Removing thyroid for hashimoto's
Common Questions and Answers about Removing thyroid for hashimoto's
armour-thyroid
I have been diagnosed with Hashimoto's and am currently taking 50mcg of Thyroxine per day.
I am hoping to get my levels of Thyroid antibodies into a normal range (and try and reverse the Hashimoto's) by removing all dairy and gluten from my diet. My first round of blood tests (before removing dairy and gluten) my TPO was >1000 (should be <100) and Antithyroglobulin was 95 (should be 1000 but my Antithyroglobulin has reduced to 29.
Thanks Star for that excerpt from Thyroid Manager - Hashimoto's thyroiditis on this forum. I hope and pray that I am one of the 1/4th! Its been almost a year for me and my doctor has bumped down my NDT a full grain! I have to agree this journey does stink, but I will not let it get the best of me! I also have the mutated MTHFR gene so I have the daily double!
Substernal goiter is quite rare and thyroid removal, in your case, would, most likely, have been imminent. Typically, thyroid removal is not performed for Hashimoto's unless there are unusual circumstances (as in your case).
Thyroid replacement hormones can often help shrink a goiter.
Most hashimoto's patients do not have other autoimmune diseases. After removing the thyroid, the focus is still on adequate replacement with thyroid hormone. The immune system will likely "remember" the attack on the thyroid for years, but it is not known to commonly attack other body parts.
On ultrasound was this a thyroid nodule or a lymph node? Do you have Hashimoto's thyroiditis (more common in T1DM)? Would review US endocrinologist to address these issues and consider having slides sent for another opinion. Also ask if testing for lymphoma (rare) is necessary). But 3.5cm is fairly large (however you mention 0.9cm as one dimension -- so this is almost like a "string bean" which may be a lymph node that is normal/reactive).
With Hashi, there is usually a complete destruction of the gland -so removing it does not help regulate the thyroid -- have had several patients who went through that before establishing with us, and it never seems to have helped. Hashi gives a "woody" feeling to palpation.
Now, with the trouble swallowing, there is a possibility that the thyroid is the culprit and removing it may help local neck symptoms (but not likely to help you feel better overall).
Ok , so you did all the analyses for autoimmune diseases ( anti-dsDNA, anti-Sm, Sjogren's sydrome antigens(SSA, SSB), Scl-70 antibodies, anti-centromere, anti-histone, and anti-RN, RF, cardiolipin, etc etc......, ) so you must look to your thyroid. My thyroid antibodies (TPO) were in part responsible for my ANA's, first my TPO antibodies were more then 1000 and ANA's 1:815, later TPO were 1:800 and ANA's 1:320......., Have you done FNA of your thyroid cysts?
Cancer is not the only thing that causes nodules on your thyroid. Nodules are very common in people who have an autoimmune thyroid disease, such as Hashimoto's Thyroiditis or Graves Disease. Neither of these diseases are curable, but the resulting hyper or hypo are treatable. Many/most of us on this forum have one or the other, very few have both.
As noted, nodules are very common and are, typically, nothing to worry about. I, personally, have several of them.
The indications for thyroid surgery include a biopsy suspicious for cancer or definite compressive symptoms due to goiter. Removing the thyroid in a patient with Hashimoto's does not aid in the regulation of thyroid hormone replacement therapy. Therefore the focus should be on the goiter symptoms and if they are truly causing day-to-day problems then discussion of surgery with your endocrinologist is warranted.
Hello,
I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and later checked for Hashimoto's.Test showed I do have Hashimoto's. My scan showed no significant enlargement, but did have areas of density. I have been really sick with this for at least two years. In the months since I've been on thyroid medication, I have seen no improvement.
My sister had Hashimoto's years ago long with a goiter.
A goiter is a swollen thyroid, so if you remove the goiter, you're removing your thyroid, which will leave you hypothyroid for the rest of your life. You will, then, be dependent on replacement thyroid hormones, since we can't live without them... There are a lot of questions that need to be answered before any suggestions can be made.
First of all, is the nodule putting undo pressure on your throat/airway, causing breathing/swallowing issues?
I can imagine what videos you might have been watching and it's alright to mention them here, if you like, so we're all on the same page. If they turn out to be from competing sites, etc, that we can't discuss, I'll let you know, because I, too, have been watching a series of videos.
To answer your first question, specifically, Hashimoto's is not due to changes in the thyroid gland...the changes in the thyroid gland are due to Hashimoto's.
I read the entire article, and like gimel, I saw some misinformation and misleading statements. I, too, suspect that the entire article was leading up to the advertisement at the end. There's always a gimmick to try to get people to spend money.
Borderline hypothyroidism? A person is hypo, or they aren't.
This was after being on 2mcg consistently for over a year. My thyroid, my endo believes, no longer works but because it is enlarged, removing it is not a good idea especially since the goiter causes no problems for me. I'm ok with this.
I just recently found out I'm pregnant after trying to conceive for 9 months. I'm worried about how my Hashimoto's will affect my baby. Are there any problems, past miscarriage, that could occur? And what can I expect in terms of seeing my endo?
I can start by mentioning that thyroid cancer is a lot less of a worry other cancers. Most types have a cure rate at stage I and II of 100%.
I think your doctor is right, with your biopsy results and how your nodules look you have low risk of cancer and if it turns out the the biopsy was wrong, the chance they can cure you by a removing your thyroid and a dose of radioactive iodine is 100% Either way you're good. And there is no harm in waiting for what the ENT guy says.
I recently had a some blood work done to test for hypothyroid. When I got the results back, I saw that the test used to test my thyroid was a thyroglobulin test. I am somewhat acquainted with thyroid testing and thyroid health due to my husband's recent diagnosis of hyperthyroid. So, I am somewhat confused as to why a thyroglobulin test would be used to test for hypothyroid rather than testing of the levels of TSH and T3.
Hello, I often give donations to the causes (cure for different cancers, cure for alzheimer's, etc) but I have yet to see any organization at all working on a cure for Hashimoto's. I just don't understand why. It seems there is someone working on a cure for everything in the world except Hashimoto's. I've been searching the internet for years so I could donate but have yet to find anything. Is no one working on a cure?
Levothyroxine is the treatment for hypothyroidism not Hashimoto's. Just raising your thyroid levels won't treat the Hashimoto's. Hashimoto's is caused by antibodies and the goiter; levothyroxine raises the levels of thyroid hormones and alleviates hypothyroid symptoms.
"What Happens if a Hashimoto’s Patient Takes Iodine Supplements?
Some people find that they have an “iodine crash”, where the thyroid enlarges (becomes “angry”), is extremely tender, and the whole body becomes shaky and exhausted for several days. Luckily the reaction is normally so severe – and obvious – that you would be unlikely to repeat the experiment.
Yes, I should have mentioned this in my post it was already really long.
I have Hashimoto's, which is an autoimmune disease that attacks the thyroid. Hashimoto's is the most common cause for hypothyroidism for people who live in countries that iodize salt, including the US (where I live), so I suspected as soon as I realized all my random symptoms (fatigue, weight gain, feeling cold all the time, menstrual symptoms) were hypothyroidism, that I probably had Hashimoto's.
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