other tests for hashimoto's

[kitkat1841]

I have high tpo antibodies,2558.9 my tsh was o.124,my free t4 was0.94 and my free t3 was 4.0. I had this lay test
done May2010. I have another test on July 7,2010. I also have raynauld's syndrome and two loss of pigment spots
on my leg. I am wondering if an alcat test, antinuclear antibody test,or a stool test to detect yersinia enterocolitica
infection? I have had raynauld's since I was 18 years old. Could it just be limited scleroderma or apart of another
autoimummune disorder? I don't have any other symptoms that brother me.

[goolarra]

My TGab was over 3000, and my TPOab was 900-something.  The raw numbers really don't matter.  The test is either positive or negative.  They can vary a lot, even intraday.

There are a number of remedies that many claim will slow antibodies, but none has been proven to be effective in any large-scale studies.  However, many of these can help in controlling certain symptoms of the disease.

Once you get your meds adjusted properly, you should have a much easier time losing weight, and the depression will be relieved, too..  Have you started taking meds?

Make sure that your doctor is monitoring free T3 and free T4 as well as TSH.  This is very important in managing Hashi's.  Also, it's a good idea to get a printed copy of all your labwork for your own records and so that you can see your history and progress.  You can jot down symptoms just prior to the labwork and medication dosages.

[MonaJ]

My antibody levels are very high and from what I understand cannot be stopped.  Eventually my thyroid will be nonfunctioning.  I just went to an endocrinologist, and she is very good.  I have gained weight and I am depressed a lot.  

I hope I feel better soon. What are your antibdy readings?  Mine indicate that I have had it for a while just undiagnosed the Hasimotos.

[kitkat1841]

The scores I listed were the lab results for 100mcg  of levothyroxine sodium and 20 mcg
of liothyroinne sodium and yes,it is from a compounding pharmacy. I will have another
lab test Sept 9 and maybe they will be better  or my nurse practitioner will put me on
something else. I am taking 125mcg of t4 and 20mcg of t3 and still think I'm hypo. I do
get a copy of my lab results and put notes on them. You said I have a long way to get
my scores in the normal range.Do you think it would benefit me to take a namebrand
med and cytomel two times a day to boost my metabolism?

Also,what does the tsh mean? If I am on medication, is it supplying my body with the
hormone so my thyroid won't have to produce any on it's own?

I am glad to hear your thyroid is controlled and you're doing good. Your advice gives hope to me and many others.

[goolarra]

Hashi's is the most prevalent cause of hypo in the developed world, so many of us have it (myself included).

Your labs are looking good.  Your FT4 is just a little below midrange.  FT3 is low, but your doctor has added 5 mcg Cytomel, so that ought to improve your FT3.

There's no reason that you should have a lifetime of symptoms to look forward to.  If your thyroid meds are adjusted properly, weight gain and depression should not be an issue.  Hashi's can be a challenge to deal with, especially in the early stages.  However, finding a doctor who you work well with and who will adjust your meds until you are symptom-free is the key to living well with this disease.  

There's nothing that can be done to stop the antibodies from destroying your thyroid.  There are many remedies that work for some, but not for others for the various symptoms of Hashi's.

Keep in mind that those of us on this forum are not "textbook" cases by and large.  We are the worst of the worst!!!  Some people actually take their pill every day, end of story.

Your doctor seems to be doing the right things.  Many doctors, unfortunately, don't like using Cytomel or use it only reluctantly, so your doctor seems to be a keeper in that respect.

How long have you been on thyroid meds?  

[monajean18]

There are two antibodies that they test for please refer to my post above the thyroglobulin and the peroxidase antibodies, I am not sure which one you are refering to.

Yes, they do attack the thyroid for unknown reasons and it does start to die off unfortunately.  I did not know until last week that I had the Hasimotos disease.

[monajean18]

I have just been diagnosed with Hasimotos and my readings are:

TSH 0.5 ref range 0.4-4.5
T3  2.6    ref range 2.3-4.2
T4  1.2  ref range 0.7-1.8
Thyroglobulin  antibodies  1,939  ref range <20
Thyroid Peroxidase antibodies   265 ref range <35

I am on Levothyroxine  100 mcgsand now Cytomel 5mg.  It sounds like a bleak thing to deal with, the weight gain, depression and knowing your thyroid is being eaten up and you cannot halt it entirely.

Anyone have experience with this disease and treatment?  Mona

[Barb135]

Your FT4 is is still below range and your FT3, just barely in range.  

You asked "Are these results hypo and what are the normal numbers I am trying to achieve?"   Yes, in my opinion, those results show that you are still hypo.  The normal numbers you are trying to achieve is wherever you feel the best.  

A rule of thumb is to try to get FT4 levels to about mid point in its range and FT3 levels into the upper 1/3 of its range.  Both of your levels have a long way to go.

Do make sure you get copies of all your labs and note on the report how you felt at those levels (what symptoms you have), then when you get to the right point (when your symptoms are gone), you know which levels you want to try to maintain.

I do not recommend stopping your med.  That will only make things worse.  

You said the Liothyronine is "compounded" - do you get that from a compounding lab?  I just get mine from the pharmacy, which does not do compounding - it's simply generic cytomel; same for the levo I was on, being generic synthroid.  Now I'm on Tirosint, which is another brand of T4 med.

[kitkat1841]

I have tried the 125 mcg  t4 and 20mcg of t3 and my test results are tsh 2.937, lab range is 0.350-4.500, free t4 0.64, lab range 0.80-1.80. free t3 2.8, lab range 2.3-4.2,
and my tpo went from May (2558.9) to 2722.0. I think my  results are worse than
when I didn't take any meds at all. I am doing another lab test Sept.9, so my nurse
practitioner can decide to do next. Are these results hypo and what are the normal
numbers I am trying to achieve? Since I started these meds I have gained 25 lbs and
the weight is difficult to get off. I don't feel any better than I did before I started meds in
Jan2010. In Jan my scores were tsh 1.79,free  t4 1.12, free t3 2.3., using the same lab
ranges  as I listed above, are these hypo numbers or was I in the normal range?
What do you think I need to do try armour thyroid,synthroid and cytomel or don't take
anything and see how I feel and have another test in four weeks?

[kitkat1841]

Thank you for sharing your good advice and knowledge on the ups and downs of
hypothyroidism and hashimotos. Your insight has been very helpful to me.

[Barb135]

Yes, I had understood that you had been out of the med for 3 days; that's why I mentioned the possibility that your thyroid may have been pumping out some hormone at the same time.  It's possible for the thyroid to actually work in "spurts", sometimes.

Not being a doctor, I really don't have any explanation for why your results turned out like they did.

I do know, though that if you stop the med(s), you will eventually go very hypo and will basically have to start from scratch.

I'm happy to hear that you are trying the increased dosage; it might be a good idea to keep a diary of how you feel, including any symptoms that may arise.  
Best of luck

[kitkat1841]

On my May 10  blood test I wasn't on any meds for three days,because I had ran out.
The drug store got my bank card number wrong and didn't send it out until they reached
me the next day and got the numbers corrected. I had the med mailed to me and took
it when I got it. I had been taking the same dosage 100mcg of t4 and 20 of t3 prior to my May 10 test and continued to take the same dosage in June and my July 7 test
showed I was  very hypo. I seemed to feel have better test results without any meds
at all and felt better too. I don't know whats going on with my thyroid,I guess I'll try the
new dosage the doctor prescribed; 125mcg of t4 and t3 20mcg and see what happens and how I feel.

[Barb135]

Your thyroid doesn't attack itself; the antibodies attack your thyroid because for some reason, they see it as something foreign, that doesn't belong in your body.  

You could have left your med the way it was on based on the May 10 results, even though your FT4 was low in the range, if you felt okay.  

Your newest results actually show that you might be a bit hypo.  Your TSH is high in the range (new range is 0.3-3.0, though most labs don't use that); your FT4 is actually out of range on the low side; and your FT3 is very low in it's range.  If my levels were like that, I would be terribly ill.

The T4 med does take longer to get completely out of your system; however, T3 med is fast acting and is out of your system within a few hours; therefore, if you went 3 days without it, you would not have had any of that med left in your system.

I can't explain the test results; your thyroid may still be producing some hormone; however, with your antibody count as high as it is, you most certainly have Hashimoto's, like goolarra said.  

The thyroid med doesn't necessarily make your thyroid not work. Sometimes, people end up going hyper because they get too much hormone, between the med and what their thyroid produces.   You will not be able to stop taking your thyroid med, as the antibodies will eventually completely destroy your thyroid, so it will no longer produce hormone in any amount.  This means at some point, you will be completely dependent on the med for the hormones.

Most of us have to make periodic adjustments in our med, in order to keep our FT levels where we need them. As the Hashimoto's progresses, most of us have to adjust upwards (as our thyroid produces less hormone); however, sometimes we get too much and have to decrease.  We are all very different and we all react differently to the med(s).  For some of us, it becomes a balancing act.  

[kitkat1841]

I just got my new thyroid tests results back and they are tsh 2.937, free t4  0.64, free t3
2.8  tpo ab 2722.0, reference ranges are as follows; tsh 0.350-4.50  t4  0.80-1.80
t3   2.3-4.2  and tpo ab 0.0-60.0. I am on 100mcg of levothyroxine and 20mcg of lio-
thyronine. When I had my last test on May 10, 2010 I ran out of meds for three days and had my blood taken and my tsest were; tsh 0.124, free t4 0.94 t3 4.0 and tpo ab
2558.9. My doctor wondered why I had a different results, so she has upped my t4 med
to 125mcg and t3 remained at 20mcg. I thought this med stayed in  our systems for
days,perhaps without the meds my own thyroid started working  and this is how I got
such different results.Do you think my May 10 test results are normal where I can just
not take any more meds or am I taking these meds to make my thyroid not work at
all so my thyroid won't attack itself?

[Barb135]

It's very unlikely to have the thyroid antibodies and not have them doing damage to your thyroid.  

Yes, autoimmune diseases are fairly common and not everyone has symptoms; or the same symptoms.  Many people with one autoimmune disease have another or are more susceptible to getting another.  In my case, I have both Hashimoto's and pernicious anemia.  

I agree with goolarra that your FT4 is very low in the range, and could stand to come up; while your FT3 is very high and could stand to come down some.  Maybe you could increase your T4 med and decrease the T3 med accordingly.  

[JKenton]

Just because you have the anti-bodies doesn't mean they are attacking your thyroid, or causing any significant damage to it.  

I think auto-immune disorders are actually fairly common and most people just have very mild, or occasional symptoms.

Most of the medications for auto-immune disorders, you would not want to take unless you absolutely had to, so be happy, and keep your hands and feet warm.

[goolarra]

The cause of autoimmune disease is unknown.  So, there is no way to find out the reason.

Antibodies can fluctuate wildly, even intraday, but there is no way to bring them down, and once you have them, you have them for life.  Sometimes, if the thyroid is removed or it completely "dies" the antibodies will go into remission...sometimes not.

In my opinion, there isn't a whole lot of merit in bringing the antibodies down.  The end result, no matter what your antibody count, is a thyroid that is completely non-functioning.  Once thyroid function is completely destroyed, Hashi's gets much more stable and easier to treat.  My endo and I are both hoping I've reached that stage and am on 100% replacement since I've been on the same dose for over a year.  Why prolong the process?

It will be interesting to see your new labs in July.  

[kitkat1841]

I have another thyroid test July 7th and I'll let you know the results.I'd like to know to
know what can I do to bring down mu tpo antibodies, they are 2558..9? Is there a test
to take to find the reason for it?

[goolarra]

You have Hashi's, then.  Your FT3 is a bit high in the range.  And, your FT4 is quite low in the range.  However, you say that you feel well.  So, perhaps this is the right mix for you.  I don't know enough about the Raynaud's to comment.  If your thyroid symptoms are under control, I'd probably do nothing differently.  However, as I said, I think your FT3 might be able to come down a bit, and FT4 might be able to go up a bit.  What are you thinking?

[kitkat1841]

Yes, I am on 100mcg of levothyroxine and 20mcg of liothyronine,it's a compounded
medication.The reference ranges are: free t3 2.3-4.2 and the free t4 :0.80-1.80.

[goolarra]

Please post your FT3 and FT4 reference ranges...these are specific to each lab and have to come from your own lab report.

Are you on thyroid meds?