Hypothyroidism

• Hypothyroidism is caused by an underactive or nonactive thyroid gland that produces too little or no thyroid hormone. This causes lethargy, depression, slow hear rate, constipation and chills.
  
  

Hypothyroidism Test

• Hypothyroidism is first suspected when symptoms like those above are manifest. A simple, accurate blood test called the thyroid-stimulating hormone test (TSH) tells how much hormone thyroxine (T4) the body is being asked to make. If TSH is high, it means that the thyroid gland is being asked to make more hormones because there isn't enough.
  
  

Hyperthyroidism

• Hyperthyroidism, or overactive thyroid disease, is more common and happens when your thyroid gland secretes too much thyroid hormone. This results in rapid or irregular heartbeat, nervousness, irritability, tremors, abnormal sweating, increased appetite and sleeping difficulties.
  
  

Hyperthyroidism Test

• If TSH levels are low, the doctor may conduct a T4 test to measure how much free T4 is in the blood and available to get into the cells. If too much T4 is found, the physician can be confident that the thyroid is secreting too much thyroid hormone.
  
  

Treatment

• The first line of treatment for hypothyroidism is simply to supplement the body's limited or non-existent thyroid hormone levels with an artificial thyroid hormone like levothyroxin or Synthroid. For hyperthyroidism, doctors reduce thyroid hormone with drugs or remove or destroy the thyroid gland and treat the patient with synthetic thyroid hormone.