question if i have hashimoto's

[mbtp]

I went to the dr's c/o exertional sweating excessive, TSH 10.6 and TPO 1906. other symptoms are fatigue, irritable and blurred vision and weight gain. No treatment as of yet they want me to see an ednocrinolist and have an ultra sound of my thyroid. I just want to feel better and get some treatment.

[mbtp]

antibodies can be a good thing. When you receive an Immunization for lets say polio your body is getting antibodies against the disease polio so when you are exposed to polio your body fights off the the polio germ let say so you don't get polio. the difference here is that you are producing antibodies against your own body and that is why they call hashimotos an auto-immune disorder. Hope I haven't confusedyou further. think also of anibiotics they fight against the germ that is causing strep throat ect.

[ArmourGal]

Well, I was curious about the actual definition and looked it up in the dictionary...and antibodies are various blood proteins produced in response to and then counteracting antigens. Well...that sure explains it, huh?  Maybe the doc can explain it better than the dictionary.

But when I was studying some of this, I remember once thing that struck me was that Hashimoto's Disease causes damage to the thyroid gland itself...and then antibodies evidently show up and can cause additional damage or interfere with the action of thyroid hormone.  But there is a small percentage of folks with Hashi's that do not have the antibodies.

And there are all sorts of thyroid antibodies, not just anti--TPO and anti-Tg...but there are also antibodies like antibodies to cell-surface antigens, antibodies to the second colloid antigen, antibodies to thyroid hormones and TSH.  So it's all rather confusing to a lay person I think, but I would also think the goal of Hashimoto's treatment should be to relieve a person of symptoms that would be caused by thyroid gland damage and antibody attack.

[dturner242]

I also have high antibodies which I found out 19 years ago when originally diagnosed with Hashimoto's.  I had a nodule that was biopsied and found benign.  I have been on levoxyl pretty much ever since.  I have tried other meds but do best so far on levoxyl.  I hadn't had the antibodies test repeated until recently.  They came back high as I knew they would.  

My first question is what are anitbodies.  What do they really mean and how do they work?

My second question is should I ever have the ultrasound, radioactive iodine test repeated since I haven't had one in 19 years?

Thanks!  Dawn

[mbtp]

thank you for your imput. I kind of figured the hashimoto thing for myself hopefully I will be refered soon and get the treatment that I need. By the way I always saying I was so pale before and my face is always red!! Now I know why.

[doodlebug1]

No treatment with a TSH of 10.6, high antibodies, and all those symptoms???? You've got to be kidding. I once had a TSH of only 5 and I was treated with thyroid immediately by my GP! Did you know that once-upon-a-time, before the TSH and other labs came onto the scene, folks were treated solely by symptoms and successfully? It's sad what has happened. And honestly, though there are some exceptions, most docs that you are going to be referred to are going to put you on Synthroid or other T4-only meds. And I personally found out, as are thousands out there, that T4-only meds only BARELY do the job. Instead, we are switching to Armour, which is also called natural thyroid hormones. It gives you exactly what your own thyroid would be giving you--T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin. And for folks like yourself with a raging attack on your thyroid, it's Armour that's stopping that FAR better than T4-only meds. I hope with you that you feel better soon by finding a great doc who will treat you by your symptoms, and with the right meds!!!!!

[ArmourGal]

The excessive perspiration with exertion you described has been listed as a hypo symptom as are the other things you listed. That can also be accompanied by face getting red with exertion.  

The new recommended top end of the TSH range (by the american assn. of endos) is now around 3 so you are over that.  Your TPO antibodies are high enough to give you a diagnosis of Hashimoto's according to the medical literature.   If you do some research you will find that although it is controversial (and I have no idea why when a person has symptoms), there is now documentation to indicate a person with antibodies and symptoms should be treated and that treatment helps avoid further damage to the thyroid gland.  

Some GPs are comfortable with treating Hashimoto's/hypothyroidism and some will refer on to an endo. I have Hashimoto's and take thyroid hormone but have never had an ultra sound.  But I think it can be informative to have one.

Since your symptoms are indicators of a low thyroid condition, I hope they do Free T4 and Free T3 labs too since these are the actual thyroid hormones and can also give you more information regarding your condition.  

I'm hopeful once they do all this they can address your symptoms with thyroid hormone and these symptoms will improve for you. I take Armour Thyroid and it has eliminated my hypo symptoms so please know that it can get better for you, although hypo can take time to resolve.  Also, Hashimoto's is an autoimmune disease so it becomes important to bring the whole body into balance with good nutrition, avoiding stress, enough sleep, supplements as needed, etc.  The steps can help the antibody attack you're experiencing, although thyroid hormone supplementation can be quite important too.

[Mark Lupo, M.D.]

Yes, you have hashimotos.  This is the most common cause of thyroid under-activity.  It is possible that your are recovering from subacute or silent thyroiditis (transient over-active thyroid due to inflammation followed by underactivity then recovery) and happen to have antibodies that are positive.  This is less likely.  Often I will repeat TSH, T4 and T3 3-4 weeks later to see if there is a clear pattern, but if you have symptoms (which seems to be the case) I would initiate treatment.

The ultrasound is a good idea, there can be nodules and within a hashimoto gland that need biopsy -- unless there is something I see on ultrasound (which ideally is done by the endocrinologist him/herself) that is clearly suspicious I will often wait 4 months, treat the TSH down to about 1.0 and then repeat the ultrasound as many changes/nodules will decrease in size.