If your thyroid was removed, here’s why it doesn’t end the Hashimoto’s conversation
Hashimoto’s is not just a thyroid problem. It is an immune system problem.
Your thyroid was the target. But the immune system is the one that went off course.
When the thyroid was removed, the immune dysregulation does not automatically go away with it. Your immune system is most likely going to continue to be dysregulated. And if there is no thyroid left to attack, it may move on to something else in your body.
That is why you still need to look at root causes, even after a thyroidectomy. You are still taking medication to mimic your thyroid. But the question to ask is: why was your thyroid removed in the first place?
If the answer is Hashimoto’s, then root cause work is still for you.
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Health with Hashimoto’s is your free weekly podcast that sorts this autoimmune condition into thyroid or immune. Each episode is for informational and educational purposes. Please discuss any questions or concerns with your trusted healthcare professional. Some links may be affiliate links, marked as such, at no extra cost to you.
The strong link between thyroid cancer and Hashimoto’s
Scientists have long recognized a connection between thyroid cancer and autoimmune thyroid disease, especially papillary thyroid cancer.
Research has found that the risk of developing thyroid cancer is significantly higher for people with Hashimoto’s. One study found that within the first three years of a Hashimoto’s diagnosis, thyroid cancer occurred in 30 out of every 1,000 patients. In people without Hashimoto’s, that number is less than one in a thousand.
The connection comes back to chronic inflammation. Long-term inflammation in any tissue increases the risk of abnormal cell changes. That is true in the thyroid, and it is true in other parts of the body too.
This is exactly why calming down whole-body inflammation matters. It is not just about how you feel today. It is about what is happening in your cells over time.
If you want to go deeper on this, episode 4 covers natural support for Hashimoto’s and inflammation.
Do Hashimoto’s root causes apply if you have a different autoimmune disease
Yes, most of them do.
Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune condition. The thyroid is just what is being attacked. But the root problem, the immune system going haywire, is the same across most autoimmune diseases.
Your condition is named after the tissue being targeted. But every autoimmune disease shares one thing: a dysregulated immune system.
That means the root cause work covered on this podcast is relevant to you, even if your diagnosis is something different. Are all of the root causes going to apply to every single autoimmune condition? Probably not every single one. But most of them will.
You are the CEO of your own health. You get to decide what applies to your situation and what does not. That is your job, and nobody else can do it for you.
The 8 root causes to investigate no matter your diagnosis
Here are the eight root causes covered in this podcast. Most of them apply across autoimmune conditions.
1. Stress This one is big enough to fill multiple episodes on its own. Stress is cumulative, physical, emotional, and chemical. It matters more than most people realize.
2. Low vitamin D You cannot feel low vitamin D. You have to test. Episode 9 covers vitamin D and autoimmune disease in detail.
3. Hormone changes Pregnancy, perimenopause, puberty. Hormone transitions can reveal immune vulnerabilities you did not know were there.
4. Food reactions Gluten, dairy, soy, and leaky gut are the common ones. Episode 44 covers what to eat with Hashimoto’s.
5. Environmental chemicals Pesticides and endocrine disruptors are two of the biggest categories to look at.
6. Blood sugar Both high and low blood sugar create stress on the body and can drive inflammation. Episode 10 covers blood sugar and thyroid problems.
7. Iodine This one is specific to the thyroid because iodine is what the thyroid needs to make thyroid hormone. If your thyroid has been removed or if you have a different autoimmune condition, this root cause may be less relevant to you.
8. Infections Bacterial, viral, parasitic, mold. Infections of all kinds can trigger or worsen immune dysregulation.
What this means for your next step
If you have had your thyroid removed, if you have had thyroid cancer, or if you have a different autoimmune condition, you are not off the hook when it comes to root cause work. In fact, you may need it even more.
Within a decade, most people who have one autoimmune disease develop another. Addressing the immune system is not optional. It is the foundation.
You do not need to tackle everything at once. Start by learning what your root causes are. The Hashimoto’s Decoded mini-course walks you through the root causes in a simple, structured way so you can stop guessing and start taking action.
