General joint and muscle pains are common when hypothyroidism is not sufficiently treated, and your dosage of thyroid hormone needs to be increased. Joint and muscle weakness and pain, especially in the arms and legs, can be evidence that you need an increased dose of antithyroid drugs for your hyperthyroidism.
Hypothyroidism that goes without treatment for a long time can damage the peripheral nerves. These are the nerves that carry information from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body. Peripheral neuropathy may cause pain, numbness and tingling in the arms and legs. Infertility.
In this case, the condition can gradually become more severe and potentially cause a range of complications. Because your thyroid affects so many areas of your body, untreated hypothyroidism can cause widespread harm.
Myxedema crisis (also called myxedema coma), the most severe form of hypothyroidism, is rare. It occurs when thyroid hormone levels get very, very low.
Myxedema. Myxedema is the medical term for extreme hypothyroidism—when the disorder has progressed for a long time with no treatment. Myxedema is very rare because it's highly unlikely that you wouldn't recognize the symptoms and seek treatment. This form of hypothyroidism is life threatening.
Symptoms of hypothyroidism usually appear slowly over several months or years. However, some people develop symptoms of hypothyroidism quickly over a few months. In general, the lower your thyroid hormone levels become and the longer they stay low, the more severe your symptoms will be.
In additional to fluctuations in your weight, look for changes in your appearance including weaker or more brittle hair, dry, red, itchy, thinning or irritated skin, swelling in your joints, a puffy face, or swelling at the base of your neck.
Signs and symptoms
The most common symptoms of hypothyroidism in adults are fatigue, lethargy, cold intolerance, weight gain, constipation, change in voice, and dry skin, but the clinical presentation can include a wide variety of symptoms that differ with age, sex, and time between onset and diagnosis (table 1).
Myxedema crisis (also called myxedema coma), the most severe form of hypothyroidism, is rare. It occurs when thyroid hormone levels get very, very low.
Levels from 4.5 to 10 mU/L indicate mildly underactive thyroid (subclinical hypothyroidism). Levels greater than 10 mU/L indicate overt hypothyroidism, which should be treated with medication.
Individuals with subclinical hypothyroidism may experience mild fatigue. Those with overt hypothyroidism often experience ongoing fatigue and other symptoms. The most common cause of hypothyroidism, Hashimoto's disease is an autoimmune condition in which thyroid antibodies attack the thyroid gland.
In very rare cases, a severe underactive thyroid may lead to a life-threatening condition called myxoedema coma. This is where the thyroid hormone levels become very low, causing symptoms such as confusion, hypothermia and drowsiness. Myxoedema coma requires emergency treatment in hospital.
Hypothyroidism can affect the heart and circulatory system in several ways. Lower production of thyroid hormone slows your heart rate. Hypothyroidism also makes the arteries less elastic, and blood pressure rises in order to circulate blood around the body.
Common signs of an underactive thyroid are tiredness, weight gain and feeling depressed. An underactive thyroid can often be successfully treated by taking daily hormone tablets to replace the hormones your thyroid isn't making. There's no way of preventing an underactive thyroid.
With thyroid fatigue, you may feel like you can't get through a day without a nap. You may sleep more than usual but still feel completely exhausted. You may not even have the energy to exercise. At times, you may fall asleep during the day or very quickly at night.
With proper treatment, your thyroid hormone function will return to normal, thus reversing some of your “aging” symptoms over time. With untreated hypothyroidism, you will continue to experience symptoms that can mimic premature aging.
Stage 4 thyroid cancer
Stage 4B: The primary tumor has grown into the spine or into nearby large blood vessels. In this thyroid cancer stage, the disease may or may not have spread to lymph nodes, but has not reached distant sites. Stage 4C: The thyroid cancer cells have metastasized, or spread to distant sites.
Stage IV thyroid cancer—also called metastatic disease is cancer that has spread beyond the thyroid to the soft tissues of the neck, lymph nodes in the neck, or distant locations in the body. The lungs and bone are the most frequent sites of distant spread.
T1a: The tumor is 1 cm or smaller. T1b: The tumor is larger than 1 cm but less than 2 cm. T2: The tumor is larger than 2 cm but smaller than 4 cm and is limited to the thyroid. T3: The tumor is larger than 4 cm, but the tumor does not extend beyond the thyroid gland.
Myxedema coma refers to the state of severe, life-threatening, and decompensated hypothyroidism in which thyroid hormone levels are dangerously low. The diagnosis appears to be more common in elderly women with long-standing preexisting hypothyroidism.
Thyroid hormones also influence the quality of your skin in various ways. For example, with hyperthyroidism, you may notice itchy and dry patches of skin. Your face may feel softer and swollen. You may even notice swelling around your fingertips.
Hypothyroidism has traditionally been associated with obesity, whereas hyperthyroidism has been linked to being underweight. However, very few studies have assessed these associations.