Common symptoms and signs of hyperthyroidism:
Palpitations
Heat intolerance
Nervousness
Insomnia
Breathlessness
Increased bowel movements
Light or absent menstrual periods
Fatigue
Fast heart rate
Trembling hands
Weight loss
Muscle weakness
Warm moist skin
Hair loss
Staring gaze


Here is the information I have on Thryoiditis. I hope it helps
Thyroiditis
Thyroiditis, an inflammation of the thyroid gland, produces transient hyperthyroidism often followed by transient hypothyroidism or no change in thyroid function at all.

The three types of thyroiditis are Hashimoto's thyroiditis, subacute granulomatous thyroiditis, and silent lymphocytic thyroiditis.

Hashimoto's Thyroiditis
Hashimoto's thyroiditis (autoimmune thyroiditis) is the most common type of thyroiditis and the most common cause of hypothyroidism. For unknown reasons, the body turns against itself in an autoimmune reaction, creating antibodies that attack the thyroid gland. (see page 816 in Chapter 168, Immunodeficiency Disorders) This type of thyroiditis is most common in elderly women and tends to run in families. The condition occurs eight times more often in women than in men and may occur in people with certain chromosomal abnormalities, including Turner's, Down, and Klinefelter's syndromes.

Hashimoto's thyroiditis often begins with a painless enlargement of the thyroid gland or a feeling of fullness in the neck. When doctors feel the gland, they usually find it enlarged, with a rubbery texture, but not tender; sometimes it feels lumpy. The thyroid gland is underactive in about 20 percent of the people when Hashimoto's thyroiditis is discovered; the rest have normal thyroid function. Many people with Hashimoto's thyroiditis have other endocrine disorders such as diabetes, an underactive adrenal gland, or underactive parathyroid glands, and other autoimmune diseases such as pernicious anemia, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren's syndrome, or systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus).

Doctors perform thyroid function tests on blood samples to determine whether the gland is functioning normally, but they base the diagnosis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis on the symptoms, a physical examination, and whether the person has antibodies that attack the gland (antithyroid antibodies), which can easily be measured in a blood test.

No specific treatment is available for Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Most people eventually develop hypothyroidism and must take thyroid hormone replacement therapy for the rest of their lives. Thyroid hormone may also be useful in decreasing the enlarged thyroid gland.

Subacute Granulomatous Thyroiditis
Subacute granulomatous (giant cell) thyroiditis, which is probably caused by a virus, begins much more suddenly than Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Subacute granulomatous thyroiditis often follows a viral illness and begins with what many people call a sore throat but actually proves to be neck pain localized to the thyroid. The thyroid gland becomes increasingly tender, and the person usually develops a low-grade fever (99° F. to 101° F.). The pain may shift from one side of the neck to the other, spread to the jaw and ears, and hurt more when the head is turned or when the person swallows. Subacute granulomatous thyroiditis is often mistaken at first for a dental problem or a throat or ear infection.

Inflammation usually causes the thyroid gland to release excessive thyroid hormones, resulting in hyperthyroidism, almost always followed by transient hypothyroidism. Many people with subacute granulomatous thyroiditis feel extremely tired.

Most people recover completely from this type of thyroiditis. Generally the condition goes away by itself within a few months, but sometimes it comes back or, more rarely, damages enough of the thyroid gland to cause permanent hypothyroidism.

Aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (such as ibuprofen) can relieve the pain and inflammation. In very severe cases, doctors may recommend corticosteroids such as prednisone, which should be tapered off over 6 to 8 weeks. When corticosteroids are stopped abruptly, symptoms often return in full force.

Silent Lymphocytic Thyroiditis
Silent lymphocytic thyroiditis occurs most often in women, typically just after childbirth, and causes the thyroid to become enlarged without becoming tender. For several weeks to several months, a person with silent lymphocytic thyroiditis has hyperthyroidism followed by hypothyroidism before eventually recovering normal thyroid function. This condition requires no specific treatment, although the hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism may require treatment for a few weeks. Often, a beta-blocker such as propranolol is the only drug needed to control the symptoms of hyperthyroidism. During the period of hypothyroidism, a person may need to take thyroid hormone, usually for no more than a few months. Hypothyroidism becomes permanent in about 10 percent of the people with silent lymphocytic thyroiditis.

Ten Things your Doctor Won't Tell You about Thyroid Disease
including:
http://www.thyroid.about.com/library/weekly/aa082801a.htm

How to get Blood Tests without a Prescription
http://www.thyroid.about.com/library/weekly/aa062101a.htm

Foods that can can affect your thyroid negatively:
I put together a fairly complete list of goitrogens some time ago. Here's what I came up with, but I am sure tyhere are othere things that can and will be added over time.

Avoid unless cooked thouroughly:

* African cassava
* Asparagus
* babassu (a palm-tree coconut fruit popular in Brazil and Africa)
* Broccoli
* brussels sprouts
* Cabbage
* Cauliflower
* horseradish
* kale
* kohlrabi
* leafy green vegetables (turnip greens, mustard greens, collard greens)
* Legumes (beans and peas)
* peanuts
* pine nuts
* Processed meats
* radishes
* rutabaga
* Spinach
* turnips
* Watercress

Avoid entirely:

* Soy in any form that isn't fermented
* millet (actually WORSE when cooked)
* Rapeseed, canola, flax, soybean, safflower, corn and other polyunsaturated fats/oils
*Flaxseed and Flaxseed Oil

Also, the following describes tests you may encounter during your return to health:

Thyroxine (T4): This shows the total amount of the T4. High levels may be due to hyperthyroidism, however technical artifact occurs when estrogen levels are higher from pregnancy, birth control pills or estrogen replacement therapy. A Free T4 (see below) can avoid this interference.

T3 Resin Uptake or Thyroid Uptake: This is a test that confuses doctors, nurses, and patients. First, this is not a thyroid test, but a test on the proteins that carry thyroid around in your blood stream. Not only that, a high test number may indicate a low level of the protein! The method of reporting varies from lab to lab. The proper use of the test is to compute the free thyroxine index.

Free Thyroxine Index (FTI or T7): A mathematical computation allows the lab to estimate the free thyroxine index from the T4 and T3 Uptake tests. The results tell us how much thyroid hormone is free in the blood stream to work on the body. Unlike the T4 alone, it is not affected by estrogen levels.

Free T4: This test directly measures the free T4 in the blood rather than estimating it like the FTI. It is a more reliable , but a little more expensive test. Some labs now do the Free T4 routinely rather than the Total T4.

Total T3: This is usually not ordered as a screening test, but rather when thyroid disease is being evaluated. T3 is the more potent and shorter lived version of thyroid hormone. Some people with high thyroid levels secrete more T3 than T4. In these (overactive) hyperthyroid cases the T4 can be normal, the T3 high, and the TSH low. The Total T3 reports the total amount of T3 in the bloodstream, including T3 bound to carrier proteins plus freely circulating T3.

Free T3: This test measures only the portion of thyroid hormone T3 that is "free", that is, not bound to carrier proteins.

Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH): This protein hormone is secreted by the pituitary gland and regulates the thyroid gland. A high level suggests your thyroid is underactive, and a low level suggests your thyroid is overactive.