Do You Have Underactive Thyroid? Find Out If You Suffer From The Symptoms of Hashimoto Disease!

Hashimoto disease is a disease that can affect your thyroid, it is also known as Hashimoto thyroiditis. The thyroid is located in front of the neck and this small gland is responsible in making hormones known as T3 and T4. These hormones are responsible in regulating the usage of energy in our body. The hormone levels of our thyroid are being controlled by the pituitary which is a small gland in our brain. It is responsible in creating thyroid stimulating hormone which activates the thyroid into creating thyroid hormones.

The immune systems of those people who have Hashimoto disease create antibodies which in result can damage the thyroid cells and hampers their ability to make thyroid hormones. In the long run, the damage on the thyroid can result to low levels in the thyroid hormone which is known as the hypothyroidism or underactive thyroid. People who have underactive thyroid will eventually have a slowdown in their functions of the body which include the brain function, the function for turning the food into energy and heart rate. Underactive thyroid is commonly caused by Hashimoto's disease. This disease is quite similar with Graves' disease which is another type of disease that affects the thyroid.

A lot of people who have Hashimoto disease have no known symptoms throughout the years. Oftentimes, the first symptom of the disease would be an enlarged thyroid which is also known as goiter. People who have goiter have enlargement in front of their neck. Sometimes goiter can be noticed by the doctor and even you. If it is large enough then sometimes you can feel some fullness in the throat and mostly you will have a hard time swallowing. However, it often does not cause any pain. Sometimes people who have Hashimoto's disease often develop underactive thyroid. At first, there are no symptoms seen or sometimes there are only mild symptoms. But as time passes by, symptoms may tend to get worse. Some of the symptoms that can be felt by the person are weight gain, fatigue, cold feeling, puffy and pale face, constipation, muscle and joint pain, irregular menstrual periods or heavy menstrual flow, thinning or drying of hair, slow heart rate, depression and sometimes pregnancy difficulties.

Hashimoto disease can occur 7 times more in women than in men. It may happen to young women, teens and most likely to those who are in their middle age. Most often, people who have Hashimoto's disease are those who have family members who have a history of thyroid or other types of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Vitiligo, Type 1 Diabetes, Graves' disease, Addison's disease, Lupus, Pernicious Anemia and others. The causes of Hashimoto's disease can also be attributed to a lot of factors such as genes, pregnancy, gender, radiation exposure and excessive iodine and other drugs. Researchers are now working hard to find out which genes are involved in this disease. Sometimes pregnancy can affect the thyroid; in fact there are some women who develop thyroid problems after having a baby. Sometimes it will just go, but in later years it will come back.