Thyromegaly is a disorder where the thyroid gland becomes larger than its normal size. It is more commonly known as the disease goiter. A disease where the thyroid gland grows abnormally large is actually common, especially if you lack iodine intake or if your thyroid hormones lack balance. Thyroid hormones are quite tricky because they must be neither too much nor too little: they need the exact right amount. In extreme cases, goiter can actually become cancerous so if some soft mass of tissue starts developing under your Adam’s apple, go see a doctor.
Thyromegaly Symptoms
Thyromegaly has a considerable amount of symptoms. First of all, the swollen thyroid gland becomes visible in the outside of your neck. There will be a sensation of tightness in the esophagus area, especially when one coughs. This in turn can lead to difficulty breathing and difficulty swallowing food. The swollen neck could even interfere with the way you speak. Other symptoms include headache, dizziness, bad breath, and fever if there is an infection. Especially bad cases can lead to hypothyroidism where the gland stops making the thyroid hormone or hyperthyroidism where the gland produces too much thyroid hormone. If not treated this could even lead to thyroid cancer or perhaps toxic nodular goiter.
Treatment
So long as the goiter isn’t cancerous or malignant it may not necessarily require treatment since all it really is would be a lump on the throat. If goiter is cancerous or malignant however, treatment is a must since it could lead to even greater damage of one’s health. There are several ways of treating such cases of thyromegaly. First there’s levethyroxine suppressive therapy, a long and arduous cancer treatment. There is also thyroid hormone replacement, a treatment which is specifically for thyromegaly that has developed into hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. Finally there is ethanol infusion which helps decrease the size of the goiter.
It is very well possible that a goiter will diminish on its own with time but this usually isn’t the case. More often, it will grow larger in size and cause some serious discomfort for the patient. In such cases, you really shouldn’t hesitate in going to see your health care provider. He or she will conduct your CT scan and identify whether your thyromegaly is dangerous or not. When it boils down to it, this would be a case of being safe rather than being sorry. So its best to take care of it right away.
