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Dr. Keith Atkins, a internal medicine physician, sees patients by appointment at Family Care Walk-in Clinic, 176 University Parkway. For an appointment, call 731-660-6915.



Millions of Americans, the majority of them women, suffer from a thyroid problem, says Dr. Keith Atkins. “It is estimated that one in eight women will develop a thyroid disorder at some point in her life.”




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Thyroid problems affect your metabolism

Dr. Keith Atkins, an internal medicine physician, exmines Vallie Branum's thyroid gland as part of her visit to his clinic.

If your get up and go has gone, it may be due to your thyroid gland, a small, but important gland, that lives at the base of your neck.

Your thyroid, which releases the thyroid hormone, helps to regulate your metabolism and energy level, says Dr. Keith Atkins, an internal medicine physician who practices adult health care at Family Care Walk-In Clinic. A healthy thyroid is crucial for maintaining good health, as it can affect every cell and tissue in the body.

Millions of Americans, the majority of them women, suffer from a thyroid problem, Dr. Atkins explained. “It is estimated that one in eight women will develop a thyroid disorder at some point in her life.”

The thyroid can malfunction in three main ways: It can produce too little hormone, which results in a condition called hypothyroidism; it can produce too much hormone, which results in a condition called hyperthyroidism; or its tissue can overgrow, causing nodules in the thyroid. Most of the time, the nodules are benign, but physicians prefer to check them out because they can turn into thyroid cancer.

“A doctor can detect these nodules or lumps by feeling on or around the thyroid gland, and because they protrude from the skin, they are usually easy to detect,” says Atkins.

Thyroid problems can lead to serious health problems, he adds. “The main reason that we treat thyroid disease is to prevent heart disease. And, the main treatment for thyroid disease is medication, to replace what an underactive thyroid normally would produce or, in the case of an overactive thyroid, what it would over produce.”

When medicines don’t work with an overactive thyroid problem, the physician can treat it with a radioactive iodine, which kills overactive tissue in the thyroid. Occasionally, surgery is done to remove part of the overactive thyroid.

An underactive thyroid can cause swelling in the legs, shortness of breath and congestive heart failure. Other possible indications of hypothyroidism include tiredness, depression, weight gain, constipation, high cholesterol, dry skin and hair, loss of hair, poor memory and concentration, often feeling cold, voice changes, an unusually slow pace and an enlarged thyroid gland.

A hyperactive thyroid can make your heart race. Many people with hyperactive thyroids have Graves disease where an antibody attacks the thyroid, making it produce more hormone. Other symptoms of hyperthyroidism can include impotence, behavior and emotional changes, diarrhea, bruising easily, exhaustion, hair loss, muscle weakness, weight loss, trembling hands, eye problems, skin changes or an enlarged thyroid gland.

Unfortunately, many people with thyroid problems are unaware that they have a problem, Dr. Atkins said. Early on in the disease, the symptoms can be very subtle, such as tiredness, decreased appetite, higher cholesterol, and feeling cold more often than usual. Many times they will overlook their symptoms or mistake them for symptoms of other conditions.

Following childbirth, women are at a particularly high risk for developing thyroid disorders, but some of the symptoms of thyroid problems, such as fatigue and depression, are common after having a child.

Thyroid problems can be caused by an autoimmune disorder, but the exact cause isn’t known, Dr. Atkins says. Some people, though, have a genetic tendency to get the disease. Factors that can increase your risk for thyroid disease include gender, being 50 or older, personal history, and having a family history of the disease. The risk is slightly greater if you have a first-degree female relative with thyroid disease.
“We’re testing for thyroid problems more often, and we are discovering more thyroid problems,” he says. Diagnosing thyroid disease can include clinical evaluation, blood tests, imaging tests and, in some cases, biopsies.

Since thyroid problems are common, and symptoms are similar to other problems, checking your thyroid should be a part of your routine medical exams, said Dr. Atkins. “It’s easy to have your thyroid checked.”

Your get up and go may depend on it.