Diagnosis:
Our patient is named Rhiannon. Rhiannon is 41 years old. She works a 9-5 job, and works in the purchasing department. She identifies as half Mexican and half Spanish. She is married and has a sixteen year old daughter. Rhiannon also suffers from Hashimoto’s Thyroid disease, and has been for about a year or so.
This disease impacts the Thyroid nodules. Thyroid nodules are lumps that show up in a normal thyroid gland. They feel like lymph nodes, but lymph nodes are located on the sides of the neck, collarbone, and armpit area. Hashimoto’s causes there to be a goiter which is when the thyroid becomes abnormally enlarged. Leads to trouble swallowing and trouble breathing. This disease could impact the uterus. The uterus is an organ in a female’s body where an offspring is conceived. Hashimoto’s could impact the uterus because the imbalance of hormones that the thyroid produces can lead to heavy or irregular menstruation which makes it harder to conceive. People with Hashimoto’s could also feel fatigue which a sense of tiredness or lack of energy.
Rhiannon says, “I had felt lazier than I normally do. I just felt like I had to go to sleep constantly.” When she had sought for help, she made an appointment with her primary care doctor. He suggested to take a thyroid test which is a blood test to check the balance of hormone functions, particularly in the thyroid. When she got her results back, the doctors realized that her hormones were balanced. That was a relief for Rhiannon, but she still wondered why she found it hard to breathe. The doctor recommended for her to get an ultrasound. Although thyroid nodules are normal, Rhiannon’s were abnormally enlarged. The ultrasound did show an enlargement in the thyroid, specifically her thyroid nodules.
After the ultrasound, the doctors sent her to another hospital to perform something called a Needle Aspiration Biopsy. During this procedure, they stick a needle in the center of your throat to extract small tissue from the thyroid. From there, they are able to determine the diagnosis. They found out that her thyroid was in fact enlarged, but particularly on the right side. The best option at this point was surgically remove the right side of the thyroid because they were afraid that what she was feeling could be a tumor. The dangerous thing about this tumor is that there was an unknown answer of it being benign or malignant. A benign tumor is a non-cancerous tumor, and a malignant tumor is cancerous. There was a point in the middle of all of this talk about different surgeries to get that Rhiannon thought about taking the natural route. Rhiannon said, “I did go see an herbalist. They didn’t use any needles, but they did tell me that this is caused by anxiety. I have suffered from anxiety from an early age. She prescribed me some natural herbal remedies to try out, and I did take them. I felt like my body was functioning the way it should be, but the worry that I could have a tumor in my thyroid was worrying me.” Sometimes taking the natural route is the healthier option for your body. Sometimes there are natural supplements in nature that are made to rejuvenate our bodies. The problem is we usually go towards the quickest options, pharmaceutical drugs. You know your body best. If you believe that by seeing an herbalist your taking the route that is healthier for you, take it. In this case, Rhiannon thought it was better for her to get half her thyroid taken out, and she did. She got the surgery, and the tumor came out to be benign! Now, Rhiannon has changed her diet. Lowered her sugar intake to decrease her insulin levels. She has tried different techniques to alleviate stress. All of these methods have changed her for the better, and Rhiannon is now feeling healthier than she has ever felt.
Now you may be asking, how can we find a cure? There currently is no cure for Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, but there are treatments. Rhiannon decided to take the surgical route. This is usually recommended by the majority of doctors and surgeons because usually by the time they get diagnosed, the thyroid is abnormally enlarged which can lead to a tumor that could be benign or malignant. Other routes could be medication. Although medication is better than surgery, there is a concern many biochemists are talking about. The thyroid produces a hormone called T4 that usually gets converted to T3. T3 usually regulates the body temperature, metabolism, and heart rate. This task for cells also includes brain cells. This conversion for hormones usually takes an enzyme that we produce called type-2-deiodinase. Many patient that suffer with hypothyroidism have trouble converting and using this enzyme effectively. Biochemists who look particularly into the way cells react to medication, noticed that doctors who prescribe oral medication aren’t getting to results they were expecting. An article written by John Easton at The University of Chicago, states, “In as many as 20 percent of people who rely on levothyroxine however, the tiny genetic flaw in D2 causes the shuttling process to go astray.” Meaning the medication is only effective to twenty percent of patients.
This is something that is still being researched, and in a couple years we will probably have a more efficient and effective oral medication. There is always the natural route to take. Many people with hypothyroidism have began to reduce their intake of soy. Soy is ineffective when dealing with a hormonal issue. Soy acts like estrogen in your body, but could also block estrogen from producing which can lead to infertility and other health risks. Seaweed is high in iodine, so that’s something else to avoid. Yoga or meditation are important to relieve stress. Stress is what causes the hormone imbalance. Because of stress, there is an increase in adrenaline and cortisol levels. With these levels rising, this can increase your heart rate. This leads to high blood pressure which is just one more health risk your thyroid is taking over your body. Hashimoto's is affecting many different people from around the world, and this disease needs a cure.
Overall, I found this action project as a good way to wrap up this unit. Being able to research diseases like these makes you walk out of class with more of an understanding of who we are. I think this term is going to be a lot about self care, and being aware of your own body. Because we know our body best, we are able to detect when we aren't feeling the way we normally do. Being aware of diseases that other people can get like cancer, it is important that we educate ourselves on how this disease can affect us physically and emotionally.
Rhiannon says, “I had felt lazier than I normally do. I just felt like I had to go to sleep constantly.” When she had sought for help, she made an appointment with her primary care doctor. He suggested to take a thyroid test which is a blood test to check the balance of hormone functions, particularly in the thyroid. When she got her results back, the doctors realized that her hormones were balanced. That was a relief for Rhiannon, but she still wondered why she found it hard to breathe. The doctor recommended for her to get an ultrasound. Although thyroid nodules are normal, Rhiannon’s were abnormally enlarged. The ultrasound did show an enlargement in the thyroid, specifically her thyroid nodules.
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| NB Hashimoto's Thyroiditis Patient (2019) |
After the ultrasound, the doctors sent her to another hospital to perform something called a Needle Aspiration Biopsy. During this procedure, they stick a needle in the center of your throat to extract small tissue from the thyroid. From there, they are able to determine the diagnosis. They found out that her thyroid was in fact enlarged, but particularly on the right side. The best option at this point was surgically remove the right side of the thyroid because they were afraid that what she was feeling could be a tumor. The dangerous thing about this tumor is that there was an unknown answer of it being benign or malignant. A benign tumor is a non-cancerous tumor, and a malignant tumor is cancerous. There was a point in the middle of all of this talk about different surgeries to get that Rhiannon thought about taking the natural route. Rhiannon said, “I did go see an herbalist. They didn’t use any needles, but they did tell me that this is caused by anxiety. I have suffered from anxiety from an early age. She prescribed me some natural herbal remedies to try out, and I did take them. I felt like my body was functioning the way it should be, but the worry that I could have a tumor in my thyroid was worrying me.” Sometimes taking the natural route is the healthier option for your body. Sometimes there are natural supplements in nature that are made to rejuvenate our bodies. The problem is we usually go towards the quickest options, pharmaceutical drugs. You know your body best. If you believe that by seeing an herbalist your taking the route that is healthier for you, take it. In this case, Rhiannon thought it was better for her to get half her thyroid taken out, and she did. She got the surgery, and the tumor came out to be benign! Now, Rhiannon has changed her diet. Lowered her sugar intake to decrease her insulin levels. She has tried different techniques to alleviate stress. All of these methods have changed her for the better, and Rhiannon is now feeling healthier than she has ever felt.
Etiology & Epidemiology
So you may be thinking, what can cause your thyroid to act up? Many articles, including Endocrineweb states, “caused by a malfunction in your immune system.” Instead of having the immune system protect your thyroid tissue, the cells in the immune system attack it. The goiter in your thyroid is a reaction and cause of hypothyroidism. As this goes on without paying attention to the side effects of hypothyroidism, this could affect your entire thyroid. Hashimoto’s is caused by “large amounts of damaged immune cells, ” says Mira Milas, MD, and that can irritate the thyroid. This takes quite a while until you feel the side effects of Hashimoto’s which is why people usually go years until detecting that there is a problem. Now you may be asking, how can we find a cure? There currently is no cure for Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, but there are treatments.Now you may be asking, how can we find a cure? There currently is no cure for Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, but there are treatments. Rhiannon decided to take the surgical route. This is usually recommended by the majority of doctors and surgeons because usually by the time they get diagnosed, the thyroid is abnormally enlarged which can lead to a tumor that could be benign or malignant. Other routes could be medication. Although medication is better than surgery, there is a concern many biochemists are talking about. The thyroid produces a hormone called T4 that usually gets converted to T3. T3 usually regulates the body temperature, metabolism, and heart rate. This task for cells also includes brain cells. This conversion for hormones usually takes an enzyme that we produce called type-2-deiodinase. Many patient that suffer with hypothyroidism have trouble converting and using this enzyme effectively. Biochemists who look particularly into the way cells react to medication, noticed that doctors who prescribe oral medication aren’t getting to results they were expecting. An article written by John Easton at The University of Chicago, states, “In as many as 20 percent of people who rely on levothyroxine however, the tiny genetic flaw in D2 causes the shuttling process to go astray.” Meaning the medication is only effective to twenty percent of patients.
Overall, I found this action project as a good way to wrap up this unit. Being able to research diseases like these makes you walk out of class with more of an understanding of who we are. I think this term is going to be a lot about self care, and being aware of your own body. Because we know our body best, we are able to detect when we aren't feeling the way we normally do. Being aware of diseases that other people can get like cancer, it is important that we educate ourselves on how this disease can affect us physically and emotionally.
Citation:
1. “Causes of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.” EndocrineWeb, PracticalPainManagement, www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/hashimotos-thyroiditis/causes-hashimotos-thyroiditis.
2. Easton, John. “Genetic Flaw Causes Problems for Many with Hypothyroidism.” UChicago Medicine - At The Forefront, UChicago Medicine, 5 Nov. 2018, www.uchicagomedicine.org/forefront/biological-sciences-articles/2018/november/genetic-flaw-causes-problems-for-many-with-hypothyroidism.
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