Online Support Groups for Hashimoto's Thyroiditis
Hashimoto's disease, also known as Hashimoto's thyroiditis and chronic thyroiditis, occurs when a person's immune system mistakenly attacks the thyroid gland. Often a progressively degenerative disease, Hashimoto's results in the body being unable to produce the thyroid hormone necessary to convert food into energy. If suffering from this disease, there are local and online support groups that provide information and commiseration with people in the same situation.
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The Thyroid Support Group
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The Thyroid Support Group is a message board on Yahoo! that connects sufferers of all types of thyroid disorders. The group offers support to those suffering from Graves disease, Hashimoto's, hypothyroidism, cancer or hyperthyroidism, and family members of those with these conditions. The Yahoo! group is affiliated with ThyroPhoenix, which encourages Hashimoto's patients to "rise from the ashes like the phoenix" and get help with the condition. As of April 2011, the group had more than 3,000 members.
Thyroiditis
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Thyroditis is a Yahoo! group open to people with Hashimoto's who want to find information and support about the disease. The group encourages users to discuss the condition and medical test results. The administration advises, however, including a reference range when posting lab results, as ranges vary. This group promotes the discussion of traditional and alternative medicine. It had more than 700 users as of April 2011.
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Living with Hashimoto's Disease
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For Facebook users with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, there is an online support group on the social networking site. The administrator opened this group on Feb. 20, 2009, and, as of April 2011, there were more than 3,000 active users. Be aware that all content posted in this group is public.
ThyCa
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In some cases, Hashimoto's thyroiditis results in thyroid cancer or benign tumors, called goiters. ThyCa, the Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Association, was founded in October 1995 in order to support research, help educate the community, to learn how to better communicate medical needs and to participate with other cancer survivors. When Hashimoto's results in cancer, this online site offers support for patients and family members.
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References
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