Exceptionally high (2.6 million) Thyroid Autoantibodies

[Ecoresearcher]

I am a male, aged 67 now,Malaysian Indian. Vegetarian, eating clean and home-cooked food all the time, using iodised salt on the higher side. I eat a lot of fruits and abundant vegetables.(Ate a lot of preserved fruits imported from China for the past about 8 months:Now completely stopped). Non-smoker. One beer or half-peg scotch once or twice a week.Sexlife good.Unemployed. But, very actively working with computer 12 to 18 hours DAILY:7days a week: writing health books using previous resarch data.Retired 12 years ago from being a professor in University. 8 years ago, I developed Hashimoto's Hypothyroiditis: Otherwise, it was asymptomatic & quite healthy, not a diabetic, normal pressure: B/P 118/68; Pulse:68/min.  Nearly constant body wt.62Kg, 5ft.6in tall. Had Thyroglobin antibody: 2,621,440; Microsomal antibody:Also 2,621,440. TSH >100.FT4 <5.FT3: 3.3. Have been taking Thyroxin 125 microgram - until this day. CURRENT BLOOD READINGS: Thyroglobulin antibody:>1,638,400 & Microsomal antibody: 625,600-this was fluctuating:e.g.two years ago: 102,400. Present FT4:11.6;  FT3:3.3; TSHalone was fluctuating between 0.1 and 11.3 for a long time, until 6 months ago. For the past 4 months or so: TSH is 30.31. Before my LDL cholesterol level was fluctuating between 3.5 and 4.4.NOW: it is 5.05mmol/L. I need to know (a) if the blood readings are at danger levels, (b) can anything can be done to normalise these, and (c)kindly suggest what should I be doing to continue living and working healthily. Thanks:Ecoresearcher.

[Mark Lupo, M.D.]

a) the most important thyroid lab is the TSH -- your target is to keep it around 1.0 which is not the current status -- TSH of 30 is too high and can aggravate cholesterol and cause heart problems.  The antibodes are not the target of treatment and are not thought to be dangerous -- small studies suggest that selenium supplementation may help lower antibodies.

[lazydog]

I have Hashi's and have recently read that a gluten free diet can reduce thyroid antibodies.  I was of the opinion that antibodies need to be reduced to avoid further destruction of the thyroid????

[Ecoresearcher]

From Ecoresearcher: Thanks to you Ms/Mr.Lazydog. I have been expedrimenting with all possibilities. My BRAIN WAS OVER-WORKING ON ITS OWN since sometime (If can, please see my recent posting under "Psychology"). Doubting excessive thyroxin dosage, I stopped the medication completely for a while. Subsequent blood test revealed very high TSH & extremely high autoantibodies as indicated earlier. Subsequent increased thyroxin intake has brought down the TSH to excessively low reading of 0.11 (range:0.40-4.70), FT3 5.9 & FT4 20.3 (blood tested this week). I did not ask for the results of autoantibodies. Now, I have corrected the dosage. (Yet, my brain keeps working non-stop even with sleeping tablets). MY WORRY has been the same as you have indicated: An increase in autoantibodies should mean a deterioration of the system. All Endocrinologists I have come across seem to be dismissing matters conerning such variations. As for the gluten-free diet, although it did not occur to me until you pointed out, I have been naturally avoiding most of the foods containing glutdn. W.e.f. today, I will try exercise more caution in this respect: thanks to you! In the process of researching, I have been taking far too much of IODISED SALT a few years back, and that was prbably the starter of my Hashimoto's thyroiditis. I wonder if iodine has anything to do with autoantibodies. Can anyone help? Ecoresearcher: 30 Sept.2006.