Any difference in symptoms of Hypothyroid and Hashimoto's?

[pipsqueak]

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The antibodies can cause some people to 'swing' between Hypo & Hyper symptoms.

Louise

xx

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Hashimoto's is a disease. Hypothyroidism is a state.

Hashimoto's usually ends up in the sufferer being hypothyroid. (I say usually as some seem to have elevated antibodies, so would be diagnosed with Hashimoto's, but do not fall over the cliff into hypothyroidism.)

The Hashimoto's sufferer often goes through a long period of failing thyroid but frequently has periods of hyperthyroidism. (It has been speculated this occurs when stored thyroid hormone is released from the thyroid as it is destroyed.)

The Hashimoto's sufferer is also likely to have one or more other autoimmune issues. A fairly common one is having elevated gastric parietal cell antibodies. This indicates likely loss of gastric parietal cells, reducing both stomach acidity and ability to produce Intrinsic Factor which is critical for vitamin B12 absorption.

(In my book, all Hashimoto's sufferers should be tested for B12. And, ideally, for gastric parietal cell antibodies.)

Hashimoto's sufferers also seem to be hit by greater likelihood of other complications such as food intolerances, worse histamine reactions, and numerous other symptoms or associated issues.

In summary, some other causes of hypothyroidism result in different patterns of thyroid hormone availability (e.g. thyroidectomy causes instant hypothyroidism, iodine deficiency causes slow deterioration which is more or less aligned with the deficiency). And Hashimoto's sufferers have the hypothyroidism issues plus other problems. But the actual symptoms of the hypothyroidism itself howsoever caused seem fairly universal - the variation seems to be very much the usual variation between people.

Rod

[deskplant]

Hi. Rod's answer is very good and points in all the right directions. I would add the following to aid your understanding

1) Hypothyroidism can be primary or secondary and it's important to know which as this will help you get an idea of how this fits together.

PRIMARY: If you have Hashimoto's hypo then it is always primary as the antibodies attack the physical thyroid gland in your throat. Primary means the thyroid gland itself. The disease is 'autoimmune' e.g. caused by your own antibodies from your autoimmune system. Why is it caused? Well this is a debate, but basically it can be triggered by weakened adrenals, a virus or food intolerance which triggers the antibodies which attack your thyroid. I think I developed hypo in pregnancy which was Hashi's to start off because of a lactose intolerance so bad I ended up in hospital. With Hashi's you go through the early cycles of hypo, normal, hyper until and back again, getting worse with each cycle until you become hypothyroid and your disease becomes a permanent condition. In the cycle when you're hypo, you have all the signs and symptoms of the condition. It can take 5 years on average to get a Hashi's diagnosis if this develops in pregnancy. When you're hashi's no longer cycles up and down, you are now permanently hypothyroid. Hashi's then becomes a primary thyroid condition (Rod used the word State) which must be treated. Please be aware the definitions between syndrome, disease and condition are quite grey. So Hashi's is a primary autoimmune hypothyroid disease which can lead to a permanent condition (e.g. long term problem that needs treatment).

OK so what is SECONDARY?: This is when the thyroid doesn't work properly because it is under stimulated by another component of the system e.g. adrenals (where they don't produce antibodies and create Hashis) and particularly the Pituitary not sending out signals via Thyroid Stimulating Hormone - the infamous TSH. But it may also be liver or kidneys affecting thyroid function etc. So these kinds of hypo are secondary and are not auto-immune but a result of direct damage somewhere else. So you can get primary or secondary non-autoimmune hypo from other things. For example a lack of iodine or even excessive chlorine in the water you drink can suppress primary thyroid function. There may be also be a thyroidectomy (removal of the gland) because your thyroid worked too much making you hyperthyroid or you may have injury such as whiplash which damages the thyroid gland. Or you may have damage to your Pituitary etc so it produces secondary hypo etc. Non autoimmune thyroid problems don't go through the up and down cycle of early Hashi's disease, instead it can go into a rapid steady decline and settle into a thyroid condition without ever becoming hyper or normalising temporarily at all.

Do people get the same signs and symptoms? Often although as Rod points out many Hashi's as they also have autoimmune problems, suffer from food intolerance etc as a result of their type of hypo. So all these labels tell you is where the problem is: in the thyroid or elsewhere and what caused the problem: toxins, malnutrition, physical damage or antibody autoimmune response. Regardless of primary or secondary, hypo or Hashi's, being hypothyroid sucks big time. Here's hoping this helps you. Mxx