Could someone explain these to me, I've tried to read about it, and just keep finding contradicting information and I'm just getting more and more confused.

Some people have Hashimoto's or Graves disease -- Hashimoto's causes Hypothyroidism and Graves causes Hyperthyroidism. There's at least one person on this forum that has both. I have Hashimoto, so I can try to describe it -- there are antibodies in my blood that are attacking my thyroid. This causes my levels of TSH, T4, T3, etc. to swing wildly even when I am on thyroid medication. When I was on Synthroid, I had 8 or 9 bottles of Synthroid in my cabinet - every dosage from 88 mcg up to 275 mcg. I had blood work every 6 weeks and dosage adjusted -- but of course they were only looking at TSH.

You cannot cure Hashimoto -- best you can do is to stay otherwise healthy - get weight off, eat fresh/wholesome food, exercise, and closely monitor your thyroid. My Naturopath had me go gluten-free as an option. My antibodies are still very high, but I am a work in progress.

Most doctors don't even test for hashi - but if your levels are changing a lot and you have a lot of other symptoms, you may ask for them to check for Thyroid Antibodies.

From www.stopthethyroidmadness.com
For many, the symptoms of Hashimoto are silent–the early stages of the autoimmune attack. But eventually, you start to notice the same symptoms of hypothyroid, including poor stamina, easy fatigue, feeling cold, gaining weight, dry hair and skin, constipation, etc. As it progresses, you may feel very hypo one day, and very hyper another, which is caused by the destruction of your thyroid. Additionally, since the cells of your thyroid become inefficient in converting iodine into thyroid hormones, your thyroid compensates by swelling or enlarging, and you can have a feeling of tightness around your throat or a sore throat as a result. The swelling can be called a goiter. You might also see variations in your lab work–high one time, low the next, high the next, etc. Symptoms are different from individual to individual–some can have the swelling; others may not, for example.

Thanks for explaining. My doctor said that I have thyroid antibodies present, so that means I have Hashimoto's?

The sore throat makes sense. I've had a sore throat for the past few weeks, but it only hurts when I yawn. I couldn't explain it, but this could be a cause?

You have explained this way better than any website I've read. Most of them just left me even more confused!!!

Thank you!

Ask your doctor for a blood test to confirm hashimoto -- if he poo-poos it, get another doctor! :-)

Thanks for explaining. My doctor said that I have thyroid antibodies present, so that means I have Hashimoto's?

The presence of thyroid antibodies indicates either Hashimoto's, or Graves.