Hashimoto's Thyroiditis

MrsSorenson

Anyone else on here with this disease? I was just diagnosed and don't know much about it.

Jess

Babydfosho

Sorry to hear about it. All I know is what I learned from my Endocrinology class last year. Did you get information from your doctor?

infosynth

Your doctor is absolutely your best source, but you can also Google it to get a general idea. In a nutshell, it's an autoimmune disease in which your body attacks the thyroid and (eventually) requires you to take thyroid replacement medication, such as Synthroid, or whatever your doc deems is best for you. According to what I've read, it's a pretty common cause of hypothyroidism in the US. (Usual disclaimer: I'm not a doctor etc. I just read a lot.)

---

Take comfort in the fact that you're not alone in having thyroid problems. It's more common in women, but one of my male docs has hypothyroidism and takes a thyroid replacement.

I, myself, am being evaluated for subclinical hypothyroidism. I have all the symptoms but nothing shows on my blood tests. I've been taking a small dose of a thyroid replacement drug for another reason and it was increased recently to see whether I would feel better.

It's been nearly 6 weeks and I have to have my blood tested to see where my levels are. If they are still normal, I can stay on the increased dose; if not, then not.

I have to say that In the last 5+ weeks, I have lost 8 lbs. without even trying (starting weight 231). Oh, I've been dieting, but no differently than before I started the medication. I have more energy, don't seem to need 9 hours of sleep anymore, am not cold all the time, and I feel *great*! I certainly hope this is the problem and that I can stay on the medication. If my levels are too high, then I can't. An unfortunate side effect of too much thyroid (hyperthyroidism, really) is osteoporosis, which is, obviously, very bad.