Hashimoto is an autoimmune disorder that affects the thyroid gland. It's the leading cause of hypothyroidism in the U.S., accounting for nearly 20% of all cases.
The exact cause of Hashimoto’s is still unknown. But current research suggests that environmental factors like poor diets, stress, infections, toxins contribute to the onset of the disease.
The trouble with Hashimoto's is that traditional medicine can only offer you a bandaid approach, by prescribing thyroid medication. Unfortunately, this wont help heal the underlying auto-immune process.
However, Functional Medicine is a pretty different approach. With this, it becomes very easy to identify the problem even during the earlier stages of Hashimoto's.
In this post, we will discuss, What is Hashimoto's disease? How functional medicine differs from conventional medicine in terms of diagnosis and treatment for Hashimoto's Thyroiditis & much more. If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with diabetes it's a good idea to consult a professional as soon as possible to find out how best to treat it.
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What is Hashimoto's disease?
The thyroid gland is a butterfly shaped endocrine organ in your neck. The thyroid gland produces different hormones called thyroxine or TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone)
These thyroid hormones are essential for regulating metabolism, or the speed at which you burn calories. They regulate various body functions
Hashimoto's Thyroiditis is a condition in which the immune system betrays you and attacks cells all over your body, including those in the thyroid gland. This leads to an autoimmune condition where the thyroid gland swells.
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Hashimoto's Disease can progress due to certain environmental factors such as radiation, chemicals that hurt DNA molecules, smoking cigarettes, a lack of iodine intake, a poor diet and high levels of stress. In some cases prescription drugs can also cause or worsen it.
Symptoms of Hashimoto's disease
Hashimoto's disease typically progresses slowly over the course of years and comes with some serious long-term impacts. Until you have experienced symptoms of it, it can be hard to recognize that anything is wrong. So, there are some similarities between Hashimoto's disease and an underactive thyroid.
Symptoms of Hashimoto's Disease
Diagnosis of Hashimoto's disease
Early diagnosis is absolutely crucial for autoimmune conditions like Hashimoto's disease. In the case of Hashimoto's, a blood test and an ultrasound can be used to diagnose it.
The diagnosis for thyroiditis is confirmed by the presence of antibodies to thyrocytes in the patient's bloodstream (anti-TPO antibody).
There are some similar approaches in both conventional and functional medicine. For example, for thyroid function, doctors first test for TSH and T4 levels. There is a good chance that the problems with Hashimoto's thyroid aren't detected with these tests alone.
With Functional Medicine, a full panel of thyroid tests are done which includes testing for TSH, T3, T4, Reverse T3 and Thyroid Antibodies. Abnormalities in these can help diagnose Hashimoto's disease.
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Conventional medicine approach for Hashimoto's thyroiditis
Conventional medical treatment for Hashimoto's is to replace thyroid hormone.
A lot of doctors only treat the symptoms and don't dig further for the cause. When we're trying to relieve pain, we can stop short and end up never identifying what the root problem is. As a result, people end up feeling like their sickness has no resolution and that can be pretty frustrating.
Medications can be helpful, but they often neglect to address the underlying cause of your health issue. For example, if your digestive problems are due to a gluten intolerance, you'll only see improvements when you reduce all traces of this from your diet.
Functional Medicine Approach For Hashimoto's Thyroiditis
If you want to be healthier, functional medicine is the way to go. These practitioners focus on more than just treating symptoms - they handle the root cause of disease. If this sounds interesting, book an appointment today!
Functional medicine states that issues with other organs (such as gut problems) can contribute to autoimmune thyroiditis. What makes this work is that your body then attacks itself because of something else originally wrong with you.
If you have been going to a conventional medical professional for years without noticeable symptom relief, then it's possible that there are other aspects of your body that need your attention.
The goal of functional medicine is to help improve the health of your thyroid, which can reduce inflammation. They did this by identifying what caused the inflammation in the first place and then working to make improvements.
A typical Functional Medicine approach includes —
This approach is a revolutionary treatment of Hashimoto’s because it addresses the root cause of your condition and helps you reverse the disease. It ensures that you live symptom free for life.
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Summary
With all these said, the first step is to visit a Functional medicine doctor specializing in Thyroid healing in Toledo. Your doctor will discuss your problems and come up with a personalized treatment plan for you
Dr. Gupta now offers virtual online consultations for people from all over the country who are interested in treating their health holistically and working with a licensed physician. Just start with a 15 minute evaluation call and see if we're a good fit to work together!
To get started you can click here for a free 15 minute evaluation call.
There is no reason for you to suffer from your health conditions.
Let us work together to find the root-cause of your disease, and fix it. Click below to start your healing journey with us.