# Confused about Hashi's?!?



## moskmama (Oct 23, 2011)

Hi- Im new to this! Found out I'm hypothyroid. TSH at 9.26. FT4 was within normal range, so were my tpo antibodies. Had an US done that showed an enlarged thyroid gland with a very heterogeneous echo texture. I read somewhere that the heterogeneous echo texture was indicative of hashimoto's, but if so, wouldn't my antibodies be elevated? Endo didn't mention anything about it. Thank you in advance to anyone who can/will answer my question!


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## namebug (Sep 22, 2011)

I can't help you. I am just learning all the things I wish I had known. This is a good place to find your answers, though.


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## lainey (Aug 26, 2010)

All that the presence/absence of antibodies really tells you is the source of thyroid dysfunction -- ie: is it autoimmune in nature or has it occurred for some other reason.

You don't have to have antibodies to be hypothyroid. In the end, the antibodies are most helpful in making a diagnosis. Their presence or absence does not affect the type of treatment--it is still levothyroxine once the thyroid is no longer working properly.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

moskmama said:


> Hi- Im new to this! Found out I'm hypothyroid. TSH at 9.26. FT4 was within normal range, so were my tpo antibodies. Had an US done that showed an enlarged thyroid gland with a very heterogeneous echo texture. I read somewhere that the heterogeneous echo texture was indicative of hashimoto's, but if so, wouldn't my antibodies be elevated? Endo didn't mention anything about it. Thank you in advance to anyone who can/will answer my question!


Hi there! Did the doctor put you on thyroxine replacement and if so, what and how much!

In the future, it would be really helpful when you post your lab results to add the ranges as different labs use different ranges and even though they are "in the range"; we (I) would still like to see them.

Example: You should have NO TPO Ab. Please read this so you can grasp the idea about "some" of this stuff. The healthy person should have a low titer of TPO but no TPO Ab.

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)

Heterogeneous is commonly found in Hashimoto's as are TPO (thyroid peroxidase) antibodies so therefore their presence is "suggestive" of Hashimoto's.

Where any other irregularities noted when they did the ultra-sound?


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## Negative101 (May 23, 2011)

Andros said:


> Example: You should have NO TPO Ab. Please read this so you can grasp the idea about "some" of this stuff. The healthy person should have a low titer of TPO but no TPO Ab.
> 
> TPO Ab should be negative, 0
> http://www.medlabs.com.jo/docs/Leaflet-17.pdf


The link appears to be down, although Id like to read it.
From my understanding of reading a number of studies and speaking to a number of doctors, TPO antibodies are certainly possible in the average helathy population. They may not be elevated to hashi levels, but they exist for normal/healthy people.

"Thyroid peroxidase (TPO) antibodies occur in people with autoimmune thyroid disease and other autoimmune conditions, and they're seen in the healthy population."

"In up to 26 percent of healthy women, low
levels of TPO antibodies are seen, and the incidence of these antibodies increases with age. In the normal healthy population, when TPO antibodies are accompanied by a TSH level higher than 2.0, they suggest an increased risk for developing Hashimoto's thyroiditis."

http://www.elaine-moore.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=-2uABUPLqLo=&tabid=59&mid=1007


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