The Healthy Thyroid: What you can do to prevent and alleviate thyroid imbalance

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Patsy Westcott. The Healthy Thyroid: What you can do to prevent and alleviate thyroid imbalance

The Healthy Thyroid. What you can do to prevent and alleviate thyroid imbalance. Patsy Westcott

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Contents

CHAPTER ONE The Hidden Illness

Only as Healthy as Your Thyroid?

Are Times Changing?

Tip of the Iceberg?

Why Me?

The Immune Connection

Putting the Clues Together

The Hormone Connection

With Women in Mind

CHAPTER TWO Understanding Thyroid Problems

Key Sites

Balancing the Body

The Thyroid Gland

A Tale of Two Hormones

All Under Control

The Calcium Connection

The Incredible Thyroid

A MATTER OF ENERGY

A LIFETIME OF ACTIVITY

THE GROWTH FACTOR

BREAST DEVELOPMENT

PROTECTION AGAINST STARVATION

PROTECTION AGAINST INFECTION

FLUID BALANCE

VITAMIN POWER

INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER HORMONES

Manufacturing Thyroid Hormone

Transporting Thyroid Hormone

What Can Go Wrong?

Immune Reactions

The Enemy Within

Inflammation From Within

The Family Factor

Deciphering the Clues

CHAPTER THREE The Out-of-Balance Thyroid

Appearance Matters

Tired All the Time

The Senses

Menstrual Disturbances and Subfertility

Effects on the Heart

Mental Effects, Depression and Mood Swings

A Matter of Chemistry

Sorting It All Out

DEPRESSION OR THYROID?

Why Does the Thyroid Become Underactive?

Variable Symptoms

Is Your Thyroid Underactive?

Life in the Fast Lane: Hyperthyroidism

Mood Swings

Appearance Matters Too

Bone, Heart and Other Muscles

Menstrual Problems and Pregnancy

The Goitre Connection

Is Your Thyroid Overactive?

Why Does the Thyroid Become Overactive?

Autoimmune Thyroid Problems. Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis

THE SYMPTOMS

Graves’ disease

Confusing Symptoms

Is It Really Graves’ Disease?

Thyroiditis

Triggers and Causes

Could Infection Play a Part?

Is Stress to Blame?

Significance of Life Events

Smoking

Lumps, Bumps and Swellings: Goitre, Thyroid Nodules and Cancer

Causes of Goitre

Thyroid Nodules

HOT AND COLD NODULES

Thyroid Cancer

Could It Be Cancer?

TYPES OF THYROID CANCER

A Diagnosis of Cancer

CHAPTER FOUR Getting a Diagnosis

‘What Can You Expect at Your Time of Life?’

‘I Couldn’t Sit Still’

If at First You Don’t Succeed

Describing Your Symptoms

Partnership and Dialogue

The Doctor’s Observations

What Happens Next?

Thyroid Function Tests

Tests Are a Tool

Interpreting Your Results

‘My Results Are Normal, So Why Do I Still Feel Lousy?’

Thyroid Antibody Testing

Questions to Ask Your Doctor

Are Any Other Tests Likely to Be Done?

ULTRASOUND SCAN

IODINE UPTAKE SCAN

OTHER TYPES OF SCANS

THYROID NEEDLE BIOPSY

When Might I Be Referred to a Specialist?

Key Features of a Specialist Thyroid Unit

CHAPTER FIVE Treatment Options

Treating Hypothyroidism

Mimicking the Thyroid

Standard Management

Treatment Controversies

Is More Better?

Does Brand Matter?

Finer Tuning

New T4/T3 Therapy: Is the Wheel Coming Full Circle?

Is There a Place for Animal Extracts?

Time For a New Approach?

Watchpoints

Crossreactions

Treatment for an Overactive Thyroid

Treatment Options

Sorting It All Out

The Medication Route

What Medication May Be Prescribed? ANTITHYROID DRUGS (THIONAMIDES)

Watchpoints

BETA-BLOCKERS

Watchpoints

What If Drug Treatment Doesn’t Work?

Surgical Options

How Effective Is Surgery?

Before the Operation

The Operation

After the Operation

Watchpoints. BEFORE THE OPERATION

AFTER THE OPERATION

Are There Any Risks?

‘I Feel Better Than I Have for Years’

Radioiodine Treatment

Cautionary Tales

What Can I Expect to Happen?

Is It Safe?

Watchpoints

Treatment for Thyroiditis

Postpartum Thyroiditis (PPT)

Goitres, Nodules and Cancer

Thyroid Eye Disease

Treatment Summary

A Raging calm?

CHAPTER SIX I Just Want to Feel Normal Again

Living With Loss

All Nicely Under Control?

Seeking Support

Treatment Trials

Not In the Textbook

Personality Counts

Regaining Confidence

Dealing With Negative Emotions

Dealing with Practicalities

Keeping an Eye on Your Thyroid

The Thyroid Neck Check

Check Up on Your Genes

DRAW UP A FAMILY TREE

LOOK FOR PATTERNS

Eating For Your Thyroid

Balancing Your Diet

CARBOHYDRATES

FATS

VITAMINS, MINERALS AND TRACE ELEMENTS

Special Nutritional Issues

The Glycaemic Index

The Acid-Alkali Balance

Foods to Eat With Caution

A Sense of Balance

Exercise Tips

Smoking

Increasing Wellbeing

Your Relationships

Looking After Yourself

Treat Yourself Better

CHAPTER SEVEN Integrated Treatment: Complementary Therapies

A Whole Person

Time to Talk

Partners in Healing

A Matter of Balance

Which Therapy?

Acupuncture

DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT

Aromatherapy

Autogenic Therapy

Herbal Medicine

Homoeopathy

Nutritional Therapies

A WORD ABOUT KELP

Reflexology

Yoga

Finding a Therapist

Watchpoints

CHAPTER EIGHT The Eyes Have It: Thyroid Eye Disease

Who Is At Risk?

Symptoms and Signs

How Thyroid Eye Disease May Affect Your Life

What Causes Thyroid Eye Disease?

Course of the Disease

Getting a Diagnosis

Clinical Activity Score

Treatment Options

Reducing Swelling and Quelling Inflammation

Treatment Controversies

Can Surgery Help?

Living With Thyroid Eye Disease

Watch points

CHAPTER NINE Thyroid Problems and Reproduction

The Thyroid and Menstruation

The Thyroid and Fertility

The Thyroid in Pregnancy and After Giving Birth

Pregnancy and the Immune System

The Secret Life of Your Hormones

The Pregnancy Hormone

Are Thyroid Problems Linked to Miscarriage?

Are Thyroid Problems Linked to Birth Defects?

Your Baby’s Thyroid

Stay Warm, Baby

Hypothyroidism in Pregnancy

Planning for Pregnancy

Diagnostic Difficulties

Treatment Matters

The Thyroid and IQ

Antenatal Detection?

Hyperthyroidism in Pregnancy

Getting Ready for Pregnancy

Hyperthyroidism Developing During Pregnancy

When Surgery is Needed

If You Discover a Lump

Pregnancy Watchpoints

Postpartum Thyroid Dysfunction

What Are the Symptoms?

A Difficult Diagnosis

Keeping an Eye on Symptoms

The Depression Connection

Dealing With Depression

Your Baby’s Thyroid

Hyperthyroid Problems Affecting Your Baby

Hypothyroid Problems Affecting Your Baby

Will I Be Able to Breastfeed?

CHAPTER TEN The Menopause and Beyond

Defining the Terms

Hormones at the Menopause

How Thyroid Problems Complicate the Menopause

Should You Consider HRT?

HRT and Your Thyroid

Thyroid Problems and Osteoporosis

Looking After Your Bones

Fats, Fat and Heart Disease

Looking After Your Heart

Thyroid Problems and Breast Cancer

A Word About Soy

Thyroid Problems in Later Life

Hypothyroidism in Later Life

Hyperthyroidism in Later Life

Treatment Dilemmas

CHAPTER ELEVEN Questions and Conundrums

The Great Screening Debate

Knock-On Effects

What Do Doctors Think?

Treatment Trials

Finding the Causes

What Part Might Environment Play?

Environmental Poisons

Future Positive?

Glossary. Antibody

Antigen

Autoantibody

Autoimmunity

B cells

Graves’ disease

Graves’ ophthalmology

Hashimoto’s thyroiditis

Hyperthyroidism

hypothalamic – pituitary – thyroid axis

Hypothalamus

Hypothyroidism

Immunoglobulin

Monodeiodination

Myxoedema

Negative feedback loop

Pituitary

Postpartum

Receptor

Thyroid ablation

Thyroid-binding globulin (TBG)

Thyroidectomy

Thyroid hormone (TH)

Thyroiditis

Thyroid nodule

Thyroid peroxidase (TPO)

Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)

Thyrotoxicosis

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH)

Thyroxine

Triiodothyronine

TSH receptor

Tyrosine

Resources. Thyroid Organizations

Further Reading. THYROID PROBLEMS

COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES, DIET AND EXERCISE

Index

Acknowledgements

About the Publisher

Отрывок из книги

Cover

Title Page

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• Graves’ disease, which causes an overactive thyroid

• Myxoedema, or generalized swelling of the skin and other tissue

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