It affects only about 1% of people. It is caused by the person's body wrongly developing antibodies against their own thyroid gland. The consequence is a reduction in their thyroid hormone production. In other cases it is caused after surgery to remove part of their thyroid gland or else being given radioactive iodine as treatment so causing over-activity of their own thyroid.

If not treated, the consequences of a deficiency of thyroid hormones inside you can be you always feel tired all the time, as well as weakness of your muscles, cramps and slowing heart rate impairs your performance at work. Other consequences can be dry and flaky skin, hair loss, voice going hoarse, failure of brain to develop, becoming obese, myxoedema and getting a goitre.. Replacement therapy can prevent any of that happening to you.

Thank you, Sulham. I am on medication for hypothyroidism as is the rest of my family and am doing quite well. My neice has uncontrolled hypothyroidism and her thyroid hormone levels do keep dropping lower and lower, which is the tendency with all of us. We have to be retested frequently and the medication changed according. What I want to know is what is the underlying hereditary condition called that produces these symptoms, how does it effect the thyroid gland and why do the hormone levels keep dropping? There is a specific name for this syndrome. Can you tell me what it is?

Autoimmune thyroiditis I think is this answer and it is caused by the person own system and can be very hard to deal with and the genes are the cause of this also that's been transferred down the line.

You both are correct. The only thing I want to know is what this condition is called. It is referred to as ___________syndrome. I'll remember it if I hear it. =)

Kallmann syndrome is one of the diff thingsd i can think of and the reason i think of this is because my daughter in law has the same problem with the hypothyroidism that your family has but if this is not it let me know and theres one more syndrome that may be it. ty

Sorry, that's not it. Actually it is the precursor to hypothyroidism, the associated auto-immune condition that gradually destroys the thyroid gland. You mentioned an autoimmune disorder. It has a specific name.=)

Type 1 polyglandular autoimmune syndrome

Hashimoto's thyroiditis, chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis or autoimmune thyroiditis. I'll get it someday. LOL.

You have definitely earned this award, KB, (and you are quite the source of medical information). I know who I'll be expecting to answer the health issue questions. (It is Hashimoto's syndrome, H. struma, or H. thyroiditis). Good answer!

Ty - kb