Thyroid Awareness Month: What You Should Know

January is Thyroid Awareness Month so I wanted to bring a little more awareness to this growing group of diseases and overall thyroid health throughout this month. Have you ever heard of thyroid disease? Do you know what your thyroid is and what it does? Did you know that Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis is one of the most prevalent autoimmune diseases? In this post I’ll talk more about the thyroid gland, thyroid diseases, thyroid testing and and why it is all important.

I wish I had known way more about thyroid health much sooner than when I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. The more I’ve learned and read about hypothyroidism, the more I’m convinced it started after my pregnancy, which was 8 years prior to my diagnosis.

Thyroid antibody lab tests are tests often overlooked by physicians when checking for thyroid disease. This is unfortunate because when caught early, the amount and length of time the thyroid is being attacked could be decreased. If you are interested in learning more about thyroid health, click here for my last post. Hang with me here and we will talk about why thyroid antibody tests are important and if you should have yours checked.

What are Antibodies?

An antibody is a protein made by plasma cells in response to an antigen, or a substance the body thinks is a “bad guy”. Each antibody can bind to only 1 antigen in order for the immune system to attack and destroy that antigen. So, obviously, thyroid antibodies set up an attack on the thyroid gland, each one in a different way.