The thyroid is a small gland in the front of the neck that sets the pace of your metabolism. When it runs slow or fast, the symptoms are vague enough to be blamed on almost anything else: tiredness, weight change, low mood, feeling cold, a racing heart, thinning hair. That is why thyroid disease is one of the conditions most often missed for years.
Elon Health Primary Care in Davenport, FL evaluates and manages thyroid conditions as part of ongoing care, with testing done in our own laboratory. Most thyroid disease is diagnosed and treated entirely in primary care, without ever needing a specialist.
The thyroid produces hormones that regulate how quickly your body uses energy. Almost every organ responds to them: heart rate, body temperature, digestion, mood, menstrual cycles, cholesterol, and how your muscles feel. When hormone levels drift, the effects are spread across so many systems at once that no single symptom points at the thyroid.
An underactive thyroid produces too little hormone, so everything slows down. It is the more common of the two, particularly in women and with increasing age. The most frequent cause in the United States is Hashimoto's thyroiditis, an autoimmune condition in which the immune system gradually reduces the gland's output.
An overactive thyroid produces too much hormone, so everything speeds up. Graves' disease is the most common cause. It tends to present more dramatically than hypothyroidism, and it deserves prompt evaluation because an untreated overactive thyroid strains the heart and thins bone.
Thyroid testing is straightforward blood work, drawn in our in-house laboratory during the same visit.
Our guide to understanding your lab results explains how to read these numbers when they come back.
No, and this is worth being clear about. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force concluded in 2015 that there is insufficient evidence to recommend for or against screening for thyroid dysfunction in adults who are not pregnant and have no symptoms. That is an "I statement", meaning the evidence does not settle the question.
The reason for caution is real: screening everyone turns up a large number of mildly abnormal TSH results that would never have caused harm, and treating them exposes people to overtreatment, repeated testing, and being labelled with a lifelong condition they did not have. So we test based on symptoms, examination findings, pregnancy, a personal or family history of thyroid or autoimmune disease, or a lab result such as unexplained high cholesterol that raises the question, rather than testing everyone by default.
Hypothyroidism is treated with daily levothyroxine, a synthetic version of the hormone the gland is not making enough of. It is taken on an empty stomach, and separated from calcium, iron, and some other medications, which otherwise block absorption. The dose is adjusted using TSH, usually rechecked six to eight weeks after any change and then once or twice a year when stable. Most people feel steadily better over a few months rather than overnight.
Hyperthyroidism has several treatment routes, including antithyroid medication, radioactive iodine, and occasionally surgery. That decision usually involves an endocrinologist, and we make the referral and stay involved in the follow-up rather than handing you over. Symptoms such as a fast heart rate can often be settled quickly while the longer-term plan is being made.
Thyroid nodules are common and the large majority are benign. They are assessed with ultrasound and, when features warrant it, a needle biopsy. Finding a nodule is not an emergency, and it is not usually cancer.
Thyroid conditions are lifelong for most people, which makes them a good example of what continuity is actually for. A doctor with your record can see that your TSH has drifted over three years, notice that a new medication is interfering with absorption, and connect a rising cholesterol result to an underactive thyroid rather than starting a statin unnecessarily. Thyroid care here sits alongside our wider diabetes and endocrine care and chronic illness management.
If you are having a medical emergency such as chest pain, sudden trouble breathing, weakness or drooping on one side, trouble speaking, or a sudden severe headache, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department. Do not wait for an appointment.
To have thyroid symptoms evaluated with Dr. Sandeep Pandya in Davenport, FL, request an appointment or call 352-508-5254. We see patients by appointment Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm, and we are accepting new patients from Davenport, Champions Gate, Haines City, Kissimmee, and across Polk County.
The thresholds, intervals, and recommendations on this page come from the following national guidance, current as of August 2026. Guidelines change; the ones named here are the versions we are working from, and we review these pages when they are updated. This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a treatment plan for you specifically.
Reviewed by Dr. Sandeep Pandya, board-trained family medicine physician and Medical Director, Elon Health Primary Care.
Frequently Asked Questions
They are usually non-specific. An underactive thyroid tends to cause fatigue, weight gain, feeling cold, dry skin, constipation, and low mood. An overactive thyroid tends to cause palpitations, weight loss despite a normal appetite, anxiety, heat intolerance, tremor, and trouble sleeping. Because these overlap with many other conditions, a blood test is what settles it.
A high TSH usually means an underactive thyroid. TSH is the signal your brain sends to the thyroid, so when the gland is underproducing, the brain sends a louder signal and TSH rises. A low TSH usually means the opposite: the gland is producing too much, so the brain turns the signal down. Free T4 is checked alongside it to confirm the picture.
Probably not routinely. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force concluded in 2015 that the evidence is insufficient to recommend screening adults who are not pregnant and have no symptoms, partly because widespread screening leads to overdiagnosis and overtreatment of mild abnormalities. Testing is appropriate when you have symptoms, are pregnant or planning pregnancy, have a family history of thyroid or autoimmune disease, or have an unexplained lab result.
For most people with hypothyroidism, yes. The gland does not usually recover, so levothyroxine replaces what it is no longer making. It is a well-understood medication with a long safety record, and the dose is adjusted with periodic TSH testing. Some causes, such as thyroiditis after pregnancy or after a viral illness, can be temporary, which is one reason the dose is reviewed rather than set and forgotten.
Most hypothyroidism is diagnosed and managed entirely in primary care. An endocrinology referral is usually reserved for hyperthyroidism, suspicious nodules, thyroid disease in pregnancy, or a case that is not responding as expected. When a referral is needed we arrange it and keep the results in your primary chart.
What We Do
Elon Health Primary Care offers comprehensive medical services for adults and seniors, from annual physicals and preventive screenings to chronic disease management, in-house lab work, and specialist referrals. We serve patients throughout Davenport, FL and accept most major insurance plans.
Part of Conditions We Manage at Elon Health Primary Care in Davenport, FL. Browse other conditions we manage on the conditions hub.
Contact Us
Ready to establish care or have a question? Reach out via the form, call, or email, and our team will help you schedule your first visit.