Reply #60: How is thyroid problem caused by behavior? [View All]

[Manifestor_of_Light]

Note: When a stupid doc took me off of thyroid extract, I nearly went into a myxedema coma after five years. Myxedema coma can lead to death. I know of no dietary cause for hypothyroidism. My antibodies attacked my thyroid gland when I was about eleven years old. The same thing happened to my mother at the same age. Her mother had an overactive thyroid gland. My mother's sister had one half of her gland work and one half that was dead. Two of my aunt's daughters are fat and have hypothyroidism. I also have blood sugar problems that go along with that, and i have to eat protein several times a day.

From www.elaine-moore.com

Autoimmune Hypothyroidism
Subtypes and Causes

Learn about the subtypes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and disease course in autoimmune hypothyroid disorders.

Classifications of Autoimmune Disease

Autoimmune disorders are classified as systemic, which means that they involve multiple bodily organs and systems, or organ-specific, which means that they primarily target one organ. Autoimmune thyroid disorders can cause hypothyroidism, a condition of diminished thyroid function, or hyperthyroidism, a condition of increased thyroid function. Both types of thyroid dysfunction cause specific symptoms and have specific consequences.

Autoimmune Hypothyroidism Subtypes

Autoimmune hypothyroidism is the most common organ-specific autoimmune disorder. Two specific forms of autoimmune hypothyroidism exist: 1) chronic autoimmune thyroiditis, which is also known as Hashimoto's thyroiditis or Hashimoto's disease, and its variants, postpartum and sporadic thyroiditis, and 2) autoimmune atrophic thyroiditis, which is also known as primary myxedema.

Myxedema

Myxedema is a term referring to the skin changes characterized by pitting and swelling (water-logged appearance) associated with hypothyroidism. Before laboratory tests for thyroid function were developed, most hypothyroid disorders were diagnosed on the basis of goiter and myxedema. The severity of autoimmune hypothyroidism varies ranging from subclinical hypothyroidism, which is described in my 5-21-06 article, to fatal conditions of myxedema coma. This article describes the causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune hypothyroidism.

Causes

Autoimmune hypothyroidism is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. That is, people with certain immune and organ-specific genes are predisposed to developing autoimmune thyroid disorders when they're exposed to certain environmental triggers.

Several of these genes and environmental triggers have been identified but genetic tests aren't used outside of research since immune system genes aren't specific; they cause predisposition to several different autoimmune disorders. Environmental triggers include: iodine deficiency, iodine excess, lithium, selenium deficiency, cigarette smoke, sex steroids, trauma, interferon-alpha used in hepatitis C and other disorders, infection with Yersinia and viruses, iodine-rich medications such as amiodarone, and iodine contrast dyes used in imaging tests.
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