{"id":731,"date":"2022-04-07T12:03:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-07T19:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.thyroidaware.com\/za\/?post_type=post_thyroid&#038;p=731"},"modified":"2025-02-05T11:32:09","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T19:32:09","slug":"about-hashimotos-thyroiditis","status":"publish","type":"post_thyroid","link":"https:\/\/www2.thyroidaware.com\/za\/thyroid\/about-hashimotos-thyroiditis\/","title":{"rendered":"About Hashimoto&#8217;s Thyroiditis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-electviolet-color has-text-color\">Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis is an autoimmune disease in which the body\u2019s immune system turns against itself and attacks the thyroid.<sup>1<\/sup>&nbsp;This leads to the gradual, long-term destruction of the thyroid gland, and therefore insufficient levels of thyroid hormones.<sup>1<\/sup>&nbsp;As the disease progresses, the thyroid may produce too few thyroid hormones, resulting in hypothyroidism.<sup>1<\/sup><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:18px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Who is at risk?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis can affect any individual at any age, but mostly occurs in middle-aged women and people with a family history of thyroid disorders.<sup>1<\/sup>&nbsp;Why the immune system attacks the thyroid gland is not yet known, but possible risk factors include viral or bacterial infection and having another autoimmune disease such as type 1&nbsp;diabetes.<sup>2<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Symptoms of Hashimoto\u2019s disease<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This disease can go unnoticed for a long time. In the course of the disease the thyroid gland can become exhausted, and you might develop hypothyroidism with symptoms such as:<sup>1,3<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Fatigue and drowsiness and\/or weakness<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cold intolerance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Difficulty concentrating or thinking<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Depression<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Weight gain<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enlarged neck or presence of goiter, which may be an early symptom, and, later in the disease, a small or shrunken thyroid gland<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Abnormal menstrual periods with heavy\/irregular menses<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Constipation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Joint or muscle pain<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hair loss<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dry skin<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis is diagnosed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>People with Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis often present symptoms of hypothyroidism, sometimes accompanied by the finding of a goiter.<sup>3<\/sup>&nbsp;Symptoms alone are not a reliable proof of this disease. Blood tests are needed to make a valid diagnosis. If you have high levels of TSH in the blood and low levels of free T4 (thyroxine circulating freely in the blood) you probably have hypothyroidism.<sup>4<\/sup>&nbsp;Antibodies against thyroid peroxidase, an enzyme involved in the production of thyroid hormones, are usually elevated in cases of Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis.<sup>3<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Treatment for the disease<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are diagnosed with Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis your doctor will prescribe thyroxine replacement hormone to treat this condition.<sup>1<\/sup>&nbsp;Most patients with Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis will require lifelong treatment with the appropriate medication.<sup>3<\/sup>&nbsp;Finding the appropriate dose, particularly at the beginning may require testing with TSH every 6-8 weeks after any dose adjustment, until the correct dose is determined. After that, monitoring of TSH once a year is generally sufficient.<sup>3<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Useful websites<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thyroid.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">http:\/\/www.thyroid.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Patient information on thyroid health published by the American Thyroid Association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thyroid-fed.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">http:\/\/www.thyroid-fed.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Patient information from Thyroid Federation International.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.merckserono.de\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">http:\/\/www.merckserono.de<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Therapiegebiete\/Endokrinologische Erkrankungen\/Schilddr\u00fcse\/Brosch\u00fcren \u201eIhr Hashimoto Ratgeber\u201c und \u201eIhr Basedow Ratgeber\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n      <section class=\"reference-content\">\n        <div class=\"ref-header\">\n          <a class=\"collapsed\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapseExample\" role=\"button\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapseExample\">\n            <i class=\"fas\"><\/i>\n            References          <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"collapse content-collapse\" id=\"collapseExample\">\n          <div class=\"row\">\n            <div class=\"col-12 text-reference\">\n              <ol>\n<li>Medline Plus. Chronic thyroiditis (Hashimoto\u2019s disease). Available at\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nlm.nih.gov\/medlineplus\/ency\/article\/000371.htm\">http:\/\/www.nlm.nih.gov\/medlineplus\/ency\/article\/000371.htm<\/a>. Last accessed February 2025.<\/li>\n<li>Mayo Clinic. Hashimoto\u2019s disease. Symptoms and causes. Available at\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/diseases-conditions\/hashimotos-disease\/symptoms-causes\/dxc-20269764\">http:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/diseases-conditions\/hashimotos-disease\/symptoms-causes\/dxc-20269764<\/a>. Last accessed February 2025.<\/li>\n<li>American Thyroid Association. Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis (lymphocytic thyroiditis). Available at\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thyroid.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/patients\/brochures\/Hashimoto_Thyroiditis.pdf\">http:\/\/www.thyroid.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/patients\/brochures\/Hashimoto_Thyroiditis.pdf<\/a>. Last accessed February 2025.<\/li>\n<li>British Thyroid Foundation. Thyroid function tests. Available at\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.btf-thyroid.org\/information\/quick-guides\/97-thyroid-function-tests\">http:\/\/www.btf-thyroid.org\/information\/quick-guides\/97-thyroid-function-tests<\/a>. Last accessed February 2025.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>GL-NONE-00212<br>Date of Prep: February 2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis is an autoimmune disease in which the body\u2019s immune system turns against itself and attacks the thyroid&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":803,"template":"","category_thyroid":[7],"class_list":["post-731","post_thyroid","type-post_thyroid","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category_thyroid-the-thyroid"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>About Hashimoto&#039;s Thyroiditis - Sud\u00e1frica<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www2.thyroidaware.com\/za\/thyroid\/about-hashimotos-thyroiditis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"About Hashimoto&#039;s Thyroiditis - 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