Hashimoto Hypothyroidism

Disease. It is not everyday that a person hears that eye opening word. When anyone says the word disease, one’s mind goes to bad places. When a person begins to suspect that something is wrong with their body, they immediately seek a physician's help. Symptom after symptom a person becomes worried and afraid of that “what if feeling” that the one word leaves on someone. Diseases do not come very often but when they come, they come fast with lasting effects on one’s body. Sometimes, an individual diagnosed has to take a medicine or even multiple medicines that may not even help with the negative effects like pain. After running multiple tests, doctors begin to discuss possible treatments with the patient, while they are still in fear

Diagnosis begins with a physical exam and medical history. A doctor may find a goiter, a swelling due to an enlarged thyroid gland, during a physical exam along with the symptoms suggesting hypothyroidism. Some tests physicians may run include blood tests, TSH tests, T4 tests, antithyroid antibody tests, a CT scan and an ultrasound. The blood drawn from the blood tests reveals an increase in antibodies against thyroid proteins. (Hashimoto's Thyroiditis Pg. 1/2) “The TSH test is usually the first test performed. TSH test detects even tiny amounts of TSH in the blood and is the most accurate measure of thyroid activity available.” (NIH Pg. 3/6) CT scan and Ultrasound create images that doctors display for them to create a visual of the size, texture and shape of the thyroid. “CT scans use a combination of x rays and computer technology to create images. Ultrasound uses a device, called a transducer, that bounces safe, painless sound waves off organs to create an image of their structure. The images can show the size and texture of the thyroid.” (NIH Pg. 4/6) The multiple tests run can ensure the doctor that the patient can be diagnosed with Hashimoto’s. Once a physician diagnoses a patient with Hashimoto’s disease, treatments

Women have 10 times the risk of hypothyroidism as men” (New York Times Health Guide Pg. 1/2). The disease often develops in young women or in women between the ages of 30 and 50 years old (NIH Pg. 2/6). Genetic factors come into play when looking at Hashimoto’s and the people diagnosed with the disease. Thyroid disease usually skips one generation. For example, someone’s mother can not have Hashimoto’s but the person’s grandmother will. A person’s genes can affect their risk of being diagnosed with the disease. “Researchers are working to find the gene or genes involved” (Women's Health Pg. 2/6). People with autoimmune diseases such as Vitiligo, Addison’s disease, Graves’ disease, Pernicious, Lupus, Type 1 diabetes, and Rheumatoid arthritis can develop Hashimoto’s (Women's Health Pg.