1 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:06,200 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff Mob Never Told You from House stuff 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 3 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:17,639 Speaker 1: Caroline and I'm Kristen, and today we are talking about 4 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: a health issue that selfishly I brought up shoe Kristen 5 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:28,520 Speaker 1: to cover because uh, I was recently diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease, 6 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:33,199 Speaker 1: which is an autoimmune disease that affects your thyroid and um. 7 00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:36,040 Speaker 1: I had brought it up to my doctor after I 8 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:42,160 Speaker 1: had started feeling certain symptoms like uh generally gaining more 9 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:46,080 Speaker 1: weight than expected, feeling really exhausted all the time, not 10 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,600 Speaker 1: sleeping particularly well, and some other stuff, and she said, 11 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:51,400 Speaker 1: you know, well we will just to be on the 12 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 1: safe side. You know, when we do your blood work, 13 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 1: we'll do a full thyroid workup. Well, so when I 14 00:00:56,520 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 1: got all my results back, everything was um, pretty normal 15 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 1: and okay, except for one particular thyroid measurement, which in 16 00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:11,760 Speaker 1: a normal range should be around like ten or so 17 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: under twenty for sure, mine was eight D twenty four. 18 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 1: Who yeah, those were some antibodies, good old antibodies. And 19 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,200 Speaker 1: so my doctor sent me to get a an ultrasound, 20 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:26,600 Speaker 1: a thyroid ultrasound UM, which was okay, you know, I 21 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:29,200 Speaker 1: don't have thyroid cancer. I don't have any nodules. It 22 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 1: is a little bit misshapen, you know. It's kind of 23 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 1: like an old car that maybe has had some shopping 24 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:38,000 Speaker 1: carts run into it. Your thyroid, Yeah, my thyroid, it's 25 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 1: all it's all beat up. It's had some fender benders, 26 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:43,959 Speaker 1: had some fender benders. And so the combination of my 27 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:49,440 Speaker 1: antibodies being off the freaking charts and my slightly abnormal 28 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:54,960 Speaker 1: but nothing too scary ultrasound basically confirmed that I have hashimotos, 29 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:57,520 Speaker 1: which is named for the guy who discovered it. It's 30 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:01,400 Speaker 1: not just like a particularly unique Japanese condition. Yeah, his 31 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:06,400 Speaker 1: name was Hakaru Hashimoto, and he discovered this in nineteen twelve, 32 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 1: but not in Japan, in Germany. So in case that 33 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:12,880 Speaker 1: kind of medical knowledge interests you, now you know, now 34 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:15,799 Speaker 1: you can win at trivia exactly. But yeah, we wanted 35 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 1: to talk about this with you today because thyroid issues 36 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:26,520 Speaker 1: are actually pretty common, and not only are they pretty common, um, 37 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 1: but they can really mess up some systems in your body. Yeah, 38 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:33,320 Speaker 1: and first of all, let's talk a little bit about 39 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:37,960 Speaker 1: what the thyroid is, because I don't think that a 40 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:41,240 Speaker 1: lot of people myself included are that familiar with the 41 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:43,400 Speaker 1: thyroid functioning. I think we all know that it exists 42 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:46,919 Speaker 1: and it's there, but what it actually does might not 43 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:49,720 Speaker 1: be as well known. So we got some information from 44 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 1: the National Institutes of Health. And your thyroid is a 45 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:56,600 Speaker 1: gland in your neck. And what you read over and 46 00:02:56,639 --> 00:02:59,840 Speaker 1: over and over again is that it's butterfly shaped. Yes, 47 00:02:59,880 --> 00:03:03,079 Speaker 1: I refer to mine as my meat butterfly. Oh, and 48 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:05,640 Speaker 1: I say that it's a little chubby, a little sluggish, 49 00:03:05,639 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 1: a little chubby, little chebby meat butterfly in your neck. Anyway, So, 50 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:13,720 Speaker 1: your thyroid um is one of your indocrine glands, which 51 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:18,000 Speaker 1: make hormones, and as you might imagine, hormones are pretty 52 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:20,320 Speaker 1: important for some stuff. So to break it down, your 53 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 1: indocrine system um is instrumental in regulating things like mood, 54 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:28,320 Speaker 1: growth and development, tissue function, and very importantly metabolism, as 55 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:31,960 Speaker 1: well as sexual function and reproductive processes. It basically has 56 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:36,080 Speaker 1: a hand in almost everything that is not the nervous system. Yeah, 57 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:40,840 Speaker 1: and the thyroid in particular produces thyroid hormones, and the 58 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:43,840 Speaker 1: two main ones are T three and T four, and 59 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:47,560 Speaker 1: those are the thyroid hormones that doctors often test for 60 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: if you are showing symptoms of some kind of thyroid disorder, 61 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:56,240 Speaker 1: and those T three and T four hormones in particular 62 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: help regulate how fast you burn calories obviously there is 63 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:03,720 Speaker 1: mental in your metabolism, and also control how fast your 64 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: heart beats. Yeah. And so if you have basically a 65 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:12,280 Speaker 1: sluggish thyroid or an overactive thyroid um, which we will 66 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 1: kind of talk to you about the differences there um, 67 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 1: it really does have a big effect on the different 68 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 1: chemical reactions and the speed at which those reactions occur 69 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:22,560 Speaker 1: in your body. And as we'll talk about more in 70 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 1: the podcast. One the reason why we wanted to focus 71 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:29,479 Speaker 1: in on the thyroid and these thyroid hormones on stuff, 72 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: and I'm never told you is that these kind of 73 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:37,920 Speaker 1: symptoms and issues happen far more to women than men. 74 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:39,920 Speaker 1: And the kind of issues that we're talking about when 75 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:44,840 Speaker 1: your thyroid is out of whack include things like goiters, 76 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:49,040 Speaker 1: which would be enlargement of your thyroid gland or your 77 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:53,400 Speaker 1: meat butterfly, all fat little meat butterfly. Um. Yeah. And 78 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:55,600 Speaker 1: you can also have thyroid items, which is the swelling 79 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: of the thyroid nodules those are lumps in your thyroid 80 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 1: gland you might have to have a biopsy to get 81 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:05,280 Speaker 1: those looked at, and thyroid cancer as well. UM, And 82 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:07,120 Speaker 1: the two main things that we're going to focus on 83 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:10,680 Speaker 1: today are hyper thyroidism, which is basically when your thyroid 84 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:15,719 Speaker 1: makes more thyroid hormones than your body needs, and hyperoth thyroidism, 85 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:19,280 Speaker 1: when it makes not enough. So how many people are 86 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:24,839 Speaker 1: affected by hypo or hyper thyroidism? According to the National 87 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:29,120 Speaker 1: Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which came out in nine 88 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:32,880 Speaker 1: I found that hyper thyroidism is found in four point 89 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:37,120 Speaker 1: six percent of the population compared to hyper thyroidism, which 90 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:39,960 Speaker 1: is less common and it's found in one point three 91 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:44,120 Speaker 1: percent of the population. And that might sound like really 92 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:49,680 Speaker 1: dated data because it came out, but that is actually 93 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:53,720 Speaker 1: the most recent research done like this, right, Caroline, right. 94 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:57,279 Speaker 1: It's a giant study that basically like groups like the 95 00:05:57,279 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 1: CDC and National Institutes of Health used to pull for UM. 96 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:04,000 Speaker 1: So the actual study that we're talking about that focus 97 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:06,720 Speaker 1: is just on the thyroid aspect, actually came out in 98 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 1: two thousand one, and so these giant kind of cross 99 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:13,600 Speaker 1: sectional studies that look at huge numbers of the population 100 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:17,360 Speaker 1: are very useful for scientists to pull different types of 101 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:21,200 Speaker 1: health data from So don't worry. We're not just you know, lazy, 102 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:24,920 Speaker 1: and you know our thyroids aren't all slow. We're just 103 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:28,360 Speaker 1: hanging out in the nineties staring flannel talking about old 104 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:32,000 Speaker 1: school thyroids. Right, my thyroid is not listening to grunge. 105 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:36,120 Speaker 1: But so in this study focusing just on the thyroid 106 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:40,120 Speaker 1: um researchers found that the thyroid stimulating hormone or T 107 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:44,840 Speaker 1: s H and the prevalence of anti thyroid antibodies indicating 108 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:49,440 Speaker 1: thyroid disease were greater in women increased with age, and 109 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:52,599 Speaker 1: we're greater in white people and Mexican Americans than in 110 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:56,600 Speaker 1: black individuals. So next up, let's dive into what actually 111 00:06:56,640 --> 00:07:00,280 Speaker 1: happens in the case of hyper thyroidism, which is your 112 00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:03,600 Speaker 1: body making too much of say that the T three 113 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 1: and T four thyroid hormones. Well, when this goes on, 114 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:12,000 Speaker 1: basically a lot of things in your body are going 115 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:15,080 Speaker 1: to speed up because remember the thyroid is so instrumental 116 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:19,600 Speaker 1: in your metabolism. So symptoms include things like nervousness, moodiness, 117 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:25,360 Speaker 1: feeling weak or tired, having hand tremors, irregular heartbeats, feeling hot, sweaty, 118 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:29,440 Speaker 1: having frequent and sometimes the loose bowel movements, losing weight 119 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:32,800 Speaker 1: even if you're eating normally UM. And also some women 120 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:36,640 Speaker 1: have irregular menstrual cycles or stop having periods all together. 121 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:41,560 Speaker 1: And for some men, they might develop enlarged breasts. And 122 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:44,640 Speaker 1: the most common cause in the United States of hyperthyroidism 123 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 1: is Graves disease. UM. It is an immune system, the 124 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:49,640 Speaker 1: kind of the counterpoint to the one that I have 125 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:53,800 Speaker 1: hashimotives that attacks the thyroid, which ends up fighting back 126 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:55,960 Speaker 1: by making too much of the thyroid hormone, and it 127 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:59,360 Speaker 1: tends to run in families. Hyper Thyroidism can also be 128 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:03,560 Speaker 1: caused by a swollen thyroid or thyroid nodules. And Caroline, 129 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:06,480 Speaker 1: when I was learning about Graves disease, because it's such 130 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:09,560 Speaker 1: an ominous sounding name, I wanted to know why it's 131 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:12,560 Speaker 1: called Graves disease. And it's just named for the Irish 132 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:18,120 Speaker 1: doctor Robert James Graves. That sounded Scottish. Well, you know, 133 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:22,960 Speaker 1: maybe he's spent a little time so but moving back 134 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:27,600 Speaker 1: to my my normal voice. If left untreated, Graves disease 135 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 1: can lead to a lot of complications like heart rhythm disorders, 136 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,560 Speaker 1: changes in the structure and function of your heart muscles 137 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:38,400 Speaker 1: and the inability of your heart to pump enough blood 138 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:41,720 Speaker 1: to the body. So if you don't get it checked out, obviously, 139 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:44,520 Speaker 1: Graves disease, it's really bad for you, especially for your 140 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:48,520 Speaker 1: cardiovascular health. Yeah, and it can cause something called thyroid storm, 141 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:51,640 Speaker 1: which is a rare condition, but it is life threatening 142 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:54,720 Speaker 1: and end it ends up causing a number of effects 143 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:58,680 Speaker 1: like fever, profuse sweating, severely low blood pressure, and even 144 00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:03,280 Speaker 1: coma um but something slightly less scary but still bad. 145 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:09,120 Speaker 1: Hyperthyroidism can also cause osteoporosis if left unchecked. But they're 146 00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:13,520 Speaker 1: also pretty straightforward treatments out there for Graves disease. For instance, 147 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:16,160 Speaker 1: if your doctor has figured out that there be some 148 00:09:16,160 --> 00:09:18,520 Speaker 1: thyroid problems going on, but they're still narrowing it down 149 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:20,880 Speaker 1: to something like Graves disease, they might put you on 150 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:24,600 Speaker 1: beta blockers, which will block the thyroid's affect um, and 151 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:27,520 Speaker 1: then if they pinpoint Graves disease. I thought this was 152 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:31,880 Speaker 1: kind of fascinating, you get a one dose treatment of 153 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:36,960 Speaker 1: radioactive iodine that just destroys part of your thyroid. Yeah. 154 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:39,560 Speaker 1: You can also take anti thyroid medicine UM if your 155 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:43,000 Speaker 1: symptoms are mild and Uh, that's actually the treatment that 156 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:45,559 Speaker 1: doctors use most often. But you can also have surgery 157 00:09:45,559 --> 00:09:48,640 Speaker 1: to remove most of the thyroid. And of course, you know, 158 00:09:48,679 --> 00:09:50,920 Speaker 1: if you get your thyroid removed, you have to be 159 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:52,600 Speaker 1: on medicine for the rest of your life to kind 160 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 1: of keep your hormones regulated, because if you're missing a 161 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:58,040 Speaker 1: part of your endocrine system, you know, stuff can get wacky. 162 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:02,400 Speaker 1: It's incredible to think of how powerful that such a 163 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:05,480 Speaker 1: small piece of tissue is in our bodies, I know, 164 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:10,480 Speaker 1: And and really the thyroid, like literally is something I 165 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:14,520 Speaker 1: never thought of until I started kind of feeling like, man, 166 00:10:14,559 --> 00:10:17,840 Speaker 1: you know, I'm gaining more weight than ever. I can't 167 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:20,640 Speaker 1: lose it. I feel just different and weird, and I 168 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:22,760 Speaker 1: feel like I'm angry all the time. You know, like 169 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:26,120 Speaker 1: when you start feeling weird, out of control of your body, 170 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:29,280 Speaker 1: that's pretty good time to go to your daughter. Absolutely, 171 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:32,760 Speaker 1: And because those symptoms that you just ticked off first 172 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:35,960 Speaker 1: of all, are probably kind of confusing, because I feel 173 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:39,319 Speaker 1: like there have been so many different women's health issues 174 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:42,920 Speaker 1: that we've highlighted that touch on a lot of those symptoms. 175 00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:47,040 Speaker 1: And if you look at the symptom list for hypo thyroidism, 176 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:50,880 Speaker 1: which is when your body is not making enough thyroid hormone, 177 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:53,520 Speaker 1: you have all of those things that you just mentioned, Caroline, 178 00:10:53,679 --> 00:10:56,440 Speaker 1: and then on top of that things like brittle nails, 179 00:10:56,559 --> 00:10:59,000 Speaker 1: you can get a yellowish tint to your skin, you 180 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:02,480 Speaker 1: might feel cold old, uh, you might have memory problems, 181 00:11:02,559 --> 00:11:08,320 Speaker 1: constipation again, having heavy or irregular menstrual cycles. Yeah. And 182 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:11,680 Speaker 1: because of just like the wide variety of symptoms, it's 183 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:15,640 Speaker 1: very easy for thyroid disorders to be confused with other things, 184 00:11:15,679 --> 00:11:19,760 Speaker 1: and hypo thyroidism can often be mistaken for things like depression, 185 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:23,200 Speaker 1: especially during and after pregnancy, which we'll get into, and 186 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:26,319 Speaker 1: in older people it can be confused with Alzheimer's dementia 187 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:29,880 Speaker 1: and other conditions that cause memory problems. So you know, 188 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:33,520 Speaker 1: if you or your parents or whoever you know have 189 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:36,000 Speaker 1: a clean bill of health as far as their brains go, 190 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:39,040 Speaker 1: it might be time to look into the thyroid if 191 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:42,720 Speaker 1: you're really concerned, because you know, with with thyroid disorders, 192 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:46,200 Speaker 1: when you start feeling depressed, I mean a lot of 193 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:48,400 Speaker 1: doctors their first instinct is just to be like, well, 194 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:50,840 Speaker 1: let's get you on some antidepressants are in anti anxiety, 195 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:52,280 Speaker 1: and and for a lot of people, if you know, 196 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:55,680 Speaker 1: you're reading the message boards and list serves and things 197 00:11:55,679 --> 00:11:58,000 Speaker 1: out there about thyroid disorders. You know it just won't 198 00:11:58,040 --> 00:12:03,160 Speaker 1: It won't fix it you. You really won't feel much better. Um. 199 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:05,199 Speaker 1: But in the United States, the most just like in 200 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:09,160 Speaker 1: hyperthyroidism with Graves disease, the most common cause of hypothyroidism 201 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:12,720 Speaker 1: is Hashi motos thyroid itis, and it causes, just like 202 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:16,480 Speaker 1: in Graves, the body's immune system to attack the thyroid tissue. 203 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:20,720 Speaker 1: As a result, the gland cannot make enough thyroid hormone. 204 00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:25,679 Speaker 1: And the crazy and unfortunate thing about hashi motos is 205 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:30,800 Speaker 1: one of its hallmarks is shifting back and forth between 206 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:35,400 Speaker 1: hypo and hyper thyroidism. It's not fair, and so a 207 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:37,040 Speaker 1: couple of years ago this made me think back to 208 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:38,920 Speaker 1: a couple of years ago when I started. I was 209 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:42,120 Speaker 1: twenty six, and I started having severe migraines. I was 210 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:47,200 Speaker 1: having heart palpitations, I was sweaty all the time, uh, nervous, 211 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:50,960 Speaker 1: you know, generally anxious. And I'm wondering, now, you know 212 00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:53,920 Speaker 1: now that I don't just have hypeoth iyrodism, I have 213 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:58,319 Speaker 1: an actual autoimmune disorder that causes it. I'm just wondering 214 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:01,760 Speaker 1: if I was going through a period of hyper thyroidism 215 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:04,560 Speaker 1: back in my mid twenties, and now it's gone back 216 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:07,600 Speaker 1: the other direction. Well, and it seems like if hashimois 217 00:13:07,679 --> 00:13:10,880 Speaker 1: can switch you back and forth between those that it 218 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:14,280 Speaker 1: has to be even more challenging to get a correct 219 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:18,120 Speaker 1: diagnosis for it, right, because you know, back back then, 220 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:21,079 Speaker 1: I just went to a neurologist. I got migraine medicine 221 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:24,200 Speaker 1: and that was that, but it didn't stop the migraines. 222 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:26,400 Speaker 1: And then now you know, I'm entering the period where 223 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:28,800 Speaker 1: I'm gaining weight and I'm not having as many headaches, 224 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:31,280 Speaker 1: and so I'm wondering, like, what's going on, and it's 225 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:34,520 Speaker 1: just my my body is desperately trying to adjust itself. 226 00:13:34,559 --> 00:13:37,800 Speaker 1: I think. Well, at the very least in your situation, 227 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:40,400 Speaker 1: the good news is that you're able to catch it 228 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:45,480 Speaker 1: before more extreme complications happened, such as something like a goiter, 229 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:49,680 Speaker 1: which you see more often in developing nations because it's 230 00:13:49,679 --> 00:13:52,800 Speaker 1: more linked to unit linked to dietary things. That's partially 231 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:55,720 Speaker 1: why a lot of salt that we eat is iodized, 232 00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:58,440 Speaker 1: because it helps keep your thyroid in check. Um, but 233 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:02,720 Speaker 1: goiter's happened when you have constant stimulation of your thyroid, 234 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:06,319 Speaker 1: which releases more hormones that can cause the gland to 235 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:12,440 Speaker 1: become enlarged. And basically the enlarged thyroid is a goiter. Yeah. Yes, 236 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:17,160 Speaker 1: and I'm not willing to call mine that. Yeah good, 237 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:21,240 Speaker 1: My neck still does not appear well, and they can all. 238 00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:23,520 Speaker 1: I mean, it's not just a like a looks thing. 239 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:27,600 Speaker 1: It also can affect breathing and swallow. So yeah, and 240 00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:32,320 Speaker 1: for the record, you have a lovely neck, thank you. Um. Well, 241 00:14:32,400 --> 00:14:36,840 Speaker 1: just as in graves, Uh, hashimotos can cause heart problems 242 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:42,720 Speaker 1: and interestingly enough because I have slightly elevated cholesterol. Um, 243 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:46,280 Speaker 1: not to make this all about all the time, but um, 244 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:52,479 Speaker 1: hashimotos can be associated with high levels of low density lipoprotein, 245 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:55,800 Speaker 1: which is l d L bad cholesterol, So that can 246 00:14:55,880 --> 00:14:58,000 Speaker 1: lead to heart problems if you don't get on medication. 247 00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:02,000 Speaker 1: And then they're also the mental health issues that you mentioned. 248 00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:04,920 Speaker 1: And then something called mix edema, which is a rare, 249 00:15:05,040 --> 00:15:09,280 Speaker 1: life threatening condition that can develop due to long term 250 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:14,040 Speaker 1: hypo thyroidism as a result of the untreated hashimotos, and 251 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:19,160 Speaker 1: the symptoms include intense cold intolerance and drowsiness, followed by 252 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:22,240 Speaker 1: lethargy and unconsciousness. Basically, if this stuff starts happening, you 253 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:25,720 Speaker 1: need to go to the er immediately, right, And so 254 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:28,960 Speaker 1: looking at treatments for hashimotos, all is not lost. It 255 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:33,840 Speaker 1: is not hopeless. Doctors usually prescribe thyroid hormone pills, the 256 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:36,800 Speaker 1: most common of which is leave a thyroxin um and 257 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:40,360 Speaker 1: it's a man made form of your tea for hormone, 258 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:43,520 Speaker 1: and it's it's exactly the same as what your body 259 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:46,480 Speaker 1: makes um. It doesn't always work for some people, Like 260 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:48,960 Speaker 1: I'm on my doctor put me on the very lowest 261 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:50,920 Speaker 1: possible dose just to kind of test it out, and 262 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:53,360 Speaker 1: I'm going back soon for more blood work to follow 263 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:56,160 Speaker 1: up and see how my antibodies are doing. But the 264 00:15:56,240 --> 00:15:58,240 Speaker 1: thing is, like, I don't feel like many of my 265 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:01,360 Speaker 1: symptoms have really changed aged and so in that case, 266 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:03,240 Speaker 1: it's important for me to talk to my doctor about 267 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:06,200 Speaker 1: do we need to alter the dose, you know, anything 268 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:10,080 Speaker 1: like that. And some people are actually on something called 269 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:15,200 Speaker 1: desiccated thyroid hormone, which in recent ears has kind of 270 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:17,920 Speaker 1: fallen out of favor, but is is starting to get 271 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:19,480 Speaker 1: back on the upswing and that used to be the 272 00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:23,840 Speaker 1: only treatment for hypothyroidism, and it is basically like pig 273 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:27,640 Speaker 1: thyroid and it's it's kind of you know, it's freez drag, 274 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:30,400 Speaker 1: ground up whatever put into a pill form, and and 275 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:34,520 Speaker 1: that actually has shown to help a lot of people well. 276 00:16:34,560 --> 00:16:37,120 Speaker 1: And when it comes to the a lot of people 277 00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:40,120 Speaker 1: that that might be helping, there's a very good chance 278 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:43,359 Speaker 1: that most of them are women. Because in this episode, 279 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:45,280 Speaker 1: like up until now, it might just sound like a 280 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:50,160 Speaker 1: straight up just health podcast, but the one of the 281 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:55,720 Speaker 1: major risk factors for high for thyroid issues is being 282 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:59,360 Speaker 1: a woman. This affects women far and away more often 283 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:02,320 Speaker 1: than men. Yeah, And the thing that we were Chris 284 00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:05,520 Speaker 1: and I were discussing about this issue is that it's 285 00:17:05,600 --> 00:17:10,400 Speaker 1: not clear cut as to why. And you know, we'll 286 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:13,320 Speaker 1: we'll talk about some pregnancy stuff and hormone stuff and 287 00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:16,119 Speaker 1: that their links with thyroid and how it affects you 288 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:21,280 Speaker 1: during pregnancy. And and my my very uneducated hypothesis would 289 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:25,879 Speaker 1: be that because of some of these links between thyroid 290 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:29,800 Speaker 1: issues and hormones and then thus pregnancy, you know, women 291 00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:33,600 Speaker 1: are the only ones getting pregnant so far, and so 292 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:36,200 Speaker 1: I do wonder if, if you know, if pregnancy does 293 00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:38,520 Speaker 1: play a very large role in it. But let's look 294 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:41,720 Speaker 1: at the numbers. First, yeah, the numbers are staggering. Experts 295 00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:44,280 Speaker 1: estimate the women are between five to eight times more 296 00:17:44,359 --> 00:17:47,920 Speaker 1: likely than men to have a thyroid problem, and those 297 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:53,399 Speaker 1: differences only increase after age thirty four. A lot of times, 298 00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:56,879 Speaker 1: the older you are as a woman, the higher chances 299 00:17:56,960 --> 00:18:00,880 Speaker 1: of developing a thyroid disorder. So, for instance, about eight 300 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:05,120 Speaker 1: out of ten people with thyroid disease are women. And 301 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:08,720 Speaker 1: for yet another statistic, one and eight women will develop 302 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:13,040 Speaker 1: a thyroid disorder during her lifetime. Yeah, and by the 303 00:18:13,119 --> 00:18:17,520 Speaker 1: time we reach age sixty, more than twenty of us, 304 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:22,240 Speaker 1: being American women will have a thyroid disorder. And you know, 305 00:18:22,359 --> 00:18:25,000 Speaker 1: just like many many health conditions and other things out there, 306 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:26,480 Speaker 1: when you take into account the fact that a lot 307 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:28,800 Speaker 1: of people go undiagnosed, the numbers are probably a lot 308 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:31,480 Speaker 1: higher because so many of the symptoms we listed can 309 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:34,879 Speaker 1: be anything else. And you know it should we should 310 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:38,280 Speaker 1: pause here and say, go to your doctor, please, do 311 00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:40,359 Speaker 1: not self diagnosed. Do not assume that you have a 312 00:18:40,359 --> 00:18:43,080 Speaker 1: thyroid disorder, because a lot of those things like thinning hair, 313 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:46,840 Speaker 1: feeling cold, having brittle nails, maybe you're just not eating 314 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:49,400 Speaker 1: in a vegetables. Yeah, yeah, there are plenty of things 315 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:52,960 Speaker 1: that it could be. UM. But what's interesting too about 316 00:18:53,040 --> 00:18:55,800 Speaker 1: thyroid disorders and women is that a lot of times 317 00:18:55,840 --> 00:19:00,159 Speaker 1: when we hear about these more gendered health issues, the 318 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:04,120 Speaker 1: answer will be, well, estrogen is up to her dirty 319 00:19:04,119 --> 00:19:07,919 Speaker 1: old tricks. But it's probably not just tied to estrogen, 320 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:11,880 Speaker 1: because you see these kinds of disorders cropping up both 321 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:15,600 Speaker 1: pre and post menopausal, whereas if you look at other 322 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:17,800 Speaker 1: kinds of women's health issues, a lot of times it'll 323 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:21,879 Speaker 1: hit after or like during your reproductive years and then 324 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:24,960 Speaker 1: fade away post menopause. Right, because there are plenty of 325 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:27,639 Speaker 1: women and girls out there who were born with congenital 326 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:31,880 Speaker 1: thyroid issues, that is certainly not just tied to estrogen 327 00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:36,440 Speaker 1: UM And wrote A. Cobin, who is the clinical professor 328 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:39,560 Speaker 1: of medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, pointed 329 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:41,640 Speaker 1: that out that you know, these conditions can happen anytime, 330 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:44,760 Speaker 1: so it's probably not solely linked to that, and she 331 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:48,520 Speaker 1: says it is likely that the gender predisposition is likewise 332 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:53,240 Speaker 1: genetically mediated. In other words, women may inherit a predisposition 333 00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:56,480 Speaker 1: to these disorders based on their gender. So that's clear 334 00:19:56,520 --> 00:20:01,600 Speaker 1: as mud, right, Yeah, Yeah, well, there's also uh Turner syndrome, 335 00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:05,000 Speaker 1: which is a complete or partial absence of the second 336 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:08,959 Speaker 1: sex chromosome, and it's a genetic disorder that affects solely women. 337 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:12,520 Speaker 1: And as many as half of patients with Turner syndrome 338 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:18,080 Speaker 1: have hypothyroidism. So there are certain conditions that lend themselves 339 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:23,320 Speaker 1: more to just women having hypo thyroidism. And next up, 340 00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:24,919 Speaker 1: one thing that we've got to talk about when it 341 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:28,760 Speaker 1: comes to women in thyroid issues is the pregnancy link, 342 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:31,760 Speaker 1: and we'll get into that right after we take a 343 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:34,800 Speaker 1: quick break. Okay, Well, we were just discussing how being 344 00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:37,080 Speaker 1: a woman is one of the main risk factors for 345 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:41,600 Speaker 1: having thyroid disease, and we want to get into the 346 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:44,920 Speaker 1: pregnancy link because you know, your thyroid is part of 347 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:48,080 Speaker 1: your endocrine system, which regulates all your hormones, which regulates 348 00:20:48,119 --> 00:20:54,360 Speaker 1: everything going on in your body, and so obviously pregnancy, menstruation, ovulation, 349 00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:57,240 Speaker 1: these things are heavily tied into that too. Yeah, and 350 00:20:57,320 --> 00:21:01,080 Speaker 1: pregnancy is one of those things on the doctor's checklist 351 00:21:01,119 --> 00:21:02,840 Speaker 1: in a way, if you come and complaining of all 352 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:06,320 Speaker 1: of these thyroid related symptoms, they'll typically want to know 353 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:08,320 Speaker 1: whether or not you've been pregnant, because if the answer 354 00:21:08,359 --> 00:21:12,800 Speaker 1: is yes, that usually spotlights thyroid issues a little more 355 00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:19,160 Speaker 1: strongly um because of how during pregnancy your immune system 356 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:24,520 Speaker 1: is suppressed and that alters the thyroid function. So before 357 00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:27,959 Speaker 1: you even um consider getting pregnant, or if you were 358 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:30,880 Speaker 1: starting to consider getting pregnant, one thing you do want 359 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:32,879 Speaker 1: to have checked out if you feel like you're having 360 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:37,600 Speaker 1: trouble conceiving is your thyroid because in pre menopausal women, 361 00:21:38,119 --> 00:21:43,000 Speaker 1: early symptoms of hypothyroidism can interfere with fertility. If you 362 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:46,280 Speaker 1: have a history of miscarriage, for example, that could be 363 00:21:46,359 --> 00:21:50,639 Speaker 1: a sign of hypothyroidism, and a pregnant woman with hypothyroidism 364 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:55,720 Speaker 1: has a fourfold risk for miscarriage, and most women with 365 00:21:55,800 --> 00:22:00,920 Speaker 1: overt hypothyroidism have minstrual cycle abnormalities and often l to ovulate. 366 00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:03,840 Speaker 1: But in the case that you do get pregnant, you 367 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:07,320 Speaker 1: might not think about thyroid issues being related to that. 368 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:09,879 Speaker 1: But actually, during early pregnancy, for the first ten of 369 00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:14,359 Speaker 1: twelve weeks, the baby is completely dependent on the mother 370 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:17,840 Speaker 1: for the production of thyroid hormone, and so by the 371 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:21,520 Speaker 1: end of the first trimester you have the baby's thyroid 372 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:24,920 Speaker 1: beginning to produce some hormone on its own. However, it's 373 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:28,040 Speaker 1: still going to remain dependent on the mother four ingestion 374 00:22:28,280 --> 00:22:32,760 Speaker 1: of iodine, which is essential to making the thyroid hormone. 375 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:37,159 Speaker 1: And again why we eat eydie salt right exactly so? 376 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:40,720 Speaker 1: And actually side note, we're having a lot of problems 377 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:45,080 Speaker 1: even an hour developed world now with iodine because we're 378 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:48,800 Speaker 1: all eating that like fancy salt, like all of that 379 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:51,720 Speaker 1: sea salt stuff that's all flavored and fancy whatever. I 380 00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:55,280 Speaker 1: love sea salt. It's not iodized, So make sure, like 381 00:22:55,960 --> 00:22:58,840 Speaker 1: maybe put fancy salts on your fancy meats and things. 382 00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:01,520 Speaker 1: But if you're just doing some all cooking, Dr Caroline 383 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:05,800 Speaker 1: recommends that you use regular salt that has iodine in it, 384 00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:08,200 Speaker 1: and even be careful because some of that kosher salt too, 385 00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:11,119 Speaker 1: does not have iodine, So just check the label. People. 386 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:14,719 Speaker 1: Oh man, I like my fancy salt too. I like 387 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:18,320 Speaker 1: your I like your fancy salt off flue um. But 388 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:21,040 Speaker 1: let's look at the effects on the actual fetus. So 389 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:24,760 Speaker 1: you are pregnant, and whether you have hypero thyroidism or 390 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:28,639 Speaker 1: hyper there can be various effects on your unborn child. 391 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:33,840 Speaker 1: Um Italian study and and the Mayo Clinic provided some 392 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:40,560 Speaker 1: information on hypothyroidism's effect on the fetus. Untreated hypothyroidism, especially 393 00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:44,520 Speaker 1: produced by hashimotos, can impair this is hererible can impair 394 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:47,600 Speaker 1: the neurological development of the fetus due to the reduced 395 00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:53,560 Speaker 1: availability of maternal thyroid hormones during early gestation. What can 396 00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:57,480 Speaker 1: this meaty butterfly not do to wreak havoc on our bodies? Caroline, 397 00:23:57,560 --> 00:23:59,240 Speaker 1: I know I'm starting to not be a fan of 398 00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:01,480 Speaker 1: the thyroid. Not to be dramatic about things. Well, I 399 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:05,359 Speaker 1: think your thyroid is probably fine. You should love yours 400 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:07,760 Speaker 1: so we can team up against mine. Okay, okay, I 401 00:24:07,800 --> 00:24:12,719 Speaker 1: don't like your meaty butterfly. That sounds so mean to say. 402 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:15,880 Speaker 1: And speaking of reasons to be frustrated with the thyroid, 403 00:24:16,119 --> 00:24:20,360 Speaker 1: speaking of hypothyroidism and pregnancy, there could be a link 404 00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:23,119 Speaker 1: between that and birth effects such as a cleft palate. 405 00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:28,639 Speaker 1: And also there's a link between hypothyroid pregnancies and heart, brain, 406 00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:32,679 Speaker 1: and kidney problems in infants. Right, So your thyroid is 407 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:35,080 Speaker 1: nothing to mess around with if you want to get 408 00:24:35,119 --> 00:24:38,800 Speaker 1: pregnant and have children, because it could have some completely 409 00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:42,320 Speaker 1: horrific effects on both you and your child. Yeah, and 410 00:24:42,359 --> 00:24:45,879 Speaker 1: not just for hypo but also for hyper thyroidism. This 411 00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:48,520 Speaker 1: is also coming from the Mayo Clinic as well. There 412 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:53,000 Speaker 1: are complications possibly of Graves disease during pregnancy, such as 413 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:57,720 Speaker 1: preterm birth, fetal thyroid dysfunction, poor fetal growth, and pre 414 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:01,359 Speaker 1: acclampsy at which we've talked about in other podcasts, which 415 00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:04,199 Speaker 1: is a condition that results in high blood pressure and 416 00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:06,679 Speaker 1: elevated proteins in the urine. And I think it can 417 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:11,360 Speaker 1: endanger the pregnancy if I'm not mistaken. So if you 418 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:13,879 Speaker 1: are already at risk for a thyroid issue or if 419 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:16,440 Speaker 1: you already have on going into pregnancy, it can't As 420 00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:19,399 Speaker 1: we have just told you, it can really screw some 421 00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:23,840 Speaker 1: stuff up. And the screw nous does not stop once 422 00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:27,240 Speaker 1: you have the baby, because when a woman gets pregnant, 423 00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:29,520 Speaker 1: her immune system is suppressed and the function of the 424 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:33,160 Speaker 1: thyroid gland is altered. And in most women, the thyroid 425 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:36,359 Speaker 1: regains its normal functioning after pregnancy when the immune system 426 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:40,400 Speaker 1: is released from its suppression, but for some the thyroid 427 00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:43,679 Speaker 1: gland never fully recovers, and in that case it's referred 428 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:48,280 Speaker 1: to as postpartum thyroiditis. And according to Dr Cobin, who 429 00:25:48,359 --> 00:25:51,400 Speaker 1: we cited earlier who is a clinical professor of medicine 430 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:54,560 Speaker 1: at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She talks about 431 00:25:54,560 --> 00:26:00,440 Speaker 1: how this postpartum thyroiditis can either cause the fluctuation between 432 00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:05,119 Speaker 1: hyper and hypo and in some cases this condition can 433 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:09,000 Speaker 1: just resolve itself and others it can intensify, and in 434 00:26:09,119 --> 00:26:12,800 Speaker 1: some it can persist for a lifetime. So the net 435 00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:15,520 Speaker 1: net of all of that is yet again to be 436 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:20,800 Speaker 1: vigilant about your thyroid health, especially if you have been pregnant, 437 00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:24,960 Speaker 1: because of all of these ripple effects that can happen. Right, 438 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:28,080 Speaker 1: And I mean the fact that ten of women who 439 00:26:28,119 --> 00:26:32,080 Speaker 1: get pregnant in the US will probably have postpartum thyroiditis 440 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:35,000 Speaker 1: is definitely nothing to sneeze at. And yeah, like we said, 441 00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:38,960 Speaker 1: you just when you're getting pregnant and gonna carry a 442 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:41,040 Speaker 1: little human inside of you, you know, this is just 443 00:26:41,080 --> 00:26:45,119 Speaker 1: another reason to be extra careful. Yeah, and not to 444 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:50,359 Speaker 1: continue on the train of thyroids are horrible. Uh. We 445 00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:53,200 Speaker 1: do have a little bit more dismal news to share 446 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:56,399 Speaker 1: in the thyroid department, which is that thyroid cancer is 447 00:26:56,440 --> 00:27:01,160 Speaker 1: the fastest growing cancer among women. And this was reported 448 00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:03,000 Speaker 1: over at Yahoo Health, but it was just coming from 449 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:08,080 Speaker 1: a study published in the Journal of Cancer Epidemiology, and 450 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:11,719 Speaker 1: it reported that not only have rates of thyroid cancer 451 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:15,879 Speaker 1: gone up by two DT over the past twenty years, 452 00:27:16,119 --> 00:27:20,320 Speaker 1: it's expected to become the third most common cancer in 453 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:24,320 Speaker 1: the US by twenty nineteen. Now, the good news is 454 00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:28,440 Speaker 1: is that it's pretty treatable, that the fatality rate from 455 00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:32,800 Speaker 1: thyroid cancer isn't high. But the question is, wow, why 456 00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:35,640 Speaker 1: why are we seeing such a giant leap and why 457 00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:39,200 Speaker 1: does it hate women? Because while thyroid cancer incidents rates 458 00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:43,680 Speaker 1: have increased worldwide for decades, UH, it's mostly for papillary 459 00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:46,879 Speaker 1: carcinomas than other types, and more for females than males, 460 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:49,480 Speaker 1: and women are much more likely to get papillary carcinoma 461 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:53,040 Speaker 1: then than men are. And just one more piece of 462 00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:55,879 Speaker 1: bad news for Caroline Irvine, women with hashimotos are at 463 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:58,439 Speaker 1: an increased risk for it. According to the Journal of 464 00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:03,600 Speaker 1: Surgical Research, currently thyroid cancer is the fifth most common 465 00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:07,760 Speaker 1: cancer for US women. And as for why it is 466 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:11,080 Speaker 1: on the rise, there are two main reasons that are 467 00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:14,720 Speaker 1: talked about, one being the increasing use of medical imaging 468 00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:19,399 Speaker 1: to detect smaller early cancers like those pavolary carcinomas. But 469 00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:23,399 Speaker 1: there's also a theory that we have been more in 470 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:29,000 Speaker 1: contact with environmental carcinogens and increased exposure to medical radiation. 471 00:28:29,040 --> 00:28:33,920 Speaker 1: Actually that can up your risk. Yeah, So yes, these 472 00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:38,280 Speaker 1: cancers are increasing. Throd cancers are increasing, but on the 473 00:28:38,280 --> 00:28:42,040 Speaker 1: one hand, we're doing more medical imaging, so more things 474 00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:45,280 Speaker 1: are being caught that maybe wouldn't otherwise be caught. But 475 00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:51,400 Speaker 1: also large cancers are actually increasing, and so it's just 476 00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:54,640 Speaker 1: one more health thing to be very vigilant of. Yeah. 477 00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:56,560 Speaker 1: And one way that you can be vigilant of this 478 00:28:56,720 --> 00:28:58,840 Speaker 1: is in the same way that we're told as women 479 00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:01,760 Speaker 1: over and over again to do breast self exams to 480 00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:05,400 Speaker 1: check four lumps, you can also check your neck to 481 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:09,080 Speaker 1: check for any lumps there. And basically you just tip 482 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:11,920 Speaker 1: your head back, take a sip of water, and as 483 00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:15,120 Speaker 1: you're swallowing, you just check around your neck for any 484 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:19,120 Speaker 1: bulges or protrusions other than what you know. You're you're tricky, 485 00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:23,600 Speaker 1: r like what should be there, right, And what's kind 486 00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:26,640 Speaker 1: of scary to think about, you know, to me personally, 487 00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:29,840 Speaker 1: is that no one had ever checked my thyroid before. 488 00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:31,920 Speaker 1: You know, every time I go to the guy in ecologist, 489 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:35,800 Speaker 1: everything is checked. Uh, she even does a breast exam. 490 00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:38,920 Speaker 1: I mean the bases are typically covered, or I thought 491 00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:41,280 Speaker 1: all the bases were covered. But she had never once 492 00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:43,280 Speaker 1: put her hands around my neck like she was choking me, 493 00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:45,719 Speaker 1: because that's basically how your doctor has it's it's like 494 00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:49,640 Speaker 1: she's choking you feeling your thyroid. And so when I 495 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:53,720 Speaker 1: actually expressed to my internist, my my at my physical 496 00:29:54,080 --> 00:29:55,920 Speaker 1: that I was having all these symptoms, that's when she 497 00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:58,400 Speaker 1: did get up and put her fingers on my neck 498 00:29:58,440 --> 00:30:00,400 Speaker 1: to feel it, and she said it did feel large. 499 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:03,360 Speaker 1: And so that started out the whole all of the testing. 500 00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:06,200 Speaker 1: And so it's very important, as we've said before, to 501 00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:09,320 Speaker 1: be your own advocate in your health care um and 502 00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:12,760 Speaker 1: make sure that you know all of the risks that 503 00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:15,360 Speaker 1: are out there because there's so many, and and ask 504 00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:18,719 Speaker 1: for those appropriate tests, and especially with something like this 505 00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:23,840 Speaker 1: where it disproportionately affects women. But for what reason, we 506 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:28,440 Speaker 1: still don't know. Yeah, you know, that's that's definitely concerning that. 507 00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:31,680 Speaker 1: It's still a giant question mark as to what it 508 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:37,360 Speaker 1: is about the female biology, anatomy physiology that is setting 509 00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:41,280 Speaker 1: us up for being at such a high risk of 510 00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:44,840 Speaker 1: thyroid issues. And I'm not necessarily in a place where 511 00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:46,960 Speaker 1: in my life where I'm thinking about children. But if 512 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:50,160 Speaker 1: I were to think about children, I mean I have to, Like, 513 00:30:50,840 --> 00:30:53,360 Speaker 1: you've got to be on some serious medicine and be 514 00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:57,400 Speaker 1: constantly monitored if you're going to get pregnant and have 515 00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:00,480 Speaker 1: children when you have a thyroid issue. Yeah. Um, But 516 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:03,640 Speaker 1: I hope that this might be helpful for listeners out 517 00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:06,080 Speaker 1: there who might have experienced some of these symptoms, might 518 00:31:06,120 --> 00:31:08,560 Speaker 1: be wondering what's going on in their own bodies, might 519 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:12,440 Speaker 1: have received Hashimoto's diagnosis like you, Caroline. I'm sure it's 520 00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:14,680 Speaker 1: helpful to know that there are other people out there 521 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:17,520 Speaker 1: going through this. Um. So we want to hear from you. 522 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:22,800 Speaker 1: Have you experienced thyroid issues? Um? Is this a health 523 00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:26,320 Speaker 1: concern of yours? Let us know. Mom Stuff at Discovery 524 00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:28,000 Speaker 1: dot com is where you can email us. You can 525 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:31,320 Speaker 1: also reach out to us via Twitter at mom Stuff podcast, 526 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:34,720 Speaker 1: or you can send us a message on Facebook as well. 527 00:31:34,760 --> 00:31:37,160 Speaker 1: And we've got a couple of messages to share with 528 00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:43,320 Speaker 1: you right now. In fact, so we've got a couple 529 00:31:43,320 --> 00:31:47,400 Speaker 1: of letters here in response to our episode on sex trafficking, 530 00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:50,560 Speaker 1: and I have one here from a nuke who writes. 531 00:31:50,600 --> 00:31:53,400 Speaker 1: When I was living in Amsterdam, I saw an item 532 00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:55,800 Speaker 1: on TV about sex trafficking and decided to take some 533 00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:58,440 Speaker 1: action since I had no idea how to contact women 534 00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:01,440 Speaker 1: who have been saved from traffickers like contacted a sex 535 00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:04,480 Speaker 1: workers organization and they put me in contact with someone 536 00:32:04,520 --> 00:32:08,720 Speaker 1: who had had escaped human traffickers. This organization for sex 537 00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:12,120 Speaker 1: workers at a website warning for sex trafficking. It had 538 00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:15,360 Speaker 1: been translated in lots of different languages, and I did 539 00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:18,120 Speaker 1: wonder how many women they actually reached with it. I 540 00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:20,800 Speaker 1: later came into contact with an organization that organized a 541 00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:23,680 Speaker 1: buddy project for women who had just escaped. The idea 542 00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:26,520 Speaker 1: was that this isolated in foreign woman meets a Dutch 543 00:32:26,560 --> 00:32:28,800 Speaker 1: woman about once a week for a cup of coffee 544 00:32:28,840 --> 00:32:32,040 Speaker 1: so she won't become too isolated before anyone has put 545 00:32:32,040 --> 00:32:34,840 Speaker 1: into contact. The Dutch woman had to participate in a 546 00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:37,360 Speaker 1: couple of workshops about the theme, and I also later 547 00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:40,360 Speaker 1: went to a congress about the topic. The main problems 548 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:43,360 Speaker 1: there are with helping victims are that they're often too 549 00:32:43,400 --> 00:32:46,400 Speaker 1: afraid of the police because they can come from countries 550 00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:49,120 Speaker 1: where the police are corrupt, or to be able to 551 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:51,400 Speaker 1: win a court case they need a detailed account of 552 00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:54,320 Speaker 1: who did what to them and when a doctor at 553 00:32:54,320 --> 00:32:57,160 Speaker 1: the Congress explained why this is impossible for a majority 554 00:32:57,160 --> 00:33:00,840 Speaker 1: of women because they're usually very traumatized and often been beaten, 555 00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:03,400 Speaker 1: two reasons why their memory isn't as sharp as usual. 556 00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:04,960 Speaker 1: And it also takes a lot of courage to be 557 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:07,560 Speaker 1: able to tell all the awful and embarrassing things that 558 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:11,080 Speaker 1: have been done to you. So just some insight into 559 00:33:11,280 --> 00:33:15,400 Speaker 1: the atrocities of human and sex trafficking going on. So 560 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:18,200 Speaker 1: thanks the nuke Well. I have a Facebook message here 561 00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:22,200 Speaker 1: from Heather who said that sex trafficking is a topic 562 00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:25,680 Speaker 1: that she is very passionate about, and she says I've 563 00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:28,520 Speaker 1: tried to get involved in my community and college concerning 564 00:33:28,520 --> 00:33:31,320 Speaker 1: this issue. Here are some awesome organizations that are attacking 565 00:33:31,360 --> 00:33:35,479 Speaker 1: this problem. Robb's Rope is based locally in Gainsville, Georgia, 566 00:33:35,520 --> 00:33:38,480 Speaker 1: but works in India rehabilitating women and teaching them skills 567 00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:42,360 Speaker 1: for other means of employment. The Sold Project believes, as 568 00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:44,800 Speaker 1: I do, that the main issue is really about education. 569 00:33:45,160 --> 00:33:48,080 Speaker 1: The more education someone has, the more opportunities and choices 570 00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:50,840 Speaker 1: they can make about their employment. They create scholarships for 571 00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:53,680 Speaker 1: children in Thailand in the cycle of poverty and trafficking 572 00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:57,680 Speaker 1: in their families. Finally, Love one forty attacks the problem 573 00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:01,400 Speaker 1: from three angles prevention, care and rehabilit rotation, and Heather 574 00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:05,120 Speaker 1: provided the web addresses. They are Rob's Rope dot com, 575 00:34:05,120 --> 00:34:09,919 Speaker 1: The sold Project dot com, and love one dot org. 576 00:34:10,520 --> 00:34:13,200 Speaker 1: So thank you very much for those resources, Heather, and 577 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:15,759 Speaker 1: thanks to everybody who's written into us. Mom Stuff at 578 00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:17,719 Speaker 1: Discovery dot com is where you can send us all 579 00:34:17,760 --> 00:34:19,880 Speaker 1: of your letters. You can also tweet us at mom 580 00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:23,080 Speaker 1: Stuff Podcasts or send us a message on Facebook, and 581 00:34:23,640 --> 00:34:26,399 Speaker 1: you should before you do anything else at all, head 582 00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:29,520 Speaker 1: over to the internet home for Stuff Mom Never Told You, 583 00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:33,399 Speaker 1: which includes all of our videos, podcast blogs, and all 584 00:34:33,480 --> 00:34:37,040 Speaker 1: of our social media presences, which are a lot kind 585 00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:39,520 Speaker 1: of like all the things I'm saying right now. There's 586 00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:41,680 Speaker 1: one place to go, and that Stuff Mom Never Told 587 00:34:41,680 --> 00:34:48,400 Speaker 1: You dot com for more on this and thousands of 588 00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:59,279 Speaker 1: other topics. Is it How Stuff Works dot com. 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