I'm 4.5 months postpartum. Been feeling off for a while so have had a few TFTs done. Basically they've come back with elevated TPOAb (123iu/ml - up from ~50 last month though I know the increase doesn't necessarily mean anything), and TSH has sort of been pinging around, between approx 3 and 4.8 (latest was 3.11). FT4 also going up and down. Tests all done fasting and approx the same time in the morning - the higher ones were slightly earlier as they were finger pricks I could do at home rather than having to wait for the doctor's surgery to open. My GP has said it's all normal but my understanding was that even without thyroid dysfunction (which I do arguably have...), elevated TPOAb indicates either Hashimoto's or, potentially, transient postpartum thyroiditis, depending on whether it goes back to normal in like a year.
I understand they can't give me thyroxine or anything rn while my levels are so up and down, I'd just appreciate an explanation as to what's going on beyond being told my levels are normal, asking for a copy of them and discovering that they're not, and seeing a note on the file saying that elevated TPOAb means having a 5% chance of thyroid disease in future. It also said to retest annually or "if symptoms occur" but I already have almost all the symptoms of hypothyroidism, which the doctor knows as they were the reason I was seeing him in the first place, so not sure what to do there either. Is this diagnostic of PP thyroiditis/Hashimoto's or not?
(FWIW I've had subclinical hypo in the past as well, but they didn't test TPOAb then so I don't know if my elevated levels are new since pregnancy or not. And I have coeliac disease too.)
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lolajuniper
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My babies are now 20 and 22 and after the youngest I had a hyper swing and lost my baby weight in about 3 months, people thought it was incredible (it wasn't it was awful I was so ill) I saw an endo who said my blood results were swinging all over the place and therefore best to watch and wait. It took about 6-9 months for me to feel better.
Then about 3 years ago so she was 17 by then after covid I didn't recover, I had taken HRT for 2 years felt worse, a locum GP ran TFTs again (I'd forgotten about the whole post partum thing) and hey presto I had a TSH 4.8 and a 5.5 12 weeks later, very symptomatic, clearly hypothyroid and started on 25mcg Levo and then after finding this forum moved up at 8 weekly intervals to 100mcg. Started to feel a bit better after 75mcg. I now take T4 and have a private prescription for T3.
Keep testing regularly, post TSH and FT4 and if you can get it FT3 results here each time and get some advice.
Izabella Wentz is my go to expert for Hashimoto's I have all of her books, her website is thyroidpharmacist.com/ I don't buy her supplements but I have followed her diet plan and that really helped. Her books are gold mines of information for me (as is this forum).
Hashimoto's comes with some gut health issues and we all struggle to absorb nutrients, many do better on dairy free diet and many develop lactose or dairy intolerances, many also do better as gluten free a smaller % also have coeliac.
So with poor nutrient absorption its recommended to test vitamins privately, B12, Vit D, Folate, Ferritin as a priority. Try Medichecks or Monitor My Health for that. They do and advanced thyroid test that also has the vitamins. Post results back here and folks will comment.
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Normal TSH, Positive TPOAb and above range Ferriitin
Selenium supplementation for Hashimoto's thyroiditis: Cochrane Review
Thyroid Antibodies
