Hashimotos - The Autoimmune Thyroid Attack - Stop the Thyroid Madness

24/01/2015 HashimotosTheAutoimmuneThyroidAttackStopTheThyroidMadness

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Hashimotos The Autoimmune Thyroid Attack

(http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/wp/../images/Screen-Shot-2014-03-29-at-11.08.05-AM.jpg)(Chapter 9 of the STTM book also contains good information. Order the revised STTM book belowitsworth it.)

Did you get a diagnosis of Hashimotos Disease, or someone has just suggested you mighthave it?? Its a very common form of thyroid disease, and can also be called Hashis orThyroiditis. See here (http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/thyroiditis) for a more thoroughexplanation of thyroiditis.

WHAT IS HASHIMOTOS? According to most information, Hashimotos Thyroiditis is an autoimmunethyroid disease based on a dysfunctional immune system in which your thyroid is being attacked byyour immune system via antibodies, attempting to destroy your gland as if its some vile enemy. It maystart out silently, but the attack will eventually cause an inflammation and gradual destruction of yourthyroid gland and can go on for years with miserable side effects to match. It can also cause nodules orlumps. It may be the most common thyroid disease, especially with women. Gut problems can go alongwith Hashimotos disease, and should be addressed.

Another theory promoted by Dr. Alexander Haskell is the other way around: that the thyroid firstbecomes inflamed due to being hypo and the excess production of the TSH, which then leads toHashimotos. What causes the inflammation? One reason might be low iodine, as well as poor levels ofcertain minerals such as selenium, zinc, and iron.

WHAT ARE SYMPTOMS OF HASHIMOTOS? For many, the symptoms are silentthe early stages.But eventually, you start to notice the same symptoms of hypothyroid, including

poor staminaeasy fatigue



depressionfeeling coldgaining weightdry hair and skinlowering of voiceconstipationetc.

As it progresses, you may feel very hypo one day, and very hyper another, which is caused by thedestruction of your thyroid. More symptoms include:

diarrheaanxiety or panicfidgetinessproblems with either heat or coldtightness in your throatinflammationnodules on your thyroid

You can also see variations in your lab workhigh one time, low the next, high the next, etc. Symptomsare different from individual to individualsome can have the swelling; others may not, for example.

HOW DO I CONFIRM HASHIS LABWISE? In most cases, Hashis is confirmed by two antibodies labs,and you need both, not just one:

anti-TPOTgAb.

The first antibody, anti-TPO, attacks an enzyme normally found in your thyroid gland, called the ThyroidPeroxidase, which is important in the production of thyroid hormones. The second antibody, TgAb,attacks the key protein in the thyroid gland, the thyroglobulin, which is essential in the production of theT4 and T3 thyroid hormones. Note: it is unfortunately common for a doctor to only do ONE test, and youneed BOTH tests, since you can be normal in one and high in another! Also, if your doctor just choosesthe TPO, there are other autoimmune diseases that can cause a raise of the TPO. We have also notedthat saliva does not always accurately detect Hashis as well as blood tests do.

There are a very small minority of individuals who will have no reading of antibodies, yet a strongsuspicion they have Hashimotos, especially when they have noted swings between feeling hyper, thenfeeling hypo, or a lowering of their voice, or a thickening in their throat area. If you want confirmation,ask your doctor about an FNA test (fine needle aspiration). They will look for Hurthle Cells, largegranulated cells, which are associated with Hashimotos.

WHAT IF MY TEST RESULTS SHOWS SOME ANTIBODIES, BUT IN THE LESS THAN orNORMAL range? Some will proclaim that antibodies even within the labs normal results meansyou have Hashis. But there may be a big difference between having a result indicative of Hashis vs.having a result that confirms Hashis (the latter which would be those antibodies far above the range.)

And youre going to have some pretty adamant opinions one way or the other.

Bottom line, if your result is in the lower area of the normal or less-than range (i.e. indicative of, ratherthan confirmation of'), patients say dont worry. Its actually NORMAL to have some antibodies. Onefunction of the immune system is to use antibodies in the removal of dead cells.



If your normal antibodies are creeping up in that range towards the top end, do whatever you can toimprove your immune system, just in case, which can include being on thyroid meds if your symptomsand labs point to a thyroid problem. Many of those normal or less-than results do not move up tohaving full-blown Hashis.

Want to order your own labwork to discern if you have Hashis?? STTM haspartnered with key lab facilities, creating the right ones just for you to discusswith your doctor.No prescription needed! Go here: recommended labwork(/recommended-labwork/)

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO KNOW IF I HAVE FULL BLOWN HASHIS?? As Hashimotos increases,you will tend to swing between hypo and hyper, making dosing by labs, and especially the TSH,impossible. Your labs will be high one time, and low the nextback and forth. The hyper is caused bythe release of thyroid hormones into your blood due to the destruction. The hypo is caused by thelessening function of your thyroid due to the attack. If you do have Hashis, you may have to insist toyour lab-obsessed doctor to let you raise by the elimination of symptoms, not labs, due to this reality.

Also, knowing if you have Hashimotos tells you that you may need to be on the watch for other immuneproblems, now or later.

MY DOC SAID I HAVE Bi-POLAR? Several patients have reported being diagnosed with bipolar, onlyto later discover it was actually the swings between hyper- and hypo- from the attack that was causingtheir mood swings. Or as on Australian gal called it, the Yeeha of her swing.

IS IT A GOOD IDEA JUST TO WATCH IT, AS MY DOCTOR WANTS TO DO? In the opinion of alarge body of patients who followed this advice, watching your Hashis is akin to watching a dog chewoff your leg. Allowing the attack to continue on your thyroid can not only last for years, but cause allsorts of problems along the way of its destruction, including adrenal fatigue (/adrenal-info/) and theautoimmune Celiac disease. And once you add adrenal fatigue to the mix, youve got more problems totackle. Instead, why not just stop the attack and all the consequences, as explained below. Makes awhole lot more sense, says a patient who suffered through what she calls the insane watching.

HOW DO I TREAT IT? Patients treat Hashis the same way they do just plan hypothyroidwith thyroidmedications. Why? Because if raised high enough, many patients see the attack cease, probably due toimprovement of the immune system. Every cell in your immune function needs T3! Some doctors haveunwisely recommended non-treatment until labwork stabilizes, but that could take months and years,and you continue to suffer.

Many patients have reported that selenium (/selenium/) supplementation, up to 400 mcg, has helped,especially if you have high anti-TPO. Some patients have also reported that iodine (/iodine/)supplementation outright lowered their antibodies. Low Dose Naltrexone (/ldn/) has helped the morestubborn cases. See below.

The attack can happen over a few weeks or extend into years. It has been stated that antibodies can bepresent for years even after you counter the attack with desiccated thyroid hormone. But patients ondesiccated thyroid have noted that antibodies greatly fall if they dose high enough, since giving yourselfback what your own thyroid gives you greatly improves your immune system!

For the inflammation caused by Hashis, patients might use good supplements like Astaxanthin,Turmeric, Ginger, NAC and more.



Improving gut health can also be a huge factor in improving Hashimotos.

I KEEP READING THAT WE SHOULDNT BE ON NDT IF WE HAVE HASHIS. IS THAT TRUE? Notaccording to a huge body of Hashis patients who reported they have soared with NDT.Granted, patients have noticed that if they stayed on lower doses too long and/or didnt raise highenough, quick enough, it fed the attack, not stopped it. You then have further swelling in your throat, orhair loss, or high anxiety, or a raise in your antibodiesand heightened hypo symptoms with a higherTSH. And doctors who arent knowledgeable about desiccated thyroid might put you back on synthetics,or take you off your meds completely. The solution discovered by patients is to raise the desiccatedthyroid faster and according to the elimination of symptoms and NOT labs. Many seem to end up in the2-5 grains area to stop that attack. This is where individuality comes in.

A caveat: some have noted that it will be impossible to raise well if you have developed a cortisol(/adrenal-info/) issue or low iron (/ferritin/). Those need to be tested correctly and results understood(/lab-values/). Also, many Hashis patients need to be off gluten, use selenium (/selenium/) to help lowerantibodies, or use Low Dose Naltrexone (/ldn/) for more stubborn cases (prescription by your doc).Some patients report that their iodine use greatly lowered antibodies, but they needed to use supportingnutrients because of the detox.

MY DOC SAYS I SHOULDNT BE ON THYROID MEDS WHEN IM HYPER FROM HASHIS. IS HECORRECT? The hyper when you have Hashis is caused by the die-off of thyroid hormones from theattack and their dump in to your blood. You also will swing between hypo and hyper as explainedabove. But to say you shouldnt be on thyroid meds is wrong according to the vast experience ofHashimotos patients. You want to stop the attack and the swings, and the only way to do that is to beon thyroid meds, and raise high enough to stop the attack, which in turn will stop the hyper swings.Youll have to fight your doctors tendency to hold you too long on each raise, or to dose you by theTSH or other labs.

On the other side of the coin, there are always exceptions, and someone may find the need to back offthyroid meds until they get past the thyroid hyper of Hashis.

WHAT ABOUT LOW DOSE NALTREXONE and HASHIS? Naltrexone is a an opioid antagonist, andwhen taken in low doses, has been found to elevate your endorphins, which in turn promotes betterimmune function. Thus, many Hashis patients report a lowering of their antibodies while using thismedication. It may be challenging to get a prescription from your doctor if he or she hasnt learnedabout the effectiveness of LDN, so you can refer him to this (http://www.ldnscience.org/) LDN sciencesite.

The way its used by patients is to dissolve one 50 mg tablet with 50 ml of distilled water in an amberglass bottle. It has to be shaken before use. Using a baby medicine dropper, or even more accurate, asyringe, many patients start at 1.5 ml and mix it with water or juice. Its taken a bedtime, since the bestaction occurs during sleep. Patients report vivid dreaming the first several nights, but it goesaway. They slowly make their way up to 3 mg. The maximum is 4.5, but many like the results from 3mg. Once antibodies fall, you may suddenly find yourself on too much medication for your needs.Check into LDN groups on Yahoo and Facebook.

IS THERE A CONNECTION BETWEEN PREGNANCY and HASHIS? Pregnancy can be a strongprecursor to developing Hashis, since the increased activity of your immune system can either worsenan autoimmune disease you already have, such as thyroiditis, or cause it to appear.

CAN I TAKE IODINE WHEN I HAVE HASHIS?? Possibly. Doing an iodine loading test(http://www.optimox.com/pics/Iodine/loadTest.htm) can confirm if you have low iodine. And since iodineis the main component of thyroid hormones, plus has anti-cancer benefit, the use of iodine can be a



wise decision. Some Hashis patients do wonderful on iodine. For others, its tricky, since iodine use hasaggravated the attack on antibodies attack on the thyroid for many. But the problem may be not beingon enough iodine, just as not being on enough Armour feeds the attack. Its recommended that you beon 50 mgs at the least. Its also key to be on selenium and other supporting nutrients with iodine.

One patient from Germany informed me that there is government-directed iodination of practically everyfood which can be processed, including milk. And with this has come an explosion of Hashimotos thelast 20 years! The ball is out of the court to know whats going on there.

WHAT PROBLEMS MIGHT GO HAND-IN-HAND WITH HAVING HASHIS?? Research(http://www.eje-online.org/cgi/content/abstract/146/4/479) shows there can be a strong connectionbetween having Hashimotos disease and Celiac disease. Celiac disease is a autoimmune digestivedisorder that results in an overreaction to gluten, a protein found in most grains like wheat, rye, oats andbarley, which can be found in breads, cereals, pasta and many processed foods. The overreaction, inturn, causes autoimmune damage to the intestines, which results in poor absorption of nutrients. (Oats,which can be gluten-free, are often contaminated within soil where gluten grains were once grown, or inthe processing facility).

Gluten can also trigger the very autoimmune reactions that cause you to have Hashis, sincesupposedly, the cells of your thyroid are similar to the cells of gluten, i.e. an attack on one is going tomake your ripe for the attack on the other. As a result, some Hashimotos patients experiment witheliminating gluten from their diets, and with good results. Or, there are tests developed to help youfigure out if you have Celiac disease, and the stool test is highly recommended.

WHAT ABOUT HASHITOXICOSIS? This is a more difficult form of a thyroid autoimmune conditionwhere you can have one or both of the antibodies above, plus an elevated TSI (ThyroidStimulating Immunoglobulins)the latter which is a member of the Thyroid Stimulating HormoneReceptor Antibody (TRAb) family, and which at least 80% of Graves patients can have. You can bothboth hyper and hypo symptoms. Low Dose Naltrexone has been helpful for many individuals who havethese antibodies.

BOTTOM LINE? Patients have learned that Hashimotos is not a condition you let take its course (assome doctors will recommend), but that you treat with desiccated thyroid, or at the very least T3 addedto your T4. See the Things We Have Learned (/things-we-have-learned/) page. And during thattreatment, you raise according to the elimination of symptoms, not labs. And if a doctor tells you thatyour Hashis is mild, yet you have a sore throat, swollen neck, or the sensation of wow one time, andwhoa another, you are much farther along in the attack than you know!

There is more on this in the revised STTM book (/book/). Heres a study (http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/87/4/1687) that takingSelenium reduces the TPO antibodies, but its not recommended as a replacement fordesiccated thyroid, but as an additional help.Hashimotos vs Hypothyroidism diagnoses (http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/hypo-vs-hashis/): whats different and similar about them?Pregnancy (http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/pregnancy-and-thyroid-disease/) andHashimotos

Interesting side note: Both Hashis and Graves disease (hyperthyroidism) can have elevated anti-TPO. The frequency of elevated anti-TPO levels in patients with active autoimmune thyroiditis was90% (clinical diagnosis Hashimoto thyroiditis) compared to 64% in patients with overt hyperthyroidism



(clinical diagnosis Graves disease). Pub Med article here(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1475665&dopt=Abstract ).

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Thyroid Madness Definition:

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1. Treating hypothyroid patients solely with T4-only meds.2. Dosing solely by the TSH and the total T4, or using the outdated "Thyroid Panel".3. Prescribing anti-depressants in lieu of evaluating and treating the free T3.4. Telling thyroid patients that desiccated natural thyroid like Armour is "unreliable",

"inconsistent", "dangerous" or "outdated".5. Making labwork more important than the hypo symptoms which scream their presence.6. Failing to see the OBVIOUS symptoms of poorly treated thyroid, and instead,

recommending a slew of other tests and diagnoses.

Latest from Janie's Blog (blog)

12 WAYS YOU CAN BE MAKING YOUR THYROID TREATMENT

WORSE!

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waysmakethyroidtreatmentworse/)Worldwide over the past 50 years since Synthroid and other T4-only meds hitthe market (and doctors were brainwashed into thinking it was the way togo), hypothyroid patients found out the hard way why it's not the way to

Read more about 12 WAYS YOU CAN BE MAKING YOUR THYROIDTREATMENT WORSE!(http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2015/01/20/12-ways-make-thyroid-treatment-worse/)

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Hashimotos - The Autoimmune Thyroid Attack - Stop the Thyroid Madness

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