How do you know if you have Hashimoto’s disease? Let’s say you have hypothyroid symptoms such as weakness, fatigue, general weight gain, sagging skin under the arms, chin or midsection or what appears to be depression, difficulty in making decisions, cold hands and/or feet, loss of libido – just to name a few or you been diagnosed with hypothyroidism but how do you know if it is due to Hashimoto’s disease? A positive serum antibody test (blood test) is the definitive test. But it’s good to be aware of some classic symptoms and scenarios that typically go along with the condition. The most common is the person who is taking their thyroid replacement hormone on a regular basis has their thyroid condition monitored regularly, yet continues to still worsen, needing ever increasing doses of thyroid hormone to function. In fact, this is a person who main even forget to take their medication, only to realize after the fact that she noticed no difference in her symptoms. What the heck is going on? In most cases of Hashimoto’s it unfolds as a gradual attack of the immune system against the thyroid, with TSH levels and symptoms of hypothyroidism slowly escalating over time. In fact the person may have normal TSH levels thanks to the thyroid hormone medication. The underlying problem of the immune dis-regulation goes untreated. One reason hypothyroidism often goes misdiagnosed is because a person with Hashimoto’s can have a normal TSH. As the autoimmune condition fluctuates TSH levels vary wildly. Using standard lab ranges of 0.45 – 4.5, the person will fail to be diagnosed. In many cases these fluctuations are misdiagnosed as anxiety disorder. The person feels as though they are having an anxiety attack. But in reality, this is just a presentation of Hashimoto’s autoimmune disease. When the autoimmune flares-up it will destroy the thyroid tissue and the hormones stored in the gland flow into the bloodstream. The bloodstream is now flooded with excessive thyroid hormones and the body’s metabolism speeds up, resulting in hyperthyroid symptoms such as a racing heart, heart palpitations, inward trembling, increased pulse rate-even at rest, feeling nervous and emotional, insomnia (unable to sleep at night), night sweats and as it gets worse, difficulty gaining weight.
Posted on: Sat, 03 Aug 2013 10:51:24 +0000
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