Disease of multinodular thyroid gland: causes, diagnosis and treatment features

In many people, the thyroid gland is enlarged. In some cases, such a pathology poses no danger, but most endocrinologists diagnose multinodular goiter. It arises because of bad ecology and lack of iodine in the body. Nodes are usually benign in nature, but can sometimes degenerate into a malignant tumor that is surgically removed. In this article, we will analyze what is a multinodular goiter of the thyroid gland. Treatment, reviews about it will also be considered.

Description of the disease

Due to the insufficient iodine content in food and water, thyroid-stimulating hormones begin to be produced by the thyroid gland in large quantities, since the body itself is not able to produce the necessary amount of its own hormones.

The thyroid-stimulating hormones produced by the pituitary gland provoke the proliferation of gland cells, as a result of which its rapid increase occurs. As soon as the need for these special substances starts to decrease, the accumulated colloid in the tissues of the organ leads to the formation of large follicles. Outwardly it resembles a large goiter that is visible to the naked eye and can often be felt by the patient himself.

After a certain amount of time, the body again triggers the production of thyroid hormones, and the goiter of the thyroid gland continues to increase.

Types of the disease

Multinodular goiter of the thyroid gland is of three types:

• Nodal - diagnose it in case of uneven increase in the organ, which occurs because of its excessive activity;
• Diffuse - in this case the tissue of the gland grows evenly because of a decrease in its secretory function;
• Mixed - is rare, with the organ has an uneven increase, but some areas remain homogeneous.

If more than two nodes are found that exceed 1 cm in diameter, a puncture of the thyroid gland is prescribed . Most often they are benign. Basically, these neoplasms have no effect on its function, and this disease is called "multi-node euthyroid goiter." Only in 5% of cases the nodes can be malignant.

In our country, a multinodular toxic goiter occurs in 12% of the population, with women suffering more often than men. With age, the probability of developing this pathology increases, and most of all it is detected in 45-60 years.

Although the presence of nodes in the thyroid gland does not affect the work of this organ, but all the same the disease must be treated. There are situations when inattention to the problem can pose a threat to life.

Causes of the disease

The exact reasons for the occurrence of multinodular goitre are not fully understood, but doctors state with certainty that it is the lack of iodine that largely provokes the disease.

Other factors contributing to the formation of this pathology are:

• Malfunctions of the central nervous system;
• Psychological overstrain;
• Oppression of humoral immunity;
• Harmful working conditions;
• Long-term use of certain medicines;
• Genetic predisposition to the onset of this disease;
• Liver and digestive system diseases;
• Overload due to adaptation;
• Exposure to radiation;
• Frequent inflammation in the thyroid gland;
• Malnutrition.

Symptoms

A person may not know that he has a multinodular goiter, the symptoms of which at an early stage can not be manifested in any way and do not cause any discomfort to the patient. While the nodes are small, about 2 cm in diameter, it is difficult to see them with the naked eye, so they are often found on ultrasound during a preventive examination.

If you ignore this problem, then after a while, hyperthyroidism may develop. The patient begins to worry about excessive sweating, irritability, tachycardia, increased pressure, overall health worsens. There may be tingling in the heart, appetite increases, a person always wants to drink, he begins to lose weight. There is trembling of fingers, tongue and whole body. At night, the patient is unbearably hot, they begin to experience fear and anxiety. Such symptoms lead to a decrease in sexual desire.

Sometimes a multinodal toxic goiter can increase so much that it squeezes nearby organs. The patient's voice changes, it becomes difficult to swallow, to breathe, in the neck area there is a feeling of contraction or suffocation, especially in lying position.

Diagnosis of goiter

If there was a suspicion that the patient has a multinodular goiter, then diagnose the thyroid gland. First, the patient is examined by a doctor, then sends it to the ultrasound of this organ. If the nodes exceed 1 cm in diameter, a puncture and fine needle biopsy of these neoplasms is prescribed. There are also studies on hormones, radiography of the chest, when there is a feeling of squeezing, MRI and scintigraphy.

Methods for treating the thyroid gland

Since at the very beginning of its development such a disease as a multinodular goiter is practically asymptomatic, after a while a person begins to feel its destructive effect. The patient sharply grows thin, in the heart there are interruptions, there is an increased nervousness and a strong fatigue.

If the diagnosis of multinodular goiter has been established, the doctor can prescribe the following:

• Daily intake of iodine-containing medications, treatment in this case is quite long;
• The introduction of a radioactive iodine into the diseased organ , which helps to reduce nodes.

If such treatment did not help, multinodular goitre of the thyroid gland is subjected to surgical intervention, especially with its large size.

Treatment with LITT

If conservative methods could not stop the growth of goiter, the doctor can prescribe laser-induced interstitial thermotherapy (LITT). In this case, a fiber is introduced into the assembly. As a result, the protein structure of the goiter becomes affected by a temperature of 41-46 degrees, because of which cells cease to divide.

Advantages of this method are that prior to the procedure, no preliminary preparation is required, the treatment can be performed without anesthesia, all the functions of the thyroid gland are preserved.

But there is such a method of treatment and contraindications:

• Somatic diseases;
• Severe forms of thyrotoxicosis and hypothyroidism;
• Mental illness;
• Inflammation of the upper respiratory tract.

Traditional methods of treatment

If a multinodal goiter is diagnosed in a person, treatment (reviews testify to this eloquently) by folk remedies can significantly improve the patient's condition. As a result, the normal production of hormones in the body is restored, and it replenishes with the necessary amount of iodine.

Every day should eat sea cabbage, drink tincture of hawthorn, take warm baths with sea salt, etc. With the help of various medicinal herbs, the multinodular goiter comes back to normal.

The greatest effect is brought by the following medicinal charges:

• The grass of spring adonis is mixed equally with peppermint, tricolor violet, marjoram, marigold flowers, chamomile and cucumber. This collection is insisted in hot water for two hours and taken before meals.
• Mix the medicinal valerian, melissa, dried fruits of mountain ash, leaves of plantain, sweet clay, icteric leucoid, wormwood, leaves of wild strawberry, yarrow, leaves of medicinal sage, pour boiling water and insist. It is necessary to take infusion every day, 15 minutes before meals.
• Mix in equal proportions a medicinal calendula, a wormwood, a weed, a heart-shaped linden, a thorny hawthorn, a narrow-leaved spray, chamomile flowers, hips, garden thyme and pour boiling water. The collection is heated in a water bath, insisted for about 2 hours, filtered and consumed several times a day.
• Combine together such medicinal plants as thorny dogrose, lemon balm, chamomile, chamomile, linden heart-shaped, narrow-leaved camphor, comfrey, blue-eyed, large plantain and garden thyme. A small amount of collection is ground into a powder and poured with boiling water. Drink several times a day.

Phytotherapy usually lasts 1.5-2 months, after which they take a break in a few weeks.

To fix the result in improving the thyroid gland, the following medicinal preparations are recommended:

• Take in the same amount of calendula, chamomile, valerian, peppermint and wild strawberry, mix and pour boiling water. Infuse should be 2 hours in a warm place, and then filter and take three times a day 15 minutes after eating.
• Mix the hole of the St. John's wort, the leaves of the narrow-leaved spray, the hips, the oregano, the dry flowers of the heart-shaped linden, pour boiling water and insist in a warm room. Filter and eat 4 times a day after meals.

Conclusion

So, we have disassembled, what is a multinodular struma of a thyroid gland. Treatment (reviews of many people confirm this) is quite successful with timely access to a doctor. You can not run this dangerous disease, because it is fraught with many complications, life-threatening.