Thyroid antibodies...

[elat]

Hi. I've two questions... Does anyone know...

- Can thyroid antibody levels go down without any intervention?

- And,do the antibodies ever go away completely?

[greygoose]

Antibodies fluctuate all the time, and are highest just after an immune system attack, when they come in to clean up any traces of TPO/Tg in the blood. They should, in theory, disappear when the thyroid is either destroyed or removed. But, judging by the results we see on here, they don't seem to.

[elat in reply to greygoose]

Thank you. That's what was confusing me-the in theory and the reality. How effective is being gluten free and taking selenium on reducing antibodies? Still trying to get my head around it all!

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to elat]

Varies from person to person

Many find strictly gluten free diet helps slowly lower antibodies

Some find dairy free necessary as well, or instead

Some people notice immediately benefits gluten free, others its slow improvement or slow drop in antibodies

Others see no change

Trying strictly gluten free diet for 3-6 months, if no improvement try reintroducing gluten

Same with dairy, for a month or so, if you try it

Selenium supplements may improve conversion, not sure they lower antibodies

[elat in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks for your reply. That's kind of what I was thinking-different for everyone;certainly worth trying.

[greygoose in reply to elat]

To be honest, I have never seen any 'proof' that convinces me that gluten-free and selenium do reduce antibodies. Come to that, I question that getting rid of antibodies is even a desirable thing to do. They have their role to play. And, getting rid of them - or lowering them - doesn't get rid of Hashi's, because the antibodies are not the disease.

I'm not knocking gluten-free or selenium. 100% gluten-free does make a lot of people feel better, but probably because they have sensitivity to gluten and/or it means people no-longer eat bread with all the c**p they put in that, these days. And, selenium can help with conversion. But, I don't know how much any of that has to do with antibodies.

[elat in reply to greygoose]

greygoose I'm getting so confused!! So the antibodies are the result of an attack not the cause? I was thinking I could 'save' my thyroid if I got my antibody level down. I've read lots but I'm obviously not understanding! What do you mean;'doesn't get rid of Hashi's, because the antibodies are not the disease'?

[greygoose in reply to elat]

I mean that, as you said, the antibodies are caused by the disease, the disease isn't caused by the antibodies. Some Hashi's people never develop high antibodies. And, it's not the TPO/Tg antibodies that attack the thyroid. They come along to clean up after the attack because TPO and Tg has escaped into the blood during the attack (TPO antibodies are attracted by TPO and Tg antibodies are attracted by Tg). So, no, lowering your antibodies will not stop the attacks and will not save your thyroid.

However, if the attacks are triggered by gluten in the diet, giving up gluten may reduce the attacks - but doubtful if it will stop them completely. There is no cure for Hashi's - we're always saying that.

[elat in reply to greygoose]

So is Hashimoto's diagnosed based on TSH and symptoms then? I'm so sorry,I thought I only had two questions!! ☺.

[greygoose in reply to elat]

Ah, the more questions you ask, the more questions arise. But, that's the way you learn.

Hashi's is diagnosed by testing antibodies. You can be hypo without having Hashi's.

Hypo is diagnosed by TSH and - should be - FT4 and FT3, although they rarely do those! But, doctors know practically nothing about symptoms, I'm afraid.

[elat in reply to greygoose]

Thank you for your patience ☺. So how do people with Hashi's know they have Hashi's if they don't have high antibodies?

[greygoose in reply to elat]

Well, one can sometimes guess by the way the levels swing around, if one knows anything about it. But, it can be diagnosed by an ultrasound when the damage is bad enough to be seen.

[elat in reply to greygoose]

Again,thank you greygoose ☺. My brain's not the best at processing information,so I really do appreciate the time you've spent answering all my questions. Will read over our conversation tomorrow again to make sure it's gone in ☺.

[greygoose in reply to elat]

You're more than welcome. I promise you, the brain fog does get easier as you become more and more optimised.

[Jeppy in reply to elat]

Hello. Thankyou for good post (for brain fog me) lol hope you don't mind me popping in

So then, we need our antibodies if they are needed a good thought after beginning to hate the little blighters lol)

Here's a question, do they come also because the gut is leaking ?

and if they do, are these different antibodies ?

I v been under impression that selenium is to aid conversion ?

Is there any proof of this Gg do you know ?

🦋

[elat in reply to Jeppy]

Hi Jeppy. Yes definitely questions for greygoose...I'm still at the asking stage not the answering one ☺.

[Jeppy in reply to elat]

🙃😊