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Acupuncture is a gentle and safe way to better health . The practice is becoming more mainstream for wanting an alternative to drugs and their side effects or complementing your drug regime.
Effective and safe way to improve Hashimoto Thyroiditis Symptoms
Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis is an autoimmune condition that affects the thyroid gland. This means that our immune system begins to recognize the thyroid gland as a foreign invader and begins to attack it, eventually leading to a destruction of thyroid tissue. When this destruction goes on long enough, the person will lose their ability to produce thyroid hormone.
Thyroxine is the drug that will take the pressure off the thyroid gland and supplement your hormone levels. Safe and effective, this is the first step to feeling better but don't stop there. Diet, exercise, supplements and acupuncture can be added to your daily regime to make you feel even better!
Many people with Hashimoto's disease have no symptoms at first. That's why I think it's good to get a baseline when you are young. When my daughters turned 21 years old, I paid for them to get the full thyroid panel. Now they have a baseline to work with. Most people will find out they have something wrong with their thyroid when they go to their G.P whom orders a blood test which reveals elevated levels of TSH. This test in itself does not diagnose an autoimmune disease. To get that diagnosed, a blood test for thyroid antibodies need to be done.
Now here is the important message I want you to remember. If your worried about your thyroid, get the whole thyroid antibody panel done! Why? Because if I had done that myself, I would not have suffered nearly a decade wondering what was wrong with me.
Feelings of coldness more than people around me, persistent low iron levels in my blood tests, needing lots of sleep yet still tired during the day, puffy face and weight gain, brain fog, poor digestion, increased hair loss, always hungry and grumpy if I didn’t eat then and there and then! Hungry again only a short time later. Actually the list goes on, but you get the idea. Vague and multiple symptoms but not really sick and to make it worse people would say “” but you don’t look sick!””
Other symptoms can include weight gain, joint and muscle pain, constipation, dry skin, heavy periods, irregular periods, trouble getting pregnant, miscarriages, slowed heart rate.
The five stages of Hashimoto Thyroiditis
It can take a long time of slowly getting sicker and sicker before a diagnosis is made. Sometimes only after a decade of symptoms! This gradual process has been described in a paper by Wiesinga et al as five stages of progressive deterioration.Stage 1 is the genetic predisposition for Hashimoto but at this stage the thyroid panel is normal.Stage 2 is where the immune cells infiltrate the thyroid gland and attack not only unhealthy cells but healthy ones as well. This would lead to thyroid antibodies in a blood test -thyroglobulin antibodies and thyroid peroxidase antibodies.For the few people who still don’t show up with antibodies in their blood test an ultrasound or biopsy on the thyroid can reveal changes consistent with Hashimoto.Stage 3 is subclinical hypothyroidism where TSH is on the rise and there are more antibodies.Stage 4 is overt hypothyroidism where the thyroid is not making enough thyroxine and blood tests are finally coming back looking like something is definitely wrong. TSH will be elevated and Free t3 and t4 will be lower and more antibodies. This person will have multiple symptoms but pushing through knowing something is wrong with them but not sick enough to stay in bed.Stage 5 the person will be at risk of developing other autoimmune diseases.
The Yin and the Yang of Hashimoto Thyroiditis
To add to this already complicated picture some people are confused by their symptoms. They have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism but find at times hyperthyroid symptoms. This is because the thyroid antibodies when destroying thyroid cells can dump the stored hormones into the blood causing toxic levels in the body called Thyrotoxicosis or Hashitoxicosis.
What can Acupuncture Health do for you?
Provide thyroid panel at a reasonable cost.
Educate you about the thyroid panel.
Answer all those questions on the thyroid, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, Hashimoto and Graves disease.
Educate about relevant supplements suitable for you based on your symptoms and blood test results.
Acupuncture to treat your symptoms.
Chinese herbs if requested.
Bachelor of Health Science (BHSc) includes a 4 yr full-time degree in Chinese Medicine
Hours
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182 Mt Albert Rd, Sandringham, Auckland 1025
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