A thyroid nodule is an area of abnormal growth of the thyroid gland. They are very common. In fact almost half of adults have at least one. Many people have more than one nodule. Most nodules are found incidentally on imaging studies (for example an MRI of the neck or a CT of the chest). 4-5% of all nodules turn out to be thyroid cancer. To rule out thyroid cancer we may do a fine-needle biopsy of thyroid gland. Otherwise a thyroid nodule may be making thyroid hormone

Understanding the Dose The typical form of thyroid replacement we use is called levothyroxine. It’s made of thyroxine, or T4, which is the form of the hormone that comes from our thyroid gland. There are brands like Synthroid or Levoxyl. The way the dosing is written is a little confusing. We usually have medicines that are dosed in milligrams (mg). Levothyroxine is so small it’s always one-hundredth to one-tenth of a mg (ie, 0.10 mg). It’s easier to describe the dose i

Hyperthyroidism means elevated thyroid hormone. The term assumes that the elevated thyroid level is coming from the thyroid gland (and not from thyroid pills). There are three causes of hyperthyroidism. The first is thyroid nodules. Many people have thyroid nodules. Sometimes the nodules will make excessive thyroid hormone. The second cause is Hashimoto’s disease or thyroiditis. Hashimoto’s disease typically causes hypothyroidism, but in some patients when the inflamma

What causes it? If you have not had your thyroid gland surgically removed or ablated there is only one cause of hypothyroidism, and the fancy medical name for this is Hashimoto’s disease (named after Dr. Hashimoto, who first described the disease). It comes from our body’s immune system – what we use to fight infection. The immune system makes antibodies against specific infections. Those antibodies typically stay with us for a long time. If the infection comes back they