This butterfly-shaped gland that sits at the front of your neck makes thyroid hormones that affect your metabolism. If you have hypothyroidism, your body isn’t producing enough thyroid hormone. You may feel tired or cold all the time, have dry skin, a slow heart rate, constipation or gain weight for no apparent reason. If your thyroid hormone levels are too high, you have hyperthyroidism. Obvious symptoms include nervousness, trouble concentrating, feeling too warm, having a rapid heart rate and losing weight without trying.
The pituitary gland located at the base of the brain keeps track of the amount of thyroid hormone in the blood. It sends signals to the thyroid gland to either make more or less depending on what’s needed for optimum function. A goiter, or enlarged thyroid, can cause difficulties swallowing or breathing. A lack of iodine in the diet is the most common cause, but goiters can also result from thyroid hormone over or under production or nodules on the gland itself.
