[caption id="attachment_1602" align="alignright" width="106"]<a href="http://www.hormonesoup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/why-do-i-still-have-thyroid-symptoms.jpeg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-1602" alt="Hashimotos is an Autoimmune Disease" src="http://www.hormonesoup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/why-do-i-still-have-thyroid-symptoms-106x150.jpeg" width="106" height="150" /></a> Hashimotos is an Autoimmune Disease[/caption]

You could be one of the millions of people who have undiagnosed thyroid disease. An estimated 13 million Americans and 2 million Canadians are walking around unaware they have a thyroid condition. It is 7 - 8 times more common in women! Unfortunately it can take decades to finally get diagnosed.

And if that doesn't sound dismal enough - once a person gets diagnosed with hypothyroidism they most likely aren't aware that they could actually have an auto-immune disease called Hashimotos that created the hypothyroidism in the first place!

<strong>Up to 90% of hypothyroid patients actually have Hashimotos Disease</strong> (also called autoimmune thyroiditis) - that means their body is destroying their thyroid gland.  <strong>By the time people get diagnosed often their gland is well destroyed.  </strong>Like most people diagnosed with hypothyroidism, I take thyroid hormone - problem solved right? Well not exactly.   By the time you're hypothyroid your gland isn't producing enough thyroid hormone so you have to take thyroid hormone - most likely for the rest of your life.  But taking thyroid hormone is not a cure for Hashimotos and does not change the fact that you have an <strong>auto-immune disease.</strong>

<strong><span style="font-size: medium;">WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW CAN HURT YOU:</span></strong>

<strong>50 - 60% of Hashimotos patients have antibodies against other tissues </strong>- not just thyroid.   The point here is that if you don't address the autoimmune part of the disease then you may expect other eventual outcomes.

Why am I so interested in Hashimotos?  I suspect I have Hashimotos and am currently awaiting the results of my anti-body test.  I'm discovering that interpreting the test results can prove complicated!

While finding out I have Hashimotos may answer some questions like why I feel better when I don't eat gluten -  gluten intolerance is common in Hashimotos patients.  Eating gluten can trigger a further autoimmune response in a vicious cycle that can last up to 6 months after eating gluten.  So my low-gluten diet strategy that I've been undertaking for quite a while isn't going to work!  In fact this weekend I indulged in some luscious bread and very quickly looked like I was 6 months pregnant!  2 days later I am still feeling the uncomfortable effects.  It's looking more and more like a 100% gluten-free diet is in my future.

There's so much more and I

In the meantime check out this video by Dr. Datis Kharrazian, who is an expert in this field and has written the book "Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms".

<object width="430" height="300" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="AllowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="src" value="http://www.katu.com/v/?i=96156079" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed width="430" height="300" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.katu.com/v/?i=96156079" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="transparent" AllowFullScreen="true" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" /></object>