Thyroid / Hashimoto's Disease
Thyroid disease is the most common glandular disorder in the United States. Eighty percent of thyroid cases are hypothyroid, or a slow, underactive thyroid. The vast majority of patients with hypothyroid disease are women and 90% of hypothyroid is autoimmune in nature.
Do you have the symptoms of hypothyroid? (See our Hypothyroid Quick Check test). Has your doctor told you your tests are “normal” or do you continue to have symptoms of hypothyroid though you are currently taking thyroid medication? Have you been diagnosed with hypothyroid disease but have never been checked for Hashimoto’s disease? If any of these situations sound familiar, you may wish to have a more thorough evaluation of you problem. You can definitely benefit from a natural Thyroid Treatment program.
The Reasons For Misdiagnosing Thyroid Disease
Even though thyroid problems are common they are often misdiagnosed for the following reasons:
Though there are twelve different thyroid lab tests, most doctors only test for TSH –Thyroid Stimulating Hormone - so thyroid problems not affecting TSH are often missed.
Most labs use ranges that are too broad, allowing the more subtle, yet significant, values to be overlooked. Thus they miss many dysfunctional thyroid problems.
Thyroid symptoms may actually be secondary to other health conditions. The adrenal glands, liver and digestive system all play vital roles in proper thyroid hormone activity. If they are not functioning correctly, thyroid symptoms may persist even though thyroid tests are “normal”.
About 90% of all hypothyroid cases involve autoimmune disease, usually Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. Hashimoto’s disease is an autoimmune condition where the thyroid is attacked by the body's own immune system. Hashimoto’s is often missed because the antibodies indicating the presence of the disease, are absent in up to 45% of cases. Both the thyroid function and the autoimmune activity must be addressed before a Hashimoto’s patient may feel and function normally.