Abnormal antibodies, but normal tsh

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-30-2004
Abnormal antibodies, but normal tsh
6
Wed, 02-02-2005 - 10:37pm

Hi there.  I have visited here on and off for a while.  I have felt like something just wasn't right with me for 2 years now, but all of the tsh tests I've had done fall within normal ranges.  I pushed my dr and found an awesome DO that did a slew of tests, even my dhea levels.  EVERYTHING was within normal ranges except my antibodies.  He said those were high which would suggest my body is attacking my thyroid gland.  He did not mention Hashimoto's at all.  He is having me do a month long trial of a thyroid med(not sure which one it's at the pharamcy now they had to order it).  He wants to see if the low dose will make me feel better or not.  I hope it does, only because I am so sick of feeling like this. 


Anyway, really my question is this, if my antibodies are high but everything else is 'within normal ranges' does this mean Hashimoto's or does it only mean that I am STARTING to go down the hypothyroidism road and we actually caught it early?  I was just curious what you all thought since most of you are more versed in these issues.  I couldn't find that much online concerning high antibodies outside of Hashimoto's Disease.


Thanks.

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-19-2004
Thu, 02-03-2005 - 8:53am

This is just my guess...I would think it means you probably have Hashi's..(assuming those are the antibodies he tested) and it hasn't gotten to the point where your levels are off the range yet. It doesn't mean you can't feel bad. Maybe normal for you is a TSH of .90 and now your TSH is 1.9

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-30-2004
Thu, 02-03-2005 - 9:39am

Thanks! I believe my tsh was like 2.6 or something, I don't know what the T3 and T4's were I didn't get a copy of the results from him, the TSH was done through a different doctor.

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-19-2004
Thu, 02-03-2005 - 10:56am

I would ask. I think the levels on aace.com are up to 2. so you would be hypo.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2001
Thu, 02-03-2005 - 5:25pm

Hi - you can have Hashimoto's without ever getting hypothyroidism. You may never have a symptom but there's no way to tell what will happen. Having Hashi's without hypo means that your body is producing antibodies that are attacking your thyroid, that's what makes it an autoimmune response. But again, there's no way of telling how long that whole process will take. One of the endos in my son's doctor's office just said that there's no way to tell how long the whole process of that destruction of a thyroid takes. It could take a lifetime! I would think regular tests would be the best thing for you - to keep an eye on the antibody levels. Have you had an ultrasound at all? Because my son's doctor showed up how the antibodies mass together and show up as brighter spots on the thyroid. It was really interesting.

Do you know what your tsh results were? Because many doctors consider anything over 5.5 as hypo - when actually the new range is 3.0 - so if your level was between 3.0 and 5.5, your doctor might consider you "normal" when you're actually not.

It's great that he's prescribed some thyroid medication for you because many doctors won't. Do you have hypo symptoms? And actually, the thyroid medication has no effect on hashi's - but it will take care of hypo symptoms. Does this help or is it more confusing?!? Cathy :)

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-30-2004
Wed, 02-09-2005 - 11:31am

That makes sense Cathy.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2001
Thu, 02-10-2005 - 5:01pm
Hi - It can only mean hashi's. There's a seperate test for graves, which is hyperthyroid. It's great that he's given you the medication and Armour is great because it contains both thyroid hormones, T4 and T3. All other brands of synthetic hormone only contain T4, but our body converts what it needs to T3 so it's usually not a problem. Your doctor wants to make sure you pay attention to your heart and other things, like feeling anxious, having difficulty sleeping, the headaches ... because he's making sure you don't go over in to the hyper range. Everything sounds like it's good to me!! Cathy :)