Are you tired, run down, gaining weight? Do you suffer from brain fog, low motivation, insomnia? Finally after all these years living with a sluggish metabolism has your blood panel revealed low thyroid levels? Or worse yet--Hashimoto's Thyroiditis?

What is Hashimoto's Thyroiditis?

Hashimoto's thryroiditis is an auto-immune condition in which the body makes antibodies against enzymes that produce thyroid hormones leading to hypothyroidism.

Thyroiditis describes an inflamed thyroid.
Hashimoto was the physician who first named the condition.

Conventional medicine treats Hashimoto's Thyroiditis with synthetic thyroid hormones in high enough doses to suppress TSH--thyroid stimulating hormone.

TSH is produced by the pituitary gland in response to circulating thyroid hormone levels of both T4--thyroxine and T3--lieothyrodine.

The autoimmune antibodies including antithyroglobulin and thyroid peroxidase antibodies are elevated in thyroiditis. These antibodies destroy the enzymes necessary to convert the large protein molecule called thyroglobulin into thyroid hormone.

Conventional thought is to suppress TSH to suppress thyroid enzyme production and thus suppress antibody production. The result is lifelong dependency on thyroid hormone replacement therapy. The antibody levels take a very long time to normalize if ever using conventional therapy.

What might be the root cause of thyroiditis?

The roots of any dis-ease are multifaceted.

• Environmental--toxins have long been implicated as causal factors in auto immune disease. Viral invasion is thought to be the cause of Hashimoto's thyroiditis, but functional medicine has discovered heavy metal and pesticide toxicity to play a major role in thyroiditis.

• Hormonal--the endocrine system is intimately orchestrated with the neuro-imune system. No gland functions on its own. In fact thyroid function is highly dependent on healthy adrenal and pancreatic function. The hypothalamus which is the maestro of the entire neuro-immune-endocrine system produces master hormones that orchestrate the symphony of hormones in the body. It is the hypothalamus which tells the pituitary gland what to do. One hypothalamic hormone called proopiomelanocortin (POMC) breaks down into thyroid releasing factor which controls the pituitary production of thyroid stimulating hormone. POMC also controls the adrenals, glucose metabolism, and endorphin production. Sex steroids can also influence thyroid function and thyroid hormones in turn influence ovarian and testicular function.

• Psycho-spiritual--belief becomes. The thyroid lies in the fifth chakra, the place of speaking your truth. Many patients have difficulty expressing themselves and the thyroid becomes dysfunctional after years of not speaking their truth. Autoimmune thyroiditis is a rejection of self. Healing begins by acknowledging the power of the throat chakra, opening up to expressing oneself honestly, and having compassion for self.