Aa
Hashimoto's and immunosuppressant
Anyone know if immunosuppressant therapy would be benificial in Hashimoto's? Also, if TSI (while on metimazole) is only 59% (normal <140%), does that mean I don't have Graves as well?
Best Answer
I meant to add that I highly doubt that any doctor would give you the option of using an immunosuppressant. Suppressing the immune system leaves you open to all kinds of diseases, including cancer. Furthermore, once you stop suppressants, the immune system goes right back to where it was before starting. If your condition is not controllable on drugs, then a TT or RAI would be a much more likely alternative.
The last set of labs on that thread are from 1/31. Any more since then? Please post all thyroid test levels (normal or not). You don't have to post the other abnormals.
Hi, goolarra:) Thanks for the response! It's me with the inconsistent testing from this thread:
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Thyroid-Disorders/Optimum-T4--High-blood-calcium-and-PTH-results/
I only posted test results that were high/low/high-low normal, so that's why I didn't post TSI. TSI was only taken once, 1 month after start of methimazole.
Physically/mentally, I'm becoming a giant mess. I only function because I feel like I have to... a literal dizzy walking zombie in incredible pain is what I feel like, so I might just be willing to risk it with the immunosuppressant. I mean, if the drs are going to argue that my thyroid is in normal range, so they won't give me any help there... they can't deny my high antibodies. They must give me some sort of help and I'll take whatever I can get at this point. Even a steroid? Considering my weight, it may be a desparate option as well.
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Thyroid-Disorders/Optimum-T4--High-blood-calcium-and-PTH-results/
I only posted test results that were high/low/high-low normal, so that's why I didn't post TSI. TSI was only taken once, 1 month after start of methimazole.
Physically/mentally, I'm becoming a giant mess. I only function because I feel like I have to... a literal dizzy walking zombie in incredible pain is what I feel like, so I might just be willing to risk it with the immunosuppressant. I mean, if the drs are going to argue that my thyroid is in normal range, so they won't give me any help there... they can't deny my high antibodies. They must give me some sort of help and I'll take whatever I can get at this point. Even a steroid? Considering my weight, it may be a desparate option as well.
As annoying as thyroid disease can be, there are lots of worse thing that a suppressed immune system could expose you to...
Did you have a TSI before starting methimazole, or is that your only one?
Do you have current labs to post? How long have you been hyper? If you have your history in another thread, give me a link.
Did you have a TSI before starting methimazole, or is that your only one?
Do you have current labs to post? How long have you been hyper? If you have your history in another thread, give me a link.
Crap on my immunosuppressant theory, then. Just desperately grasping for options, I guess. I have both hypo and hyper symptoms, but TSH and T3/T4 have only ever shown hyper. TPO is out of range, >1000, so definitely Hashi's, but worried that it is combo Hashi's and Grave's. Opted out of the RAI uptake test when hyper because I was nursing. Now that I'm not hyper (as far as blood tests are concerned), I'm not sure that RAI uptake would show anything anyway. Weight is steadily dropping, currently 95 lbs, though my appetite is still normal and I'm supplementing regular meals with Ensure. The nausea and knots in my GI are out of control. I've even tried probiotics and Celiac's diet. Nothing works!
Unfortunately, no one has had a lot of luck selectively suppressing only part of the immune system. It's basically all or nothing. So, if you need a new heart, it might be worth suppressing it even though it leaves you wide open to all kinds of things, with Hashi's, not so much... I've never heard of anyone using immunosuppressants for Hashi's.
There's a huge gray area in the TSI test. While the range is quoted as less-than 140%, 140% is really the value at which many people start having symptoms. People who don't have Graves' have TSI less-than 2%. In between 2 and 140 is the gray area.
Since you're on methimazole, I assume you have already had hyper symptoms. Has your TSI come down? Do you have Hashi's antibodies as well?
There's a huge gray area in the TSI test. While the range is quoted as less-than 140%, 140% is really the value at which many people start having symptoms. People who don't have Graves' have TSI less-than 2%. In between 2 and 140 is the gray area.
Since you're on methimazole, I assume you have already had hyper symptoms. Has your TSI come down? Do you have Hashi's antibodies as well?
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Thyroid Disorders Community
We tapped the CDC for information on what you need to know about radiation exposure
Endocrinologist Mark Lupo, MD, answers 10 questions about thyroid disorders and how to treat them
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
