"Hypothyroidism is most of the time caused by an auto-immune attack on the thyroid gland. In your particular case it sounds like you had Graves disease when you were younger and part of your gland probably got burned out as a consequence of a co-existent Hashimoto's thyroiditis which is the auto-immune condition that causes impairment of the functioning of the thyroid gland. This explains why quite often the deficit in thyroid hormone due to auto-immune thyroid disease may not be stable over time. The traditional way that doctors monitor thyroid patients receiving thyroid hormone medications for hypothyroidism has been to check thyroid levels only once a year. That is actually what the American Thyroid Association (ATA) recommends. However, I do not agree with these guidelines. Even if the patient seems to be stable on a particular dose of thyroid medication I recommend testing every 6 months instead of every year. This way your doctor can be proactive and may prevent you from becoming imbalanced for a significant period of time. Obviously if your gland is not as stable and you have symptoms, you may even need to be tested more often."
Evie, has your doctor recommended more frequent blood work?
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Thanks for your question. Dr. Ridha Arem, a world-renown thyroid expert, author of The Thyroid Solution: A Revolutionary Mind-Body Program That Will Help You and Clinical Professor of Medicine at Baylor College responded to your question. Here's his response:
"Hypothyroidism is most of the time caused by an auto-immune attack on the thyroid gland. In your particular case it sounds like you had Graves disease when you were younger and part of your gland probably got burned out as a consequence of a co-existent Hashimoto's thyroiditis which is the auto-immune condition that causes impairment of the functioning of the thyroid gland. This explains why quite often the deficit in thyroid hormone due to auto-immune thyroid disease may not be stable over time. The traditional way that doctors monitor thyroid patients receiving thyroid hormone medications for hypothyroidism has been to check thyroid levels only once a year. That is actually what the American Thyroid Association (ATA) recommends. However, I do not agree with these guidelines. Even if the patient seems to be stable on a particular dose of thyroid medication I recommend testing every 6 months instead of every year. This way your doctor can be proactive and may prevent you from becoming imbalanced for a significant period of time. Obviously if your gland is not as stable and you have symptoms, you may even need to be tested more often."
Evie, has your doctor recommended more frequent blood work?
May 8, 2008 - 8:28amThis Comment
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