Misdiagnosis of Thyroid disorders
Misdiagnosis of Thyroid disorders
Both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism can be difficult to diagnose because they
product relatively mild symptoms.
Hence, thyroid disorders are often misdiagnosed as depression, aging,
or other causes of tiredness, fatigue, or forgetfulness.
Therefore, a thyroid disorder is a possibility that must be ruled out
in diagnoses of conditions such as depression, fibromyalgia,
lupus, sleep disorders, and various other conditions.
Fortunately, diagnosis of thyroid problems is relatively specific
by blood tests of thyroid hormone levels.
Thyroid disorders are treatable, but can be serious if untreated,
so any suspicion of thyroid problems needs to be confirmed
promptly by a doctor.
Alternative diagnoses list for Thyroid disorders:
For a diagnosis of Thyroid disorders,
the following list of conditions
have been mentioned in sources
as possible alternative diagnoses
to consider during the diagnostic process for Thyroid disorders:
Diseases for which Thyroid disorders may be an alternative diagnosis
The other diseases for which Thyroid disorders
is listed as a possible alternative
diagnosis in their lists include:
Rare Types of Thyroid disorders:
Thyroid disorders Diagnosis: Book Excerpts
- Ask the Following Questions - THYROID ENLARGEMENT
- Ask the Following Questions - WEIGHT LOSS
- Differential Diagnosis - Weight Loss
- Differential Diagnosis - Weight Gain
- Differential Diagnosis - Weight Loss
- Differential Diagnosis - Diarrhea – Chronic, No Blood or Weight Loss
- Differential Diagnosis - Diarrhea – Chronic, with Weight Loss
- Approach to the Diagnosis - WEIGHT LOSS
- History and physical examination - Thyroid enlargement
- History and physical examination - Weight gain, excessive
- History and physical examination - Low birth weight
- History and physical examination - Weight loss, excessive
- Diagnosis - Thyroiditis
- Diagnosis - Thyroid cancer
- History and physical examination - Thyroid enlargement
- History and physical examination - Weight gain, excessive
- History and physical examination - Low birth weight
- History and physical examination - Weight loss, excessive
- History Initial data - Weight Loss
- History - Thyroid Enlargement/Goiter
- History - Thyroid Nodule
- Differential Overview - Neck Mass/Thyroid Enlargement
- Differential Overview - Thyroid Nodule
- Differential Overview - Involuntary Weight Loss
- Diagnosis - Thyroiditis
- Diagnosis - Thyroid cancer
- History - Thyroid enlargement
- History - Weight gain, excessive
- History - Weight loss, excessive
- Clinical Features and Diagnosis - Growth Deficiency Weight and Height
- History and physical examination - Thyroid enlargement
- History and physical examination - Weight gain, excessive
- History and physical examination - Low birth weight
- History and physical examination - Weight loss, excessive
- Approach to the Diagnosis - WEIGHT LOSS
Thyroid disorders: Medical Mistakes
Related medical mistakes may include:
Thyroid disorders: Undiagnosed Conditions
Commonly undiagnosed conditions in related areas may include:
Common Misdiagnoses and Thyroid disorders
Undiagnosed causes of weight gain and obesity: Although obesity may be related to lifestyle issues,
there are also a number of medical causes of weight gain or obesity that may go undiagnosed.
Some of the various possibilities include thyroid disorders (i.e. hypothyroidism), polycystic ovarian syndrome (i.e. PCOS),
and various other causes of weight gain.
Metabolic syndrome with its related diabetes (Type 2 diabetes)
is also a consideration, although possibly less helpful in terms of treatment.
See also misdiagnosis of obesity or causes of weight gain.
Thyroid disorder misdiagnosed as anxiety disorder: The book "A Dose of Sanity" reports on a case
where as woman was diagnosed with panic disorder, and had been taking
a variety of anti-anxiety medications.
She was correctly diagnosed with hypothyroidism, having reduced the dosage
of her medication for this already-diagnosed thyroid condition.
Cluster of diseases with difficult diagnosis issues: There is a well-known list of
medical conditions that are all somewhat difficult to diagnose, and all can present
in a variety of different severities.
Diseases in this group include multiple sclerosis, lupus, Lyme disease, fibromyalgia,
thyroid disorders (hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism),
chronic fatigue syndrome, diabetes - all of these can have vague symptoms in their early presentations.
Also, depression can have some symptoms similar to these conditions, and also the reverse,
that many of these conditions can mimic depression and be misdiagnosed as depression.
Alzheimer's disease over-diagnosed: The well-known disease of Alzheimer's disease
is often over-diagnosed.
Patients tend to assume that any memory loss or forgetulness symptom might be Alzheimer's,
whereas there are many other less severe possibilities.
Some level of memory decline is normal with aging,
and even a slight loss of acuity may be noticed in the 30's and 40's.
Other conditions can also lead a person to show greater forgetfulness.
For example, depression and depressive disorders can cause a person to
have reduced concentration and thereby poorer memory retention.
Dementia may be a drug interaction: A common scenario in aged care is for
a patient to show mental decline to dementia.
Whereas this can, of course, occur due to various medical conditions,
such as a stroke or Alzheimer's disease,
it can also occur from a side effect or interaction between multiple drugs
that the elderly patient may be taking.
There are also various other possible causes of dementia.
Rare type of breast cancer without a lump: There is a less common form
of breast cancer called inflammatory breast cancer.
Its symptoms can be an inflammation of the breast tissue, such as with a breast rash
with redness and warmth, but not necessarily a physical breast lump.
This type of breast cancer should be considered as an uncommon possibility
for certain types of breast symptoms.
Tremor need not be Parkinson's disease: There is the tendency to believe that
any tremor symptom, or shakiness, means Parkinson's disease.
The reality is that there are various possibilities, such as benign essential tremor,
which is mostly harmless.
see the various causes of tremor and misdiagnosis of Parkinson's disease.
Rare diseases misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease: A rare genetic
disorder is often misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease for men in their 50's.
The disease Fragile X disorder can show only mild symptoms in the early years,
and Parkinsons-like symptoms around age 50.
See misdiagnosis of Parkinson's disease.
Thyroid disorders greatly under-diagnosed: One study found that about 10% of people
had undiagnosed thyroid disorders, mostly hyperthyroidism, but also hypothyroidism.
The symptoms of thyroid disorders are often mild, making the symptoms easy to overlook, or misdiagnose
as another less serious condition.
See symptoms of thyroid disorders or misdiagnosis of thyroid disorders.
Misdiagnosed weight-related causes of infertility: A woman's weight status
can affect her level of fertility.
Although obesity or overweight can in themselves reduce fertility, there are other
weight-related or associated medical conditions that further reduce fertility.
Some of these hidden causes include COPD, diabetes, thyroid disorders (overactive thyroid
or underactive thyroid) and metabolic syndrome.
See also other causes of infertility.
Thyroid disorders: Rare Types
Rare types of medical disorders and diseases in related medical areas:
- Chronic Major Diseases -- Rare Types:
- Women's Reproductive Health -- rare types of diseases:
- Women's General Health: rare types of diseases:
- Senior Health: rare types of diseases:
- Pregnancy: rare types of diseases:
- more rare diseases...»
Medical news summaries about misdiagnosis of Thyroid disorders:
The following medical news items
are relevant to misdiagnosis of Thyroid disorders:
General Misdiagnosis Articles
Read these general articles with an overview of misdiagnosis issues.
About misdiagnosis:
When checking for a misdiagnosis of Thyroid disorders
or confirming a diagnosis of Thyroid disorders,
it is useful to consider what other
medical conditions might be possible misdiagnoses or other alternative
conditions relevant to diagnosis.
These alternate diagnoses of Thyroid disorders may already have
been considered by your doctor or may need to be considered as possible
alternative diagnoses or candidates for misdiagnosis of Thyroid disorders.
For a general overview of misdiagnosis issues for all diseases,
see Overview of Misdiagnosis.
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