Help to Understand Thyroid Antibodies

[Nicky24]

I have finally been given Levothyroxine for High TSH and TS4 within normal range but decreasing. I have high antibodies, i was told the range should be 0-60, mine are 614 over 10 times higer than they should be.

Will the thyroxine reduce these levels?

What impact do they have on my health?

What impact do they have on fertility?

Thanks

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Thyroxine might help reduce antibodies - trouble is, it is very difficult to know what would have happened in a single individual without thyroxine in order to be able to gauge what effect the thyroxine has!

The ten times higher bit is somewhat misleading. If you had a body temperature that was ten times normal it really would be a worry. But antibodies are not things which are finely controlled in terms of number present - to a large extent it is have you got any - or not.

If your TSH level does reflect your thyroid hormone status (for some people it does, for others it does not), then it is common to suggest that it ought to be below 2 well before getting pregnant.

Have a read of this document:

dl.dropbox.com/u/318411/ATA...

Rod

[Nicky24 in reply to helvella]

Thank you Rod

[RedApple Administrator]

At the time of hypothyroid diagnosis a few years ago, my thyroid antibody level was recorded at 'greater than 1,000'. GP said this was very high and that the lab didn't bother with accuracy once the reading reached 1,000.

As my thyroid anitbodies have never been measured since, (which is the norm with NHS) I have no idea whether thyroxine or anything else made the slightest bit of difference!

If you research this in thyroid books and on the web, you'll find various opinions and suggestions as to whether or not antibody levels are significant, and how one might go about reducing them. But as Rod says above, how can we ever know what would have happened had we not taken x or y or z in attempt to influence things!

[cloud1]

As far as i understand,thyroxine med doesnt make ant

y difference to anti-bodies levels which is why it is not a cure for hashimotos but just dealing with the symptoms(ie;low thyroid hormone levels).To 'cure' the attack u need a different approach;one that balances ur immune system.(gluten free etc could help too.)

[Maddie]

There is evidence that thyroid antibodies can influence important pregnancy outcomes. The British Thyroid Foundation are carrying out a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial looking at the role of thyroid antibodies in miscarriage, click on this link for info;

tinyurl.com/cthgetx

The information on their website about pregnancy and hypothyroidism says that If your under-active thyroid is untreated or under-treated then you are likely to find it more difficult to conceive. You may have longer or heavier periods, which can cause anaemia, or your periods may stop completely. Once you are taking medication (levothyroxine tablets) and your thyroid hormone levels are back to normal your chances of becoming pregnant should improve dramatically.

If you are planning a pregnancy you should let your doctor know and ideally have a blood test before you conceive.

To see this info click on this link;

tinyurl.com/cu97jvn

Maddie