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Hormones released by the thyroid gland is critical to ensuring oxygen enters our cells and properly regulates our metabolism. If it is not working properly, hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism can result, causing much harm to our health if undiagnosed and untreated. It is therefore important to recognize some of the myths associated with thyroid conditions.I will deal with some of these myths here.

Hyperthyroidism is a sure guarantee against weight gain. Since one of the most stated effects of an overactive thyroid is weight loss, don't assume that it guarantees weight loss. Everyone is different and not all of us experience the same symptoms. I have a cousin with an overactive thyroid condition for many years now and she constantly questions the validity of the theory that weight lost is an effect of this condition. She has a lot of difficulty losing weight. So unfortunately not everyone with this condition will experience the "positive" weight loss effects of hyperthyroidism.

Being diagnosed with a thyroid condition means you have to be on medication for life. This is a common myth. I think in today's world with the growing popularity of proper diet and lifestyle changes as a solution for many medical problems, suggesting that you have to be on medication for life in all cases is a myth. As far as thyroid diseases are concerned, if your thyroid has been surgically removed or damaged, you will need lifelong hormone therapy. For other thyroid conditions, however, this is not necessarily the case and temporary treatments can be recommended for many of the conditions. In a number of cases, changes in life style, herbal remedies and diet helps to keep patients off medication.

Thyroid conditions are easily diagnosed. Not exactly. Thyroid conditions are often unsuspected and misdiagnosed as a result of the wide range of symptoms often associated with these conditions. So patients who complain about anxiety and depression may simply given medication for that purpose only. Primary care doctors may not have the expertise to decipher the various symptoms described to them such as fatigue, anger and stress. Don't we all at some point in our lives have these symptoms? Herein lies the problem.

You know you have a thyroid condition by the symptoms you experience. Like High Blood Pressure, millions of people go about their daily lives unaware that they have a thyroid condition. They may either have symptoms as mentioned above, that they do not relate to a thyroid condition or they may have no symptoms at all.

It is important that your doctor do a thyroid examination and tests at your annual visit whether or not you experience any symptoms or whether or not you notice the appearance of nodules. An understanding of the myths associated with thyroid conditions is a good starting point to understanding the characteristics, treatment and diagnosis of the disease.

Learn more about this author, Joan Schroeder.
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