Can Someone Please Explain Hashimotos?
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| Sat, 01-07-2006 - 3:23am |
After reading responses to my post, I began to wonder about the endo I saw. I'm confused about Hashimoto's. Could someone explain?
To clarify, before he felt my throat he said that he felt that my hypothyroid was most likely post partum. I'm guessing that would be Post Partum Thyroiditis. That's when he said that I'd be on the meds 6-8 months and start weaning my off to see if my thyroid can handle it and start working on its own. Then he felt my throat after a littany of questions. That's when he said he thought it was Hashimoto's..He must have good hands. All I know is it hurt like mad hades to have him groping my throat.
I read on the internet somewhere that people w/ Hashimoto's don't neccessarily need medication. But, you ladies are saying that yes, you do need it because the anti-thyroid antibodies attack and damage the thyroid to the point of not working. It slowly damages it over time.
I'm confused and could use a little help here out of the fog! TIA!
-Jennie-

Not all people at the beginning need meds.
Hi Jenniekg,
Our thyroid overview has this information on Hashimoto's:
Hypothyroidism can occur spontaneously, develop during or after pregnancy or after treatment for hyperthyroidism. You can be born with it or it can be caused by Hashimoto's thyroiditis, the leading cause of hypothyroidism.
Named for the Japanese health care professional, who first described it in detail, Hashimoto's thyroiditis is an autoimmune disease. Such diseases are characterized by the immune system attacking the body's healthy tissues rather than fighting off invading bacteria or viruses. In this case, the immune system works against the thyroid by producing antibodies to the gland as if it were a foreign substance that needed to be destroyed. The damage caused by the antibodies results in decreased production TH.
http://health.ivillage.com/diabetesthy/thyroid/0,,nwhrc_75hm0x7l,00.html
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