# You do have thyroid antibodies, but in your case...



## Seattle_Lauren (Sep 6, 2011)

Hey everybody! I'm looking for a bit of advice and perhaps some guidance and support about what to do next. I been having the same nightmare with doctors that many of you have been having over the years. Although my first thyroid related blood work was done back in 2008 and it was a high TSH,	9.52 on a 0.3 - 5.5 scale, I have never been able to convince any doctor to put me on medications, largely because I have never had an out of range TSH since.
The bloodwork history:

Doc #1:
August 2008 
- TSH of 9.52 on a 0.3 - 5.5 scale
October 2008 
- TSH of 3.29 on a 0.3 - 5.5
*At this point I was told that I was fine and that there must have been some mistake with the August'08 draw

Doc #2:
September 2011 
- TSH of 2.472 on a 0.400 - 5.00 scale
- Negative for Celiac
- I am also told my vitamin D is low and prescribed a 1x month pill that cost $30/pill. I am a poor college student and after 3 months of no improvement and with Doc #2 not willing to change anything, I decide to stop the $30 vit D.

Doc #3:
June 2011 
- TSH of 2.88 on a 0.3 - 5.5 scale
- T3,TOTAL of 105 on a 70 - 170 scale
Doc #3 who ran the above refers me to an endo who runs the following (along with a "complete metabolic pannel" which is all normal):

Endo (Doc #4):
August 2011 
- THYROID PEROXIDASE ANTIBODY of 54.1 on a 0.0 - 6.0 scale
- TSH of 2.10 on a 0.3 - 5.5 scale
The endo also refers me to have a sleep study done. I'm supposed to meet with that doc (#5?) next month.

The most frustrating thing is this message that I recived via e-mail after all the bloodwork the endo had requested was in:



> Hi Lauren
> 
> Here is a quick note from the Doctor
> 
> ...


At this point I feel like I'm out of steam. I don't really want to go see this sleep study doc, it just feels like it's not the right answer and (as I'm sure you know quite well) I'm just fed up with feeling like I'm not being listened to. At this point some words of encouragement, advice on who to ask, and about what, would be awesome.

Either that or some miracle to stop my hair falling out in the shower, my cracking dry skin, low energy, sluggish metabolism, etc, you know the list. *sigh*


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## bigfoot (May 13, 2011)

Hmm... you might try to convince the docs to test for Free T3, Free T4, Thyroglobulin Antibodies, TSI (Thyroid Stimulating Immunoglobulin), and some others that I am certainly forgetting. The "Free" thyroid hormones are what is available to act on the cells. These are the important ones, with the TSH being more-or-less a guide of how your pituitary is talking (or screaming) to your thyroid to ramp up/down production of thyroid hormones.

In my case, they used the TPO Antibodies and the Thyroglobulin Antibodies to come to a diagnosis of Hashimoto's. Even that is not fool-proof or concrete, but a pretty good hunch. I am a little surprised your doc didn't run both tests together. http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/thyroglobulin/tab/test

The sleep study test might actually shed a little light on things. If it comes back that you do have some sleep apnea, that in theory could be the result of a swelling thyroid. (It could also just be from having sleep apnea.) If it comes back negative, that is all the more reason to lean on something like the thyroid explanation. But, sleep studies are very expensive. I don't know what your insurance situation is, but generally they need to be approved ahead of time.

From what I have read here on the forums, low Vitamin D can be an underlying sign of something like Hashimoto's. As can the dry skin, low energy, tiredness, slow metabolism, etc. that you mentioned. Those point to a potential thyroid problem. I am surprised that the doc said, "...the antibodies do not interfere with the normal function of the thyroid." So if you wait a couple of months and your TPO Ab jumps from 54.1 to 60.1 you magically get interference? Besides, how does this doc explain your signs & symptoms? And the low Vitamin D?

Curious about that TSH test showing 9.52, too. I suppose there could be a lab error or mix-up, but that seems strange knowing you have nearly tested positive for TPO Ab and are walking around with the various signs & symptoms that seemingly point towards thyroid issues.

I can totally understand your frustration and hang in there, things _will_ get better. :hugs:


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Seattle_Lauren said:


> Hey everybody! I'm looking for a bit of advice and perhaps some guidance and support about what to do next. I been having the same nightmare with doctors that many of you have been having over the years. Although my first thyroid related blood work was done back in 2008 and it was a high TSH,	9.52 on a 0.3 - 5.5 scale, I have never been able to convince any doctor to put me on medications, largely because I have never had an out of range TSH since.
> The bloodwork history:
> 
> Doc #1:
> ...


Welcome to the board!










Here are some suggestions to help you get to the bottom of this. I believe you do have autoimmune thyroid disease.

First, you must find a doctor who will run these tests..................

TSI (thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin),TPO (antimicrosomal antibodies) TBII (thyrotropin-binding inhibitory immunoglobulin), Thyroglobulin Ab, ANA (antinuclear antibodies), (thyroid hormone panel) TSH, Free T3, Free T4.

You can look this stuff up here and more.........
http://www.labtestsonline.org/

Then, since you have to advocate for yourself, you might wish to read this stuff.

Free T3 and Free T4 are the only accurate measurement of the actual active thyroid hormone levels in the body. This is the hormone that is actually free and exerting effect on the cells. These are the thyroid hormones that count.
http://www.drlam.com/articles/hypothyroidism.asp?page=3

understanding thyroid labs
http://www.amarillomed.com/howto/#Thyroid

Your give aways that you do have something afoot are the fact that you do have TPO, your Total 3 is below mid-range of the range given by your lab and that your TSH is wildly fluctuating.

TPO Ab
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003556.htm

TPO Ab should be negative, 0
http://www.medlabs.com.jo/docs/Leaflet-17.pdf
(The normal thyroid has TPO but should not have antibodies to TPO)

If I were you, I would not go for the sleep study. Is insurance paying for this? If so, that makes me suspicious.

Many with TD do have sleep apnea. Treat the root problem (primary) and the secondary issues go away.


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## lainey (Aug 26, 2010)

Thyroid replacement medications do not treat the presence of antibodies. They treat the resulting thyroid dysfunction--should it occur. Thyroid antibodies, when present, can indicate the potential for thyroid disease to be present and progress, but the only way to measure that progress is to measure the thyroid function itself. Lacking your free T4 and T3 (which would be helpful) at this time your thyroid is producing hormone as it should, as the endo said.

Do I read the dates correctly that your TSH has been about the same for the last 3 months (and the last 3 years, based on Oct of '08)?

Did they do a sonogram or any other tests such as iron/ferritin? Low vitamin D can cause the symptoms you describe, and you can supplement with OTC medications that are not the same price as prescription supplements.

You need the labs suggested by the other posters. You should be aware that right now your TSH and antibodies are not blazingly high, so if you really believe you want treatment you are going to have to doctor shop until you get a doc that is willing to trial you on meds, because at the moment to them your results look normal.


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## ChakaIsTheName (Sep 13, 2011)

My doctor said my thyroid was normal for the time being . I don't exactly remember what the results were but i know i have a antibody of 575 and one of my levels is 7.2 and the other is 1.9 (i guess this is what you're referring to) & the first time i went she gave me a prescription for a very small dose of thyroid replacement..


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