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Hyperthyroidism - Symptom

Alternative Names

Thyrotoxicosis; Overactive thyroid

Symptoms:

Difficulty concentrating
Fatigue
Frequent bowel movements
Goiter (visibly enlarged thyroid gland) or thyroid nodules
Heat intolerance
Increased appetite
Increased sweating
Irregular menstrual periods in women
Nervousness
Restlessness
Weight loss (rarely, weight gain)

Other symptoms that can occur with this disease:

Bounding pulse
Breast development in men
Clammy skin
Diarrhea
Hair loss
Hand tremor
Weakness
High blood pressure
Itching - overall
Lack of menstrual periods in women
Nausea and vomiting
Protruding eyes (exophthalmos)
Rapid, forceful, or irregular heartbeat (palpitations)
Skin blushing or flushing
Sleeping difficulty

Signs and tests:

Physical examination may reveal thyroid enlargement, goiter, or an increased heart rate. Systolic blood pressure (the first number in a blood pressure reading) may be high.

Laboratory tests that evaluate thyroid function:

Serum TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) is usually low
T3 and free T4 are usually high

This disease may also affect the results of the following tests:

Reviewed last on: 7/18/2008
David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Deborah Wexler, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Endocrinologist, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

AACE Thyroid Task Force. American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists medical guidelines for clinical practice for the evaluation and treatment of hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. Endocr Pract. 2002;8(6).

Davies TF, Larsen PR. Thyrotoxicosis. In: Koronenberg HM, Shlomo M, Polonsky KS, Larsen PR, eds. Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. 11th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2008:chap 11.

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