What are The 5 stages of Hashimotos Disease? Which stage are you at?
Hashimoto’s disease is a complex condition that affects the thyroid gland. There are five stages.
The first stage is activation.
At this stage, something triggers the body to start an autoimmune response. This could be due to various factors like stress, genetic predisposition, or infections. At this stage, you might not notice any symptoms, but antibodies start to interfere with your thyroid’s function.
As the disease progresses to subclinical hypothyroidism, you may begin to feel unwell with symptoms like weight gain, brain fog, or feeling cold. It’s crucial to test for Hashimoto’s antibodies early to manage the condition before it gets worse.
Ignoring these signs can lead to more severe stages, including the total destruction of the thyroid gland and further complications.
Key Takeaways
- Hashimoto’s starts with a trigger that activates an autoimmune response.
- Early stages are often symptomless but can still cause thyroid damage.
- Testing and early intervention are key to managing the disease.
Stage One: Activation
Triggering of Autoimmune Response
In Stage One, something sets off your body’s autoimmune response. This could be pregnancy, a virus, an infection, or stress. It might also be genetic. When this happens, your immune cells go on high alert.
Creation of Antibodies
During this stage, your body starts creating antibodies. This happens at a very early point and you might not even notice anything. These antibodies can silently begin to affect your thyroid’s function over time.
Early Indicator Symptoms
At this point, symptoms are very minor and easy to miss. You might not feel any different, but the process has already begun. It’s important to be aware of this stage, even though it might not be obvious that anything is wrong.
Stage Two: Subclinical Hypothyroidism
Identifying Symptoms
You might start to notice some changes in your body. You could be gaining weight, feeling cold all the time, or experiencing brain fog. Hair loss at the temples is another sign. These symptoms might lead you to seek medical help.
Normal Lab Results Confusion
When you visit the doctor, your thyroid test results might show a slight increase in TSH. This is often still considered normal. As a result, your doctor might tell you everything is fine, leaving you confused about how to feel better.
Preventative Steps
It’s important to take action at this stage. There are steps you can take to stop Hashimoto’s from causing more damage to your thyroid. Simple changes in your diet and lifestyle can make a big difference.
Importance of Antibody Testing
Getting tested for Hashimoto’s antibodies is crucial now. If your doctor won’t test you, you can get a private test online. See the image on this page for the test I use. Use code THYROIDCOACHHELEN for a 25% discount
Knowing if you have Hashimoto’s early allows you to take steps to manage it before it progresses.
Stage Three: Thyroid Gland Destruction
Progressive Organ Damage
At this stage, Hashimoto’s starts causing serious harm to your thyroid and other organs.
This damage can affect your brain, leading to brain fog, memory loss, and even Alzheimer’s or Dementia down the road. Your eyes might suffer macular degeneration.
Joint pain and damage can lead to arthritis. If not addressed, these issues can become permanent.
Inflammation and Complications
Hashimoto’s creates significant inflammation throughout your body. This inflammation can impact many areas, causing joint pain, muscular problems, and back and spinal issues. It’s very important to manage this inflammation early to prevent these complications.
The Necessity of Early Intervention
Intervening early is crucial. Even though the disease can be scary, the body is resilient. You can reverse symptoms and damage, but action is needed now.
Waiting only allows the disease to cause more harm. Taking steps to manage Hashimoto’s will help protect your thyroid and other organs.
Stage Four: Further Autoimmune Disease
Development of Additional Autoimmunities
Once you have one autoimmune disease like Hashimoto’s, it’s common for other autoimmune conditions to develop. These additional autoimmunities can complicate your health even more.
For instance, you might notice symptoms of other conditions creeping in, making it crucial to manage Hashimoto’s effectively to prevent this.
Potential Autoimmune Conditions
Hashimoto’s often brings along other autoimmune diseases. Some of the conditions that may arise include:
- Pernicious Anemia: This affects the stomach and prevents the body from absorbing vitamin B12 properly.
- Rheumatoid Arthritis: This causes inflammation and damage to your joints.
- Psoriasis: A skin condition that causes red, itchy, and scaly patches.
- Dermatomyositis: This is a serious condition that affects the skin and muscles, causing inflammation and rashes.
The Body’s Resilience and Symptom Reversal
Despite the challenges, the body has an amazing ability to bounce back. Even if you reach the stage where additional autoimmune diseases have developed, there’s still hope.
By taking swift action, you can start to reverse the symptoms and damage. It’s key to act quickly and not let the disease progress any further. By managing your health proactively, you can work on putting these autoimmune diseases into remission.
Stage Five: Total Thyroid Destruction
Complete Thyroid Malfunction
At this stage, the thyroid has stopped functioning completely. It’s reached a state where it no longer produces the essential hormones your body needs. This is a serious condition, as the thyroid plays a crucial role in regulating your metabolism, heart rate, and many other bodily functions.
Dependence on Medication
When the thyroid is totally destroyed, you need to rely on thyroid hormone medications to survive.
While these medications can help, they are not as effective as your natural hormones. It’s important to take your medication consistently and follow your doctor’s advice closely.
Misconceptions and Disease Progression
Doctors sometimes claim there’s nothing to do until the thyroid is completely destroyed. This advice is dangerous.
Even if your thyroid is gone, the autoimmune disease can still attack other organs if not put into remission. It’s crucial to manage your Hashimoto’s disease actively, even after thyroid destruction.
Continued Importance of Remission
Even if your thyroid has been surgically removed, you still need to work on putting your Hashimoto’s into remission. The autoimmune disease can target other organs, leading to further complications. I personally have reached this stage and know firsthand how important it is to continue managing the disease.
Access to Guides and Support
It’s crucial to have access to the right guides and support.
You can find online resources that offer invaluable information and community support:
- Online Tests: You can use these to check your Hashimoto’s antibodies if your doctor won’t. Get your test here and use code THYROIDCOACHHELEN for a 25% DISCOUNT.
- You can then take the results to your doctor to ask for further support
- Free Guides: Grab my free guide which provides practical steps to lose weight, regain energy & calm your Hashimoto’s
- Community Groups: Join my FREE FACEBOOK group here where people share their experiences and solutions.
Staying informed and connected will give you the support you need on this journey.
With love
Helen x
Take Back Control of Your Health with a Home Thyroid Test
Sadly many Doctors won’t do the full thyroid tests you need. Instead of the 5 markers required, they only test TSH, which isn’t enough to get the full picture of your Thyroid health.
This is why they will tell you "Your Labs Are Normal", when you still feel terrible.
Take back control of your health by ordering your own full and accurate thyroid test to do at home. Its quick and easy to do and you get Doctors feedback which you can then follow up with your own Doctor.
Use code THYROIDCOACHHELEN25 to get 25% off your test kit
ORDER YOUR TEST HERE
