Hashimoto’s Disease

Hashimoto’s disease is an autoimmune disorder that can cause hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid. With this disease, your immune system attacks your thyroid. The thyroid becomes damaged and can’t make enough thyroid hormones.

The thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland in the front of your neck. Thyroid hormones control how your body uses energy, so they affect nearly every organ in your body—even the way your heart beats. Without enough thyroid hormones, many of your body’s functions slow down.

Hashimoto’s disease affects women more than men. Symptoms include enlarged thyroid gland, fatigue, weight gain, cold hands and feet, hair loss, heavy or irregular menses and constipation.

Dr Katis Karrazian, PhD, DHsc, DC a leading expert in this field has developed a checklist as to where you are in the autoimmunity continuum :

1) Silent Autoimmunity - evlevated antibodies but no symptoms or loss of function

2) Autoimmune Reactivity - elevated antibodies with symptoms and normal TSH

3) Autoimmune Disease - elevated antibodies, significant symptoms, measurable tissue destruction, and elevated TSH.

Often, patients seek acupuncture care when they are at stage 2-3. Let’s not wait to the very end before you get treatments as it would be harder to reverse the disorder.

Early intervention and prevention in key. Nonetheless, if you already have a history of an autoimmunity, we can still help manage your symptoms. Call us at 909.590.4183 to set up an appointment and please bring your latest lab result.

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www.niddk.nih.gov