hyperemia may occur.

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Psychosomatics in hyperthyroidism

Increased levels of thyroid hormones affect the nervous system by increasing the number of nerve impulses and the speed of their conduction. Imbalance in the regulation of the nervous system leads to the prevalence of excitation processes, which affects the patient's behavior and nervous activity. As a secondary process, internal organs suffer due to disruption of their regulation.

Psychosomatics in hyperthyroidism is a pathology of the internal organs due to the disruption of the normal activity of the nervous system. People become irritable, impatient, which leads to sleep disturbances - patients cannot fall asleep for a long time or sleep poorly, often wake up. Appetite is increased, but people are thin and often want to eat.

Haste leads to disruption of the general daily routine, disruption of the diet. These may be manifestations in the form of diarrheal syndrome, dyspeptic. Often complaints of severe abdominal pain like appendicitis due to muscle spasm, but there are no organic changes. If such patients are prescribed sedatives or antispasmodics for pain, then all symptoms disappear, which confirms psychosomatics.

Women may have menstrual cycle disorders in the form of polymenorrhea, bleeding. In old age, there may be a delay in menopause.

If these changes are psychosomatic in nature, then with the treatment of hyperthyroidism they disappear without special therapy.

It is also worth noting the tendency to dizziness in hyperthyroidism. This is due to the regulation of the tone of the cardiovascular and nervous systems. With a sharp change in body position, for example, if the patient suddenly gets out of bed, the blood is deposited in the lower extremities, and the heart does not have time to react, because its contractions are already high frequency - dizziness or loss of consciousness occurs. This is easy to regulate if the load is evenly distributed.

Temperature in hyperthyroidism

Thyroid hormones affect almost all vital processes of the human body. The regulation of body temperature also depends on them, although not directly through the thermoregulation center, but indirectly - through the activity of peripheral organs and tissues.

Patients often complain of excessive sweating. This is indeed a problem for the patient. Thyroid hormones increase metabolism, and in particular the basal metabolic rate, so a large amount of energy is formed, which is spent on heat generation. In this case, heat generation prevails over heat emission.

Increased nervous excitability and the speed of nerve impulse conduction affect the muscles, and tremors are observed. This phenomenon also increases heat production and reduces the process of heat transfer.

As a result of these phenomena, patients have warm, moist skin and a hot forehead. The temperature in hyperthyroidism is elevated, sometimes up to 37 degrees or slightly higher. Patients may not feel this, except for increased sweating. But sometimes the temperature begins to bother the patient and it does not fall under the influence of antipyretic drugs, since the mechanism of its occurrence is not central.

To eliminate this symptom, you need to eliminate the cause itself, that is, reduce the level of thyroid hormones.

Blood pressure in hyperthyroidism

The activity of the cardiovascular system is directly regulated by thyroid hormones. They increase the heart rate, cardiac output, excitability and conductivity of the myocardium.

With excess hormones, the heart suffers first. With an increase in heart rate, the blood volume does not change, so arterial pressure in hyperthyroidism increases, mainly systolic, due to an increase in stroke volume. The degree of its increase corresponds to the severity of the disease. Such arterial hypertension is not treated with antihypertensive drugs, since the mechanism of its occurrence is different.

The increase in heart rate is felt by the patient as tachycardia, not only during physical exertion or excitement, but also at rest, which is especially characteristic of hyperthyroidism.

With prolonged thyrotoxicosis, organic changes in the myocardium may appear in the form of a violation of normal excitability. Patients' electrocardiograms show increased voltage of the teeth, they are sharp, with a short duration. Conduction disorders in the form of extrasystole, atrial fibrillation. Extrasystoles occur due to the fact that the heart rate increases so much that an additional heart contraction occurs.

With increased cardiac output, there is very little time for diastole – the “rest” of the heart – and this contributes to the development of atrial fibrillation.

Such heart rhythm disturbances can lead over time to organic lesions, such as the formation of blood clots in the ear cavity, so it is important to treat diseases before such serious complications occur.

Urine insufficiency and edema in hyperthyroidism

The genitourinary system itself is not directly affected by thyroid hormones, but sometimes patients have complaints. This may be associated, most likely, with the regulation of the bladder and kidneys.

Urinary insufficiency in hyperthyroidism is neurogenic. This is due to an increased number of nerve impulses, sometimes even false ones, coming from the autonomic nervous system to the efferent nerve fibers that regulate the functioning of the urinary organs, and then from the organs along the afferent pathways to the cortical centers. Therefore, some, especially "active" patients may be bothered by increased urination.

As for the distribution of fluid, there are some peculiarities. Increased sweating contributes to an increased need for fluid, and this leads to hyperhydration. However, with compensation for the disease, there are no signs of increased water balance. Edema in hyperthyroidism indicates a severe course of the disease. Then, along with symptoms of thickening of the skin fold on the shin, significant swelling of the shin, pronounced redness and soreness appear. Other types of edema are not characteristic of hyperthyroidism. Today, thanks to timely diagnosis of the disease and adequate treatment, such complicated cases do not occur.

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Reflux in hyperthyroidism

The damage to the gastrointestinal tract is quite significant. There is an increase in the production of gastric juice, which can cause such an unpleasant symptom as reflux and the appearance of heartburn. Increased tone of the parasympathetic nervous system also joins in and the lower esophageal sphincter relaxes. Most often, reflux appears spontaneously, sometimes when changing body position - bending. Treatment of this condition is symptomatic remedies for heartburn.

Exocrine glands also suffer in thyrotoxicosis. The pancreas has a lack of function, and proteins, fats and carbohydrates are poorly digested.

Liver changes in hyperthyroidism are characterized by deterioration of bile outflow, stagnation of bile due to improper nervous regulation. The liver is affected by toxic metabolic products and hormone breakdown products, which disrupts its normal function. Therefore, fatty degeneration of the liver parenchyma develops. Clinically, this can manifest itself in the appearance of jaundice, itching, changes in the biochemical blood test - an increase in total bilirubin due to direct. The appearance of jaundice is an unfavorable sign of the course of the disease and is an extremely complex complication. Therefore, early diagnosis and timely treatment can completely prevent complications of the disease, as well as eliminate all symptoms.

Further strict monitoring of the gland's function is necessary.

Symptoms of hyperthyroidism are very characteristic and specific for this disease. It is important not to miss the first signs and seek help in time. Any doctor can see these changes, and in case of timely diagnosis, many complications can be avoided. An important stage is the patient's own control of his health and the therapeutic effect of the prescribed therapy.