What is Hashimoto's Thyroiditis exactly?

[Arevalo21]

I was diagnosed with Hashimotos thyroiditis a few months ago. I have all these symptoms and I don't know if they are all part of it. My left arm tingles from my neck to my pinky finger and ring finer, i've trouble breathing from time to time because my thyroid gland enlarges and i feel light headed. i've had neck ct scan, neck mri, thyroid optake, ultrasound and what not . i was told i have a nodule a while back but then they said it's gone. my doc says that with hashimotos you can never tell. it will get your thyroid hyper or hypo so thats where they symptoms come in. other than the pain in my lower abdomen and my weird pregnancy symptoms when i'm not pregnant i'm ok. just thought i'd ask what hashimotos does or is exactly.

[toastybell]

hi, i have hashimoto's hypothyroidism and i don't make estrogen or progesterone.  I was so depressed and just a mess physically and mentally and because i am only in my twenties, docs didn't believe something could be wrong with my sex hormones too.  but I did a lot of research and took the info to the docs and had them run a female hormone panel. turns out, i was right, i had stopped making all hormones. now i am on full replacement, thyroid, estrogen and progesterone and i got my life back!  i highly recommend anything by Dr. Elizabeth Vliet, "its my ovaries stupid"  "screaming to be heard", "women, weight and hormones".  you will have amazing knowledge about all this after checking these books out.  any woman with thyroid and/or hormone issues should absolutely know all this and be their own advocate.

[nichole629]

I have similar pregnancy like symptoms.  I get the nausea, hot flashes, dizziness, missed period, breast swelling, and the lower ab pain too.  I am  also in the process of a hashi diagnosis (still need more blood work).   My ultrasound suggested thyroiditis and my initial T4 is on the very borderline hypo.  I've had a ton of test and seen lots of doctors regarding the irregular cycle symptoms and nothing else has shown up.  But I have read some different articles that suggest the sexual hormone imbalance is a symptom of the thyroid disease.  

I'd like to hear how everything turns out for you.  

[GravesLady]

Inflammation of the Thyroid Gland:  Thyroiditis is an inflammation (not an infection) of the thyroid gland. Several types of thyroiditis exist and the treatment is different for each.  

Hashimoto's Thyroiditis begins as a gradual enlargement of the thyroid gland and gradual development of hypothyroidism. It has an early stage of hyperthyroid/symptoms before going full blown. Its also called autoimmune or chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis, in which the immune system attacks and destroys the thyroid gland and is the most common type of thyroiditis.
Hashi Thyroiditis is actually a systemic disease where the thyroid is major target organ. Once it is present it doesn't seem to go away, although the disease usually waxes and wanes and some patients never have further trouble. The anti-bodies, however, usually stay positive and are of little help in assessing the activity of the disease, merely the diagnosis

Autoimmune thyroid disorders are known to have a genetic predisposition  in most cases. There is some evidence that Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis can have a hereditary link. If autoimmune diseases run in ones family, there is a higher risk of developing one yourself. Most people with Hashimoto's thyroiditis don't even realize they have any thyroid disease because the symptoms are initially very mild  So you could have had Hashi along along, then some environmental factor brought it to the surface as a health issue.

[Arevalo21]

thank you, i'll make sure to look through it. =-)

[ifupleze]

Go  to www.endocrineweb.com/thyroiditis and it will give you a great deal of information.