GP said that the increase in TPO antibodies is not causing my symptoms to flare up

[jlo211]

I saw my GP this morning for blood results. TPO antibodies have increased from 626 to 707 in 3 months despite taking selenium per the Endo advice. I said 'oh well that explains why I feel so unwell' and she said 'no I disagree I think your muscle pain, joint pain, fatigue, pins and needles etc are something else entirely. I think they are because of your low mood, so let's increase your citalopram'. I was so gobsmacked that I took the script and walked out. I will now have to make an appointment to see another GP but how do I ask them politely if they actually understand Hashi's? At a loss guys. Pain is becoming a real pain in the bottom!!

[shaws Administrator]

Change your GP. This is an excerpt from Dr Lowe (article towards end of this link)

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

High thyroid antibodies are important in and of themselves. Because yours are high, you should be motivated to get them back down into their reference ranges. If a patient's antibodies stay high, they may eventually cross-react with a tissue other than the thyroid gland. The patient will then have autoimmune disease of both the thyroid gland and the other tissue.

I find antibody tests much more useful than the TSH, T4, or T3. High antibodies indicate that a patient's symptoms are from too little thyroid hormone regulation when the TSH, T4, or T3 fail to do so. Consider a 1996 study by Aarflot and Bruusgaard.[5] They included 737 men and 771 women in their study. Men and women who had chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain (often diagnosed as "fibromyalgia") had a higher incidence of thyroid antibodies than men and women who didn’t have pain. But the TSH, T4, and T3 levels of the two groups of men and women did not differ.

[Hidden in reply to shaws]

Thanks this is very helpful

[crimple]

I had very raised antibodies 5 months ago. asked GP for test after feeling very unwell in spite of being on 100mcg levo. No other treatment was offered so I read several books on Hashi's/autoimmune. Long story short I excluded gluten and dairy from my diet and my TPO is now very low (did private test) and I feel much better! Books I read include Robb Wolf the paleo solution and Isabella Wentz the root cause. Hope you find something that helps you.

[jlo211]

Thanks guys. I have been gluten free for about two months but not feeling any benefits - still have abdominal cramps and exhausted all the time. I think I need to go private and read some books!

[Clutter]

JLo, Give the g-f a while longer. It's not uncommon to feel worse initially (withdrawal) and can take up to 3 months to feel any benefits.

[Hidden]

jlo211 - what patronising rubbish. It really makes me angry. Please change your GP. Zoe x

[jlo211 in reply to Hidden]

Me too. Take more citalopram...honestly!!

[Hidden in reply to jlo211]

Well at least it shows she understands psychological well-being as little as she does autoimmune diseases