Thyroid function is fine thyroid antibodies very high. What's going on?

My tsh, t3 and t4 are all in the normal range and yet my thyroid antibodies are through the roof. I have many symptoms of hyperthyroidism. whats going on?

[Marz]

Without the results and ranges it is difficult to comment. If you have Hashimotos then you swing from Hyper to Hypo

If you are on a PC then look to the right of your post as there are other similar ones. If on a phone then scroll down and down until you see Related Posts.

[Hidden in reply to Marz]

Thank you Marz.

TSH 3.8, FT4 14, FT3 4.4

Anti thyroglobulin 2354 IU/mg

Anti thyroidal >1300 u/ml

[Silver_Fairy in reply to Hidden]

Do you mean hypothyroidism? With those results you are undermedicated. Do you have the ranges (figures in brackets)?

[Hidden]

Actually Silver Fairy I tick many boxes for hypo and hyper - exhausted, hair loss, cough from the throat, uncharacteristically angry, bladder urges, waking with headaches.

TSH 3.8 mIU/L (0.5 - 4.0)

FT4 13 pmol/L (10-20)

FT3 4.4 pmol/L (3.5-6.0)

Anti thyroglobulin 2356 IU/ml (<41)

Thyroidal peroxidase >1300 U/ml <60)

[Saggyuk in reply to Hidden]

Hi there, yes you are under medicated but prob not enough to explain symptoms.

You need Folate, B12, Iron, and vit D tested as many of us here are deficient in these and cause a whole heap of problems.

If you are uncharacteristically angry, you may want to test your cortisol levels.

It would also be wise to get your GP to do a full blood count, kidney/liver function tests and possibly have a quick check of your glood glucose levels. post if you have any of these mentioned.

Unfortunately, some of these could be caused by so many different things that you need to have a good look at everything to narrow down where you problems lie.

Your antibodies are really really high and confirm you have hashimotos meaning your body is attacking your thyroid. THis could cause hashi flares meaning large amounts of hormone being dumped into your blood as damage is done to thyroid but your blood test results do not indicate you are having one right now. You will be having a lot of inflammation in the thyroid area because of the attack though. My best suggestion for lowering them and for possibly significant health improvements is to go Gluten free. Doesn't work for everyone so no promises but works for many of us and reduces inflammation. Basically it turned out to be the cause of all my disorders/diseases so well worth a try but has to be 100% GF and for at least three months

[Hidden in reply to Saggyuk]

This is a very helpful post, thank you very much for your generosity.

I have a thyroid ultrasound and full bloods booked for next week. That will leave about a month between my results. Will this be sufficient gap or should I space it out?

[Saggyuk in reply to Hidden]

We only normally advise 6-8 weeks between tests if you are changing dose of thyroid meds as can take this long to show the effect of a new dose. You are un-diagnosed and not on meds yet so the quicker you get the blood tests, the quicker you can start figuring it out.

Unfortunately, thyroid antibodies are pretty much the same kind of antibodies that your body will produce against a virus to kill it and bodies don't tend to forget. If you've had chicken pox, your body never forgets and you'll never get chicken pox again. sadly autoantibodies are against your own body and it is likely that your thyroid will fail more and more with the antibodies but the lower you keep your antibodies and inflammation, and the more optimal you can make everything else and removing anything that triggers your immune system, the better the outcome and the better you will feel.

Come back and post all your results once you get them

[Hidden in reply to Saggyuk]

Extremely helpful thank you 🙏🏼

[Hidden in reply to Saggyuk]

Further bloods

Serum Reverse T3 (RT3) 363 pmol/L (170-450)

Vitamin D 77nmol/L - on the low side of sufficient

Triglycerides 0.49 mmol/L (0.5-1.7)

[Marz in reply to Hidden]

Hidden - what dose are you taking and for how long ?

[Hidden in reply to Marz]

Hi Marz, I'm a new comer to the thyroid world. I felt unwell so asked my naturopath for full bloods and that's how I discovered my high antibodies and "normal" thyroid function. My GP is finding it hard to know what to do with me!

[Marz in reply to Hidden]

So are you saying you are not on any medication ?

[Hidden]

That's correct Marz, I am not taking any medication at all.

[Marz in reply to Hidden]

I was diagnosed with Hashimotos here in Crete back in 2005. The anti-bodies were high but the TSH - FT4 and FT3 were all in range - so treatment began. The GP said it was to support the thyroid whilst under attack. It seems that very few GP's think anti-bodies are an issue - but THEY ARE

[Hidden in reply to Marz]

That is really interesting. Thank you for sharing your experience.

Do you know of any research or papers that support this notion that high antibody levels and normal thyroid function should be taken seriously? I live in rural Australia so I don't have a lot of other options re GP's or specialists and need to support my current GP with quality information.

[Marz in reply to Hidden]

There are over 2000 posts regarding Hashimotos on this forum - under the heading Topics - to the right of these posts or if you are on a phone then scroll down and down until you come to the heading. Many of those posts will point you in the direction of good websites/books/newsletters and share loads of information. Am afraid we have to read and read to sort ourselves out ....

[Bengalgal in reply to Hidden]

A good endocrinologist that understands all this left Brighton and is now in Australia. His name is dr. John quin.

[Fruitandnutcase]

If it's any help I have drastically reduced my thyroid antibodies (I've got Graves Disease) by going completely gluten free, I've still got a few lurking but they're in single figures.

I started off as an experiment and I home tested regularly, the results were amazing so almost two years later I have not knowingly touched gluten. I'm afraid being gluten free is an 'all or nothing ' way of life though but for me it's been worth it.

As Marz says, read, read and read again and make notes of the things you feel apply to you so that you can show your doctor. Also you want your vitamins D and B12 as well as ferritin and folates to be near the top of their ranges to help your thyroid.

[Hidden in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Gluten free certainly seems to be a very good place to start. Thank you