Hypothyroid is a condition in which the thyroid gland is not producing enough thyroid hormones. Thyroid hormones are necessary for hundreds of metabolic functions within each cell of the body. Every single cell in the body is dependent on thyroid hormone that is produced in gland that sits right in your throat (2" below your chin) called the thyroid gland. In the US 90% of hypothyroid patients have an autoimmune disease called Hashimotos. An autoimmune disorder is when your own immune system begins to attack normal healthy tissue. This leads to the destruction of that tissue, and in the case of the thyroid it leads to loss of the thyroid gland thus loss of thyroid hormone - a situation known as hypothyroid.

The most common treatment of hypothyroid in the US is hormone replacement with medications. A common medication that is used is Synthroid (a synthetic T4 hormone). However, many patients that take Synthroid still suffer from typical thyroid symptoms.

Common hypothyroid symptoms include:

1. Weight Gain

2. Thinning Hair

3. Loss Outer 1/3 of the eyebrow

4. Digestion Isuues

5. Fatigue

6. Headaches (Usually in the AM)

There are a few reasons why certain patients that take Synthroid still suffer from these common symptoms. One common reason is in fact that most of these are autoimmune disorders and when someone has an autoimmune disorder they have inflammation. This inflammation affects cells on a cellular level and in many cases inhibits the hormones from getting inside the cells. This inflammatory process continues until proper immune modulation is accomplished. I will explain that later on. In summery if someone has an inflammatory autoimmune condition, they will have a hard time using hormone replacement (regardless of how much they take) because the hormone can't get inside the cell.

Another area of concern: What else is the immune system doing?

When a person has an autoimmune attack in one part of their body many times they may have an attack in another part. Nerves seem to be commonly affected. Many patients that have hypothyroid also have peripheral neuropathy, dizziness, and balance disorders. It may mean that your immune system is not only destroying your thyroid gland but may also be destroying, or literally chewing up your nerves. In fact there is a very high correlation in medical research that links thyroid disorders and nerve disorders. These mechanisms are just now beginning to surface.

How Do I Know If I have An Autoimmune Thyroid?

This is a very important yet seldom asked question by most doctors. The reason is that doctors don't care about weather a patient has autoimmune thyroid is because the treatment of the disease is the same. You get a TSH test done and if goes high (a test for hypothyroid) you give out more thyroid hormone. The cause of the low thyroid is irrelevant because the treatment is the same.

So here are the tests to run to see if you have an autoimmune thyroid.

1. TPO antibodies

2. TBG antibodies

These test are very common and most labs will run them and get the results in a few days. If they are positive then you have an autoimmune situation and an active destruction of your thyroid tissue.

Now what to do if you have Hashimotos or autoimmune thyroid, or this autoimmune attack? This is a whole other topic and a very important one. But first you need to get your doctor to order these tests. If they refuse to run them then get another doctor to run them for you. If these come back positive your main health goals would be slow down or stop the progression of this immune attack. The reason why it's very important to slow this destructive process down is because it can damage multiple body systems and leave a person with many other problems.

How to stop the progression of the autoimmune attack?

This can be achieved through many ways that are beyond the scope of this article. however some ways that can help would be through diet, lifestyle, supplements, certain detoxification, or other natural methods. The important thing is to find a doctor that understands this immune process behind hypothyroid and that you can trust. This person should be able to look at you as a person and not a diagnosis of a condition. They should be able to do a whole work-up on you and gather as much information as possible to help your specific situation.