Introduction of Speech
I. I spent the early half of my childhood like any other kid, outside playing, jumping in puddles, having an excess of energy that no one could contain. Then one day all of my energy was gone. I spent my afternoons and evenings napping from severe fatigue. My family thought nothing of it, until I started getting rashes all over my body. After a few blood tests, the doctors came back with an answer. As a child one may never expect to be diagnosed with an incurable auto immune disease, let alone one that affects your day to day functioning.
II. Now, as an adult, I’ve decided to research a little farther into the mysteries of my disease.
III. Today I want to inform the class of Hashimoto’s disease as an autoimmune disease,
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Diagnosis begins with medical history and a physical exam.
A. Hashimoto’s disease favors family groups.
1. The disease is commonly hereditary
2. My grandmother has the disease and subsequently I have it as well.
B. Hashimoto’s disease is much more common in women than men.
1. Wilmar Wiersinga of the Department of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, in The Netherlands states that “The incidence of autoimmune hypothyroidism is about 350 cases/100,000/year for women and 60 cases/100,000/year for men in iodine-sufficient regions and 44 (females) and 12 (males) per 100,000 per year in iodine-deficient areas.”
2. Although the disease often occurs in adolescent or young women, it more commonly appears between 30 and 50 years of age.
3. I spent my young life struggling with this disease and my symptoms, my grandmother started having symptoms later in life around her 40’s.
C. Possible environmental factors are also being studied.
1. For example, researchers have found that consuming too much iodine may inhibit thyroid hormone production in susceptible individuals.
2. People with other autoimmune diseases are more likely to develop Hashimoto’s disease and the reverse is also