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August 03, 2018 / by Dr. Han

Acupuncture and Herbs for Hypothyroidism / Hashimoto Disease

I treated two patients lately. Both of them had been suffering from Hashimoto disease for many years and TPO antibodies were really high.

Their necks were swollen with nodules on thyroid glands. They have common symptoms such as allergies, nasal congestion, depressions, feeling cold, bloating, constipation, low energy and hair loss. Their tongues looked pale with white coating and their pulses on the lung portion were shallow. The treatment for them was the combination of acupuncture and herbs. Herbs were to relieve the allergies and strengthen the stomach energy. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is another kind of autoimmune system problem which shares some mechanism of many other diseases such as allergies, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, etc. So the treatment to restore the function of immune system is always the crucial and first step to help patients. Acupuncture treatment is to put needles on the neck next to Sternocleidomastoid muscle with the technique of warming and strengthening. Patients can see and feel the swollen of neck going down after each treatment. Both of those two patients had been with me for about three months with weekly acupuncture treatment and taking herbs every day. Before they stopped treatment all their symptoms were gone. I suggested them to do the blood work again to retest the thyroid antibodies. But at least they feel great and healthy now. Like what I always emphasized, acupuncture and herbs have great effects for autoimmune system diseases.