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Had Thyroiditis. Now No Symptoms. Does This Mean Thyroid Will Not Dysfunction In Future. Guide

Posted on Tue, 4 Jun 2013

Question: hi. i went through symptoms of thyroiditis 2 years ago but unfortunately when i saw an endocrinologist it was too late and my symptoms started going away shortly after. however based on my thyroid's history they think that it might get hypoactive in the future. but today my family doctor told me that it usually does within the first year but in my case it has been 2 years and my thyroid has been stable. i had an annual checkup today and he checked my thyroid but it's probably normal cause im not having symptoms. as i said it's been 2 years that the symptoms of my thyroiditis went away and according to my family doctor a thyroid usually gets hypoactive within the first year of having the first hypothyroidism (something like that) does this mean that my thyroid will probably not dysfunction in the future? thanks bye

Answered by Dr. Om Lakhani (4 hours later)

Hi XXXXXX

From your history I am assuming it was subacute thyroditis. Autoimmune thyroditis would have a different prognosis.

If you were having subacute thyroditis, the hypothyroidism occurs in two periods. One is a transient phase which occurs for a short period of time while permenant hypothyroidism occurs only in 5 to 15 % cases. In your cases since you have not developed hypothyroidism there are less chances you will develop now. But I will still have your thyroid function test checked every 6 months.

Hope this is helpful

With warm regards
Dr. Om Lakhani.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Om Lakhani (7 minutes later)

what about hyperthyroidism. is there a chance that it might become hyperactive in the future rather than hypoactive? thanks bye

Answered by Dr. Om Lakhani (16 minutes later)

Hi XXXXXX

There is no chance of your developing hyperthyroidism now.

Hope this is helpful

Regards
Dr. Om Lakhani.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Om Lakhani (1 hour later)

but I might in the future?

Answered by Dr. Om Lakhani (1 minute later)

No XXXXXX..no risk of hyperthyroidism in future... very little risk of hypothyroidism.

Regards
Dr. Om Lakhani.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Om Lakhani (5 minutes later)

and risk of another subacute thyroiditis again? I just read on the net that subacute thyroiditis might return after treatment. I wasn't treated for it anyways. by the time I saw an endocrinologist it was too late and my thyroid started to balance out shortly after. I remember two weeks before I began to develop symptoms of thyroiditis I had got a yeast infection in my throat while swimming. could yeast infections in the throat cause thyroiditis? thanks bye

Answered by Dr. Om Lakhani (7 minutes later)

Hi

Subacute thyroditis is mostly a viral infection. .. yeast causing subacute thyroditis is unlikely. The risk of recurrence is the same as risk of having it the first time, so yes it can in theory recur but in my experince I havent any recurrent cases.

Regards
Dr. Om Lakhani.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Om Lakhani (2 minutes later)

so you think I had a viral infection? if I did they didn't tell me.

Answered by Dr. Om Lakhani (2 minutes later)

Yes.bacute granulomatous thyroiditis
The most accepted etiology for this condition is a viral illness. Viral particles have never been identified within the thyroid, but episodes often follow upper respiratory infections and are associated with falling postconvalescent viral titers of various viruses, including influenza, adenovirus, mumps, and coxsackievirus

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Om Lakhani (24 minutes later)

may I ask how long you've been an endocrinologist? im asking this cause you said yes subacute thyroiditis can in theory recur but you haven't had any recurrent cases of it in your clinical experience.

Answered by Dr. Om Lakhani (2 minutes later)

Like I said, subacute thyroditis can recur like it can occur for the first time , which in itself is rare. My experience with regards to XXXXXXX medicine and endocrinology can be looked up from my profile.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Om Lakhani (1 minute later)

Is it true that people with O+ blood type are more prone to thyroid conditions such as mine? my blood type is O+

Answered by Dr. Om Lakhani (4 minutes later)

There is slight higher risk of autoimmune thyroditis with o positive blood group. Very little to do with subacute thyroditis.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Om Lakhani (3 minutes later)

I don't know. my mom's blood type is B+ and my father's is A+ but I'm O+. I've been told that I've received the recessive gene which is rare but possible and I tend get all the rare diseases too like my thyroid problem. do you think having received the recessive gene from my parents which is rare is a major contributing factor to my illnesses?

Answered by Dr. Om Lakhani (25 minutes later)

Hi

Well you could there would be higher risk of Genetic disorders like rare autosomal recessive disorders with recessive gene inheritance but like I said Subacute thyroditis has a possible viral etiology and nothing really to do with your genes.

Regards
Dr. Om Lakhani.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Om Lakhani (11 minutes later)

but what made me susceptible to getting this viral infection? thanks bye.

Answered by Dr. Om Lakhani (1 hour later)

Hi
There is no specific risk factor for Subacute thyroditis.

Regards
Dr. Om Lakhani

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Om Lakhani (7 hours later)

can overtraining syndrome lead to subacute thyroiditis? that's what I had before I developed subacute thyroiditis.

Answered by Dr. Om Lakhani (10 minutes later)

No. Overtraining syndrome is not linked with Subacute thyroditis. It is like I said a viral infection.

In all cases XXXXXX, I am sure you will appreciate that your chances of developing Subacute thyroditis depends on your chance of getting a similar infection and similar infection having the similar affect on the body.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Om Lakhani (27 minutes later)

i'm trying to figure why I got this viral infection. and I just read that risk factors for subacute thyroiditis are being a woman between the ages of 20-45 and getting a upper respiratory tract viral infection. howcome men aren't at risk?

Answered by Dr. Om Lakhani (58 minutes later)

Hi

What you read on internet is known as epidemiology. That means what is observed. Women per se tend to have more thyroid disorders. All epidemiological trends are observations which may or may not have explanations.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Om Lakhani (13 hours later)

because of my blood type being O+ is there a slight chance that I might develop for example hashimoto's disease in the future? I know you say that my risks of developing hypothyroidism are low now that it has been 2 years since my subacute thyroiditis started to balance out. but what about an autoimmune disease like hashimoto's? thanks, cheers, bye

Answered by Dr. Om Lakhani (13 minutes later)

Yes there is a risk of Hashimoto's thyroditis, independent to subacute thyroditis. If you donot have family history of Hashimoto's the risk is on the lower side. The risk of Hashimoto's thyroditis is the same as any one else with an O positive blood group. All this is true if we are confident the original diagnosis was Subacute thyroditis and not an autoimmune thyroditis !

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Om Lakhani (6 minutes later)

you mean if we know for sure that my original diagnosis was subacute thyroiditis and not an autoimmune thyroiditis then because of my blood type being O+ I am at risk for developing hashimoto's disease in the future?

Answered by Dr. Om Lakhani (24 minutes later)

Your risk of Hashimoto's thyroditis is the same as any other person of your age and sex with O positive blood group.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Om Lakhani (10 minutes later)

my mom has hypothyroidism but i don't think hers is hashimoto's. her blood type is also not O+ hers is B+. she takes levothyroixine

Answered by Dr. Om Lakhani (6 hours later)

Hi. If your mother had Hashimotos thyroditis then your risk of having the same is high. Hashimoto has some familial tendencies especially amongst females. All the more reason for you to keep having your thyroid levels checked often.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Om Lakhani (3 hours later)

do you think my mom has hashimoto's? I know she has a form of hypothyroidism and takes levothyroxine but I don't even think she knows whether it's hashimoto's or not. she has an enlarged thyroid and takes levothyroxine for it and she says it reduces the inflammation in her thyroid.

Answered by Dr. Om Lakhani (10 hours later)

Hi
Anti TPO antibody would be a useful test for ruling out Hashimoto in your mother. I would suggest the same Test for you as well to rule out development of hypothyroidism with Hashimoto in future.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Om Lakhani (37 minutes later)

if the test says that I might develop hashimoto's in the future is there anything I can do to prevent it? thanks bye.

Answered by Dr. Om Lakhani (4 hours later)

No . There is not much we can do to prevent it but we can regularly monitor the thyroid function test and start thyroxine even when you have subclinical hypothyroidism before symptoms develop.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar