Am I in remission?

[Hammyfish1]

Hello everyone!

Thanks for reading. So, it’s been nearly 4 years since Graves diagnosis. I have come off meds once during this time for about 6 months but went back on after about 6 months- bloods were normal and antibodies were negative at the time. However my trigger factor was definitely stress from work. My latest blood results are all in range: TSH 2.41 ( 0.27-4.2), free T3 - 3.5 (3.1- 6.8), free T4- 12.1 ( 12-22) and TSI antibodies 0.27 (<0.56). To me this looks like I’m in remission, yesterday I had a telephone appointment, which was super quick to say the least, and endo said stay on current dose 2.5mg carbimazole for 6 months and retest then. I am feeling fine but my question is, am I in remission and should I be off meds? My stress levels are now virtually non existent as I’ve taken early retirement from an extremely stressful job and have relocated to a quiet village. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

[PurpleNails Administrator]

“TSH 2.41 ( 0.27-4.2), free T3 - 3.5 (3.1- 6.8), free T4- 12.1 ( 12-22)”

These results suggest low FT4 & FT3 & therefore carbimazole should be reduced / stopped now to allow them to rise. Discuss taking 2.5mg every other day.

Are you currently well, some may report hypothyroid symptoms with similar levels.

Retest 6 weeks after any adjustments to dose.

Might also be good idea to test Folate, ferritin, B12 & Vitamin D.

[Hammyfish1 in reply to PurpleNails]

Thanks for reply. I generally feel well. All other bloods are good, I do a private medichecks test every 6 months and all were well within range in the summer. I’ll do 2.5 mg every other day and retest in 6 weeks then- I’ll contact endo nurse and let her know. 😊

[Qwerty12345]

Hi. My experience of graves was that after about 14 months I came off medication as my thyroid results had been normal for several months. That was in 2016. In 2017 my levels were just a little high again and I was rereferred to endocrinology but by the time I had my appointment levels were normal again so just a blip that sorted itself out - a virus was mentioned. I have my thyroid bloods done every year now at gp and they’ve always been fine since. I used to also do random medichecks bloods too as I was a bit anxious to make sure all was well. Incidentally, my antibodies always came back high although thyroid levels ok. Antibodies aren’t tested at the gp. I think I’ve read that ideally antibodies should normalise too as that reduces chance of relapse but mine obviously didn’t.

[pennyannie]

Hey there again :

If you can I'd suggest chopping this 2.50 mcg tablet into 2 and taking 1.25 mcg every day thereby following the natural curve of everyday thyroid hormone production.

Whilst you have made major changes in your life, and reduced your perceived stress triggers, I believe the research still holds true that I shared with you a year ago -

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/338...

Your current T3 and T4 are only just in the bottom of their ranges and likely your metabolism still slowed a little too much - it would be sensible to run your ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D as if these are not maintained at optimal levels your health can be further, unnecessarily compromised.

[Hammyfish1 in reply to pennyannie]

Thanks Pennyannie, I will do that, much appreciated!