Antithyroglobulin Ab number changes over time

[Portland1975]

I have very low levels of Ab (compared to numbers others have posted)!

6 months ago, my Ab number was 43 (0-40) range, and now I am at 45. My T3 has also decreased again.

I wondered how quickly some of you have experienced changes in your numbers. I see some posts that are astronomically high! I was trying the gluten free diet to reduce mine. My naturopath would like me to continue it, despite the 2 point increase, and I am wondering how quickly others show changes in their numbers.

Anyone check their numbers over time? What kinds of patterns do you see?

[goolarra]

So, has she diagnosed you with Hashi's?  

Your TPOab is negative.  Only a very small percentage of people with Hashi's (< 5%, if I remember correctly) test negative to TPOab.  TGab can be "somewhat" elevated in several other conditions.  I find that no one is willing to define "somewhat".  

Your FT3 is decreasing slowly.  Is your FT4 stable?  Do you have labs and reference ranges to post?  The vast majority of T3 comes from conversion; only a small percentage is produced in the thyroid.  So, if FT4 is stable, but FT3 is decreasing, it wouldn't necessarily imply a thyroid problem.  

As far as mainstream medicine is concerned, there is no way to treat any autoimmune response.  TPOab and TGab are very different, and the main proponent of a gluten free diet reducing antibodies doesn't even address WHICH antibody is reduced.  However, since he recommends g/f for anyone and everyone with Hashi's, and something like 95% of people with Hashi's are TPOab positive, one would have to assume that he means TPOab.

My feeling on the subject (and, yes, I did do a lot of research on it) has always been that if the theory were to work, it would have its best chance to do so in someone with a very low antibody load, like you.  Your experience has not borne that out.  Antibodies can go into remission.  Perhaps the g/f diet had something to do with that, perhaps it's totally coincidental.  

If I had an MD after my name, I wouldn't hang a diagnosis of Hashi's on a TGab count of 43.  

So, I guess what I'm saying is that I'd try to pin this doctor down to exactly which antibodies people have no longer tested positive for, what their antibody counts were before going g/f (and all the rest of the program), how long it took, etc., before making a decision on whether to continue or not.

Thyroid meds are about as close to supplements as you can get.  They aren't drugs, but an exact chemical replication of what our thyroids produce.  They are replacement for a deficit.  You'd take vitamin D (which reminds me...you are working on that, correct?) if your D was low.  Why not thyroid hormones if they're low?  Just a thought to ponder...  I, personally, don't see any advantage to popping a whole slew of supplements as opposed to thyroid meds.  

Sisters, Oregon.

[Portland1975]

It is the TGab, the TPOab is negative.

My free T3 is slowly decreasing, but not to the point I have to start medication, although I have some of the symptoms.

It started when I went to see a naturopath to have some hormones tested. After spending an hour talking about symptoms, she suggested a few blood and other tests. My Vitamin D was shot, and the Thyroid a bit suspicious, but nothing my regular MD was concerned about. However, my cholesterol was a little high and my blood sugar high, despite a diet (due to sensitivities) that was not consistent with that. Then, I had a thermogram to check a lump in my breast, which showed that my Thyroid was very inflamed so she decided to check for Hashimotos. Thus the low number. In a series of working on other issues, this was found more by chance and her piecing together some symptoms, because it is an area she works in all the time. Otherwise, I would have been diagnosed in a few years at a very high level, too, or just as hypothyroid, I am sure.

So, she has suggestions of managing the autoimmune response to delay the destruction of my thyroid, and I like to look at the numbers to back up what I am trying. She indicated that she has had others that no longer test positive when trying gluten free and/or Moducare (plant sterols), but if it isn't going to help, I will not want to keep at it. (The diet is a pain and I do not like pills).

I guess it makes sense that no one else would get their numbers re-checked... I just want to keep mine as low (borderline) as possible, if possible, to delay other health issues. This is why she checks them again. I would rather take supplements than thyroid medication, if possible.

Portland Oregon.

Thanks for your response!

[goolarra]

Is this TPOab or TGab?

Are you on thyroid meds?

Of course, since most of us were only diagnosed with Hashi's once it was full-blown, we have no idea when or at what level our antibodies started out.  Antibodies can fluctuate wildly, even intraday,  In my opinion (not a doctor, just a fellow patient), your original level of 43 is distinctly borderline, and the "increase" to 45 is totally insignificant.  As you mentioned, antibody levels in the high hundreds, or even thousands, are not unusual.  (My TPOab was over 900 and TGab 3,000+ on diagnosis...just to give you some perspective.)

Also, not too many of us check numbers over time, the thinking being that once you test positive, you are positive for life, no new information is gained by testing and even fairly large variations are insignificant.

Are you hypothyroid?  I'm curious as to why your antibodies were tested.  

Which Portland?