Hashimoto Disease?

Hi Trish,

I might have Hashimoto’s. I found out that it usually runs in the family and is hereditary. My mother had it. I found an old document with her disease and the medication which she took. So I am going to pursue this with my doctor.

Have you tied to find out, if a thyroid disease is already in your family? If not yourself, then sisters, brothers, grandparents, great grandparents or your husbands family? This can be an explanation, and you might find advice on this disease in the family. That would be nice.

This is what I have found out about Hashimoto’s so far. I hope that you can use it for the benefit of your son.

Love and best wishes
Ninus

These are apparently the tests to be taken, if a thyroid disease is suspected:
TSH
T3 free
T4 free
TPO – thyroid peroxides antibodies, TPO (antimicrosomal antibodies)
TG – thyroglobulin antibodies
Hashimoto’s is FNA (fine needle aspiration) and Grave’s would be TSI which is a lab test (Thyroid Stimulating Immunoglobulin.)

Maybe also:
ANA (Anti-nuclear antibodies)
Low adrenal function – adrenal fatigue
Cortisol test = urine and saliva tests
ACTH Stimulation Test

I discovered a chat forum for Thyroid diseases: [url]http://thyroidhost.proboards30.com/index.cgi[/url]

Some of the members of the above chat forum say that the TSH should be below 2.0 for some persons, especially those with high antibodies. Read: Changing guidelines for thyroid test levels: [url]http://thyroidhost.proboards30.com/index.cgi?board=Newpeople&action=display&thread=11 64236493[/url]

What I found especially interesting, was what foods not to eat when having problems with a thyroid disease. They correspond closely with the foods, to which I have been tested intolerant.

Read: [url]http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=47[/url]
Read: [url]http://www.freewebs.com/thyroid/goitrogens.htm[/url]

On adrenal fatigue read:
[url]http://www.project-aware.org/Resource/articlearchives/adrenalfatigue.shtml[/url]

Trish,

My mother, my daughter, and I have Hashimoto’s disease. This is basically hypothyroid disease, where your body is not producing enough thyroid hormones. It’s very common, and yes, it is thought to have a genetic link.

It is easily treatable, usually by taking thyroid medication. I take Armour Thyroid which is a natural form of the medication, and do well on it. This particular one doesn’t work for everyone, so some people take synthetic forms of the medication such as Synthoroid, or Levoxyl.

I also take Selenium and DHEA every day. The Selenium is a supportive therapy and is available over the counter. The DHEA is also an over the counter medication recommended by my holistic doctor.

The T3 and T4 hormones are part of the hormone balance equation that is often overlooked by doctors. Measuring these levels shows how much of the thyroid hormones are available to your body, and how much your body is absorbing.

DHEA is used to help make the the hormones more efficiently used by your body, if you have low T3 or T4 test results. The amount of DHEA you take is detemined by the test readings, and by some trial and error. DHEA can have some negative effects, if taken in amounts larger than your body needs, so your doctor should monitor this dosage carefully.

Another important thing to know is that the “normal” range for the thyroid tests is only a basic guage. Some people are more comfortable when they are in the High range, while for others, they only feel normal when they test in the Low range. This is very individual, so don’t be satisfied with a reading if Mason still is feeling bad after he starts medication. His medication levels may need to be adjusted until they get it right for him.

Statistically, people with one auto-immune disease are more likely than others to have more than one auto-immune disease. While there is a genetic pre-disposition to having Hashimoto’s, it is not a certainty that other members of the family do, or will have it or get it. Still a good idea to do testing, if anyone has symptoms.

Typical symptoms can be listlessness, fatigue, and thick, dry skin (which can cause itching), as well as other things.

Sorry for such a long post, but mainly, I wanted you to know that Hashimoto’s is really one of the “best” auto-immune diseases to have, since tests reveal it’s presence, and it is easily treatable. The downside is that he’ll be on the thyroid medication for life.

Hope this puts your mind at ease.

Suzanne

Hey Trish,

Here is some info on selenium:
[url]http://thyroid.about.com/library/news/blselenium.htm[/url]
and
[url]http://www.biopsychiatry.com/selenium.htm[/url]
and
[url]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=17160166&query_hl=2&itool=pubmed_docsum[/url]
and
[url]http://thyroid.about.com/library/news/blselenium2.htm[/url]

Another chat forum and 10 things to prevent
[url]http://thyroid.about.com/od/thyroidbasicsthyroid101/ss/preventthyroid_5.htm[/url]

Trish, I am sorry to give you lots of things to read, but I find that my waiting should be an informed wait. It is very hard waiting all the time. The more I read the more prepared I feel. Actually, from what I have read so far, adding supplements and avoiding certain foods seem a good way to go about treating the thyroid disease naturally. Selenium is one of them and in blind tests it seems to make a difference.

God, give us patience to sustain us in our wait !!!!!!