Thyroid Care

Thyroid problems can be tough to pinpoint because their symptoms are similar to other health issues. Our endocrinologists are highly skilled at diagnosing your condition and developing an effective treatment plan to help you feel better.

Our Approach to Thyroid Care

Your thyroid weighs less than an ounce, but it’s no lightweight when it comes to the important role it plays in your body. This H-shaped gland on the front of your neck produces hormones that affect many body functions, such as how fast your heart beats and how quickly you burn calories.

Our board-certified endocrinologists diagnose conditions that affect your thyroid and parathyroid (glands that sit behind the thyroid and produce hormones that control levels of key minerals in the body). They work with you to develop a treatments plan to relieve your symptoms and help you function better.

Common symptoms of thyroid problems include:

• Extra sensitivity to temperature
• Unexplained weight loss or gain
• Fatigue
• A rapid or irregular heartbeat
• Dry skin or hair
• Changes in bowel movements
• Trouble sleeping

Thyroid Conditions We Treat

• Hyperthyroidism, an overactive thyroid producing too many thyroid hormones
• Hypothyroidism, an underactive thyroid not producing enough thyroid hormone
• Thyroid nodules, lumps growing on the thyroid gland that usually aren’t cancerous
• Thyroid cancer
• Graves’ disease, a genetic autoimmune disorder that is a type of hyperthyroidism
• Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune disorder that limits the thyroid’s ability to make enough thyroid hormone, causing hypothyroidism
• Thyroiditis, inflammation of the thyroid
• Hyperparathyroidism, an overactive parathyroid
• Hypoparathyroidism, an underactive parathyroid
• Parathyroid cancer 

Thyroid Tests and Treatments

Your primary care provider may order a test to measure the levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyroxine (T4) in your blood. Depending on the results and symptoms you are experiencing, you may be referred to an endocrinologist.

During your appointment, your endocrinologist may recommend:

• Additional blood tests
• A thyroid ultrasound to look at the size of the gland and see if there are any nodules
• A procedure called a fine needle aspiration that removes cells from a nodule to determine if cancer is present

These tests may be performed in the doctor’s office or another medical setting.

Based on your condition, treatment options may include:

• Thyroid hormone replacement medication
• Medicine that blocks hormone production
• Radioactive iodine to disable the thyroid
• Radiofrequency ablation to shrink nodules while preserving gland function and reducing the need for thyroid hormone medicine
• Surgery to remove part or all of the gland