What You Need to Know About Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis

Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis is an autoimmune disease – one of a growing number known to scientists. Thyroid autoimmunity is the leading cause of hypothyroidism in the United States and it’s estimated that nearly 50 million Americans, and likely many more, are dealing with autoimmune conditions. Women are 8 times more likely than men to receive a Hashimoto’s diagnosis.

Hashimoto’s is a disease of the immune system, not of the thyroid gland. Immune action is directed at the thyroid tissue or because of molecular mimicry in the tissue. The perpetrator is the immune system, the thyroid is the victim. Graves disease and Hashimoto’s are both autoimmune diseases that affect the thyroid.⁠ Because of its effect on all other body systems, thyroid disorders can be a key true root cause of dis-ease and dysfunction just about anywhere in the body.

In Hashimoto’s disease, our own immune system is impairing thyroid function by interfering with an enzyme and/or a protein which are required for thyroid hormone secretion. The two types of auto-antibodies typically present with Hashimoto’s are TPO and Tg. When the immune system is attacking either or both of these substances, our thyroid gland struggles to produce sufficient thyroid hormone.

Typically the level of auto-immune antibody levels varies in people with Hashimoto’s, which can cause mild or somewhat violent swings in thyroid hormone level. The antibody levels can be particularly affected by stress levels.

Signs and Symptoms of Hashimoto’s

You might not notice signs or symptoms of Hashimoto’s disease at first, or you may notice a swelling at the front of your throat (goiter). Hashimoto’s disease typically progresses slowly over years and causes chronic thyroid damage, leading to a drop in thyroid hormone levels in your blood. The signs and symptoms are mainly those of an underactive thyroid gland known as hypothyroidism.

Signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism

Fatigue and sluggishness
Increased sensitivity to cold
Constipation
Pale, dry skin
A puffy face
Brittle nails
Hair loss
Enlargement of the tongue
Unexplained weight gain
Muscle aches, tenderness and stiffness
Joint pain and stiffness
Muscle weakness
Excessive or prolonged menstrual bleeding
Depression
Brain fog

People with Hashimoto’s often have acid reflux, nutrient deficiencies, anemia, increased intestinal permeability, food sensitivities, gum disorders, and hypoglycemia in addition to the hypothyroid symptoms listed above.

Autoimmune disease is triggered by a perfect storm

It’s important to keep in mind that the body usually goes into auto-immune activation for a reason. Often this is because of chronic immune system activation over a long period of time in response to something the body is carrying around on a daily basis. This could be due to infections, toxins, food sensitivities, chronic stress, or other inflammatory mediators.

It is important to try to identify what your triggers are. If you can address and remove the threat, the immune system should calm down over time, and the autoimmune activation will lessen. In the case of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, there is often a high viral load (EBV) and molecular mimicry may be at play in the sustained activation of immune function against our own enzymes. Autoimmune disease activation can be viewed as a stool with four legs that include:

Genetics
Intestinal Permeability
Weak imbalanced immune function
Environment (through genetic modulation and/or inflammatory triggers)

Hashimoto’s Triggers

People can have different triggers or they may have one, but from what I have seen in my practice it is often multiple triggers.

Gluten
Dairy
Soy
Stress
Simmering infections/viral reinfection (EBV)
Toxicity

Possible Root Causes of Hashimoto’s

There are multiple root causes for Hashimoto’s from crap food, to toxins, and stress. It is important to find your root cause.

SIBO
Chronic stress
Standard American Diet
EBV
Heavy metals
Mold
Leaky gut
Nutrient deficiencies
Gut pathogens/infections
Emotional trauma
Birth control pill
Overuse of pharmaceuticals
Breast implants

Full Thyroid Panel

It is important that you have your health care practitioner run a full thyroid panel. TSH is a poor marker for true thyroid sufficiency and doesn’t give us the bigger picture of overall thyroid health. It’s imperative to have TPO and Tg antibodies run to see if an autoimmune dynamic is occurring.

TSH
Free T4
Free T3
Reverse T3
Anti-TPO and Anti-Tg antibodies (The markers for autoimmune dynamics)

Hashimoto’s Recommendations

These recommendations are what I used in my Hashimoto’s journey and what I use with my clients to help counter Hashimoto’s, reduce inflammation, and support your thyroid health.

100% elimination of gluten, dairy, and all grains. Not necessarily forever, but as an elimination diet.
Heal the gut
Boost immune nutrients
Reduce stress
Eliminate exposure to fluoride, chlorine, bromide
Work on the fundamentals: sleep, digestion, relaxation, gratitude journaling
Work with a practitioner to get to the root cause!

A Hashimoto’s diagnosis can feel overwhelming and debilitating. I know, I’ve been there, and I totally get how you are feeling right now. I didn’t know what to do or honestly how I was even going to eat. I was living abroad, in a third-world country, with very few resources. It was a process for sure, but through trial and error, I found my triggers (multiple), and started the work of healing. Discovering that EBV reactivation in conjunction with childbirth was my root cause was a helpful step in knowing which direction to focus my healing efforts.

If you have been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s it’s important to work with a skilled practitioner who has worked with Hashimoto’s clients or patients in their practice. Hashimoto’s can be managed and put into remission. You can do this!

Resources:

Root Cause by Izabella Wentz

Stop the Thyroid Madness II by Janie A. Bowthorpe M.Ed. Editor

Why Do I STILL Have Thyroid Symptoms When My Labs are Normal by Dr. Datis Kharrazian