Hashimoto's is a common autoimmune disease with an easy-to-recognize effect on the thyroid gland. In the US, it's said that Hashimoto's is the major cause of hypothyroidism or low thyroid.

The exact cause of Hashimoto’s is still unclear, but current research suggests that environmental factors like diet, stress, infections and toxins may contribute to it. Hashimoto Online Consultation Los Angeles

The problem with Hashimoto's is that conventional medicine attempt to put the symptoms at bay, rather than addressing the root issue.

Doctors can't always detect Hashimoto's problems in the early stages since it often looks like depression. With Functional Medicine, doctors use a detailed root-cause analysis so Hashimoto's can be identified easily.

In this post we will discuss Hashimoto's disease. The conventional medicinal approach to Thyroid's is to suppress its symptoms with drugs, which isn't very successful. Functional medicine considers the holistic well-being of the patient and provides treatments that aim to maintain or restore it. We also cover what has been uncovered about Hashimoto's disease and how it affects the thyroid gland.

 

 

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What is Hashimoto's disease?

The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped endocrine organ in the neck. The thyroid gland produces different hormones, such as thyroxine or TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone)

The thyroid hormones are essential for regulating metabolism, which is the amount of calories that a person burns. It regulates various body functions by using thyroid hormones.

Hashimoto's Thyroiditis is an autoimmune condition caused by the body's own antibodies attacking its tissue cells including those present in the thyroid gland, causing it to swell up.

Hashimoto's Disease may worsen if your environment exposes you to radioactive materials or harmful chemicals, don't smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol from unpurified sources. Make sure you get enough iodine from foods and supplements and try to cut down on stress, as well as carefully read the side effects of any medication you're taking.

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Symptoms of Hashimoto's disease

Hashimoto's disease usually progresses gradually over the course of years. Though it causes chronic damage to your thyroid gland, this isn't felt most of the time. To start, most people don't experience distinct symptoms in the early stages. Symptoms of Hashimoto's disease are not very different from those caused by an underactive thyroid

Examples of Hashimoto's disease include the following:

• The difficulties faced in losing weight or gaining enough weight.
• Fatigue
• Brain fog
• Constipation
• Hair issues
• Feeling cold
• Symptoms of depression and anxiety vary in different people, but a general mood disturbance involves feeling sad or anxious for most of the day.
• Menstrual problems like irregular periods or heavy periods happen to many people and you're not alone.
• Infertility problems
• Chronic pain especially in muscles and joints
• Dry and rough skin
• Swelling especially around eyes and face

 

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Diagnosis of Hashimoto's disease

Making an autoimmune diagnosis early on will improve the prognosis and quality of life for people with Hashimoto's disease. The tests typically used to diagnose Hashimoto's disease are a blood test and an ultrasound.

The diagnosis of thyroid disease is confirmed by the presence of anti-thyrocyte antibodies in the patient’s blood.

While conventional and functional medical approaches to the problem may seem similar, conventional medicine doctors start with thyroid hormone testing. There is a good chance that Hashimoto's problems are left out with these tests alone.

Tests for thyroid disorders include TSH, T3, T4, Reverse T3 and thyroid antibodies. Whenever these are positive for Hashimoto's disease it is diagnosed.

Conventional medicine approach for Hashimoto's thyroiditis

When Hashimoto's disease is treated by conventional methods, the physician will replace thyroid hormone.

Conventional medicine often does not help to identify the underlying cause of a disease. The goal in this approach is usually simply to relieve symptoms and manage side effects from medication.

If you are on drugs for the rest of your life, your symptoms will keep getting worse.

Doctors usually don't give recommendations for diet changes or lifestyle improvements when giving out prescriptions. Thus, regardless of being on drugs, your headache or high blood pressure won't be cured if there are underlying issues with your diet. For example, you have gluten sensitivity and will not see any results if you continue to consume it in large quantities.

Functional Medicine Approach For Hashimoto's Thyroiditis

Functional medicine practitioners diagnose symptoms differently. They look at what's causing symptoms instead of just symptoms themselves, which isn't the same as other approaches to health care.

There's a theory in Functional Medicine that issues outside of the thyroid can related to it becoming autoimmune. For example, a gut issue may cause your body to attack the thyroid since it was still under attack from something else.

Lots of signs can show that there is more going on in your body. If you've been struggling with symptoms for a really long time, it might be worth trying other methods to see if they work better.

The goal of a functional medicine approach is to identify what has caused your thyroid gland to become inflamed and then work on improving its function.

 

A typical Functional Medicine approach includes —

1. There are many factors which may lead to Hashimoto’s the development of Hashimoto’s. The things, or people make these happen can be different for every person. Before pursuing Functional Medicine, it is essential to visit with a trained physician who can help identify any underlying factors or conditions through an in-depth history and lab testing.
2. I am trained in (and believe in) functional medicine & can create a personalised plan for you to address Hashimoto's. This includes dietary changes like reducing your exposure to chemicals and toxins, stress management and prescribing supplements based on a full assessment of the underlying cause of the issue.
3. Asking your doctor to order advanced functional medicine tests: Too many times patients come to see me telling me that their doctor has told them that their test are all normal, but they feel terrible. We advocate for a more precise and complex form of functional medicine testing to be used instead of conventional medicine. This is because conventional tests cannot pinpoint the source of the problem and may not offer a long-term solution.
4. This book contains the advice and guidance you need to recover from your Hashimoto’s and live your life symptom-free in the future. When patients are graduating from my practice, I always have this moment when they have no idea what to do with themselves. When I tell them that they can manage their illness on their own now, it is shocking to them. They've once heard that once you get Hashimoto's you're always going to come back to your doctor. But with functional medicine we educate on one's condition and teach them how to manage it through self-care methods in the future; living symptom free.

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We've found this approach to be very useful - it not only targets the underlying cause of Hashimoto's, but can also reverse the condition.

Summary

The first thing is to find a Functional Medicine Doctor who specializes in Thyroid healing and then discuss your dietary habits, lifestyle and medical history.

Dr. Gupta is now offering virtual consultations in Los Angeles with his patients through an online platform. Meet with Dr. Gupta for your free 15 minute evaluation call to see if he's the right doctor for you and get started quickly on your new health regimen. Hashimoto Treatment Doctor Los Angeles

 

 

To get started you can click here for a free 15 minute evaluation call.