More antibody info for Graves/hashi's

[pjgovitz]

Our immune system creates antibodies to kill foreign or alien tissues that invade or attack the body. Antibodies are what helps us to recover from colds, flu, etc. And antibodies are what prevents us from having chicken pox more than once, getting polio, etc. They are necessary and needed.

The immune system can create antibody to something that is not alien or foreign. It creates an antibody that instead of attacking an alien virus, attacks the thyroid cell, or other body parts which is what happens with an autoimmune disease.

The  antibodies are extremely tissue specific and cannot interfere with other types of tissue, they can only interfere with the type of tissue the immune system created them for.

Antithyroid Antibodies will not make a person feel badly if  the thyroid hormone levels are under control.

[micaela27]

true.  my antibody levels are sky high for Anti-TPO and TgAb, but i don't have any symptoms of hypothyroid even though my TSH fluctuates between 2 and 8 depending on which week i have my bloodwork.  still, my levels are high and erratic enough that hormones are probably warranted at some not-too-distant point in my future.

[hypo/hyper]

Hmm.  I can't say as I agree with you on that last point, my TSH levels have been under 10.0 which is the old Endo standard for treatment with hormone.  When I am over 4, I have horrible symptoms of hypothyroidism hairloss, depression, no energy whatsoever, and of course the weight gain to name a few.  My thyroid becomes inflammed as the destruction process of these antibodies slowly make my body struggle with the ups and downs of trying to regulate itself.  I can say first hand that since I started hormone treatment, I no longer am riding that rollercoaster.  I seem to have stabilized.  I guess it would depend on the persons definition of what a normal hormone level is.  

[micaela27]

hypo/hyper....  you both are right.  the antibodies themselves don't "harm" you, but the result of the antibodies is a thyroid that can lose its ability to regulate, therefore causing you to swing between hypo and hyper... and THAT will cause you all the symptoms.  a TSH below 10 must be an archaic rule, cause all my lab work says the ref range is between .5 and 5.5.... and current thinking says that the TSH should really be below 2 to achieve maximum results (i.e. no symptoms).  so your statement that you get symtpoms when you're over 4 is totally understandable.  progressive doctors would consider a TSH over 4 to be unacceptable and your symtpoms would make sense.

[pjgovitz]

Hi,
This was a continuation of a previous discussion on the antibodies attacking other tissue if you've had a TT or been ablated....I'm unsure how the antibodies react when you still have a thyroid or unblated, In my situation even at normal levels I've been sick,,,I just had RAI last Friday, it was my understanding, that after it is no longer functioning the Graves/Hashi's antibodies would have nothing to attack so they are there but are specific to thyroid......some other sites had scared people saying these antibodies would find another organ or tissues to attack if it didn't have the thyroid, after research I found graves/hashi's antiodies are specific to the thyroid, like they're not going to say ""Dang the thyroid is gone lets go attack the pancreas",,,,      Once the thyroid is gone or killed the antibodies remain, but they have nothing to attack, so I guess they sit around being bored, and after a while they may go dormat or disapear (a long while from what I've studied)  This is not saying that folks with Graves or Hashi's don't have other antibodies that can cause other immune system problems they can and may be more susceptible but it would be other antibodies not hashi's and graves that cause this...ie...pernicious anemia, wouldn't be caused by graves or hashi's but it's own set of antibodies, and alot of people with thyroid disease have this, I've went thru periods of needing B12 when my tsh was in normal range....also isn't any TSH over 5, considered hypo and need treatment....I like your name....I can fully relate, do you have hashitoxosis too?  Sorry for the long post.
God Bless,
pam

[hypo/hyper]

I am completely agreeable with the information.  I was just passing along that some "reputable" Endos still are treating with the TSH of 10 guideline.  I think the most frusterating part of having a thyroid issue is twofold.  First, the symptoms although seemingly unrelated, stem from one source which a lot of doctors don't piece together.  Secondly, is that I can't seem to get even two doctors to agree on treatments, lab interpretation, what symptom is related to what, etc.  I have been very frusterated with all of this, I am sure I am not alone.  

Yes, I can relate to the hypo hyper symptoms.  I started out completely hyper which is very scary.  It felt like someone was injecting adrenaline into my heart out of nowhere.  Anxiety/panic attacks like crazy.  Then I went into the hypo stage for awhile, which I almost welcomed, since the anxiety improved, but then there was the depression....I have been better lately.  I am not cycling back and forth like I had been, but that nagging throat feeling is back.  Just an annoying pressure that is constant.  I hope you all have a good day.  Even though those dumb antibodies themselves are only harmful to the thyroid tissue specifically, they sure have wreaked havoc in my life.

Thanks for letting me vent.

[hollyberrys]

Went to the Dr on Thurs ,called me in re labwork  ,got my labs back here are my Numbers
TSH -<0.05  Ref Range 0.30-4.70
T4 Free- 25.5   Ref Range 9.1-23.8
Free T3- 12.5 Ref Range 2.5 -5.7
Creatinine  -56  Ref Range 60-115
the Dr has put me on Beta Blockers  cause of my Heart, Atrial Fib I have Lid lag, and Stare , and he says my eye lids donot move like they should  and the whites of my eyes are red my eyes feel like they are bulgeing,swollen a  tiny bit and feel different  ,plus painful, blurred vision . very rapid heart beat, Atrial Fib ,very high blood pressure anxiety through the roof, ,nervous, etc ,smooth skin, feels like silk, clammy  skin ,overheating.,sweating ,out of breath ,lost muscle mass ,very hungry ,want to eat everything ,muscles are tired after I exercise ,tremor in my hands, get the shakes  , for the first time in days I slept finally at 2 am ,last night, got to sleep,the beta blockers helped as it has slowed my heart rate down and slowed the Hyperthyroid symptoms ,my thinking is not so good right now
my Dr has mentioned to me that he he wants to nuke my thyroid ,RAI, ,I said no way ,or else do surgery,I will not get either one of these procedures done  ,feel terrible  rotten. my weight is 90 Pds ,no matter what I eat  I just keep on losing wt
I dropped my Armour 1/2 grain then down 1 grain a while back ,was on 5 grains and now all of  this ,now he the doc  has taken me off of Armour for 5 days to try to get my levels to go down a bit ,and has me on Beta Blockers for my heart for the next 3 months ,1 pill in the morning and one at bedtime .He think's I have Graves, he is going to do a uptake Scan ,my thyroid is enlarged right now .
Any advise or wisdom for me and my  especially my Dr ,I have done everything my Dr and I have agreed on and  somethimes we have not agreed so he is willing too work with me  ,have had him for 3 years ,does every test and more ,I cannot change this Dr as Dr's are scarce in Canada ,he is concerned ,and I have given him printouts to him, for Armour ,etc and came armed when I first met him.he is pretty easy to deal with ,willing to change if it helps me out ,my eyes are feeling very stange and are hurting .Is it possibe to go from Hashi's to Graves ,need Advise
Tks Deb