What you need to understand is that antibodies don't cause symptoms. They are the result of the autoimmune attack on your thyroid which cannot be prevented.
The main way people try and reduce them if they are concerned is to go gluten free which you have already done. Well done on the dietary changes.
Have you recently checked your vitamin levels, if so what were they?
What are you supplementing with?
Thyroid medication needs vitamin levels at OPTIMAL to work well.
Hi Thanks for your reply, haven’t had a recent check on vitamin levels but under the impression the levels are OK, I am taking B, C, Aloe Vera, D and Magnesium. How often should I have these checked and which ones will the NHS include in a blood test please? Thankyou
The NHS will sometimes do ferritin, folate & B12 if you ask a kind GP. In some areas you can get vit D tested but not all areas.
Many people in this group pay for private tests to ensure their levels are where they need to be at OPTIMAL and not just within the reference range. They buy their own supplements to do this.
GPs get no training in nutrition so what a GP says is OK is likely not at all. They will tell you you are fine with your level one point above the lowest point.
I suggest you get a copy of your results and post them here or if it was while ago then ask for new tests or buy your own. See link for companies offering private blood tests & discount codes, some offer a blood draw service at an extra cost.thyroiduk.org/testing/priva...
There is also a new company offering walk in (includes free blood draw) & mail order blood tests in London, Kent, Sussex & Surrey areas. Check to see if there is a blood test company near you. onedaytests.com/products/ul...
Only do private tests on a Monday or Tuesday to avoid postal delays.
You also really need to see where your FT3 is at if you are taking T3. Clearly at the moment you aren't taking enough as your TSH is too high. Best to raise your Levo as FT4 is very low.
Antibodies don't have any adverse effects. They have their job to do - i.e. cleaning up the blood after an immune system attack on the thyroid - so I question whether it is wise to even try to reduce their number. They're there for a reason.
At last blood test my Free T4 was 7.7 range 7.0-17.0 and TSH 4.85 range 0.20-4.50 I was on 100mcg day of T4 and 20mcg day of T3.
That's a very high TSH for someone on 20 mcg T3. Did they not test the FT3? Rather stupid if you're taking it, but that's the medical profession for you! It rather suggests that you're not absorbing it very well.
Then you are not absorbing it properly, and that is why your TSH is high. That plus your ver low FT4.
So, how do you take your thyroid hormone? Do you always take it on an empty stomach and wait at least an hour before eating? Do you take any other medications/supplements at the same time?
Yes I do take it on an empty stomach, also take at same time 2.5 mg Bisopropol to steady my heart rate and 5mg Apixaban blood thinners. Both prescribed because my heart is not in sinus rhythm. I take some supplements later on, at least an hour after.
Well, it's probably those two medications that are blocking absorption, then. Can you not take them at anothing time? Or take your thyroid hormone at another time.
Recommended that all thyroid blood tests early morning, ideally just before 9am, only drink water between waking and test and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)
On T3 - day before test split T3 as 2 or 3 smaller doses spread through the day with last dose 8-12 hours before test
Strongly recommend you take levothyroxine and T3 well away from all other medications and supplements
You can take levothyroxine at bedtime
T3 at least an hour away from other medications
As TSH drops TG antibodies will lower
Get vitamin levels checked at least annually
Testing options and includes money off codes for private testing
Many need to split T3 as 2-3 doses spread through the day
If you start to take levothyroxine at bedtime/in night ...adjust timings as follows prior to blood test
If testing Monday morning, delay Saturday evening dose levothyroxine until Sunday morning. Delay Sunday evening dose levothyroxine until after blood test on Monday morning. Take Monday evening dose levothyroxine as per normal
Hi I have tried Low dose Naltrexone as it was suggested it can lower antibodies and currently on a low dose when the blood test was drawn, not convinced it is effective.
think everyone reacts differently to it- sone have great success, others not so much so.
For me I’ve discovered it’s the mycotoxins that are driving the attack and high levels of antibodies than flare up when I’ve come off LDN. However, now, as I detox from the Mold they are naturally lowering
Why do you think LDN can help? I have tried it to help reduce antibodies but not convinced it is effective. Would be interested if you know of any studies or anything that could change my mind.
For me, antibodies are helpful at diagnosis and then later on help to make sense of changes with Hashimoto’s. Over the last 2 years my TPO have varied from 155 at diagnosis to around 240ish, over the summer I had a phase of being over range, transient hyper symptoms and my TPO went up at the same time, suggesting the clean up crew had been busy. They are now a bit lower 181 so from that I deduce they have less work to do. 🌱
low dose naltrexone is an opioid antagonist and immunomodulator. It’s binds to opioid receptors, upregulates endorphins and could help lower your antibodies- it did mine.
For over a year I tried to lower my antibodies by following strict AIP, avoidance of personal food intolerances/ allergies, myo inositol, selenium, photobiomodulation..,, all the usual things to lower antibodies… and nothing worked. In 3 months LDN brought my TPOAb down from over 1000 to less than 200.
I disagree that we should we should just accept they are there - indeed they are a result of the autoimmune attack on the thyroid and not the cause of symptoms, however they give a valuable picture of how aggressive the autoimmune attack is which I believe can very much be prevented with the right knowledge. If you can find the root cause/causes of why your immune system is going crazy and attacking your thyroid (mycotoxins, heavy metals, chronic low grade infections, viruses, industrial and environmental toxins etc), then you can deal with the source of the attack and prevent it.
It all depends how far upstream you want to go and whether you are happy to accept that your body will just eventually completely destroy your thyroid or whether you believe that it can be stopped and ultimately reversed.
I fall into the latter camp and am making huge strides by addressing my root causes which for me is a huge mycotoxin load that I am currently detoxing from .
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