Can anyone tell me what these results mean
: positive high TPO antibodies
: TSH 10.58 mIU/L
: free T3 4.6
: free T4 13.3
Just had results sent from doctor .
They have added to start me on levothyroxin 25 mg but what do these results mean ?
Thank you in advance for any help .
:
Your TSH is high which means you are hypothyroid. It should be below 4.
Your TPO is high. This means you have autoimmune disease and your body is attacking your thyroid or functioning molecules. TPO is an enzyme your thyroid gland produces. When your body attacks these enzymes, your thyroid function decreases. Since you have elevated TPO, you likely have other autoimmune disease.
Your TSH is high. This means your brain perceives that your body isn’t getting enough thyroxin. Basically, your body’s telling your brain that it doesn’t have enough thyroxin to function. So your brain, the pituitary gland, then produces more TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) to try to get the thyroid gland to produce more thyroxin.
Your Free T4 appears to be elevated. The numbers you show for FT3 and FT4 appear to be in different units than I found with an online search. You’ll need to post the ranges with them.
If T4 is high, it means either your thyroid gland is pumping out massive amounts of T4 thyroxin or you’re on a high dose of thyroid medication.
T4 is a long acting, mild form of thyroxin. T4 stays in the body fir about two weeks. T3 is a much more powerful (active) form of thyroxin that only lasts a few hours on the body. Your body regulates its energy by coordinating signals, hormones and enzymes from the pancreas, thyroid and adrenal glands.
T3 is produced by conversion of T4. A variety of cells in the body can convert, but it’s believed that conversion of T4 to T3 happens primarily in the gut, thyroid and liver. So if any of these organs are unhealthy, it can slow your thyroid function.
Thyroid function is sensitive to chemical and radiation exposure. Particularly, mercury can result in low T3 (due to production of high rT3), and bromine can also interfere with thyroxin, as it competes with iodine when your body produces thyroxin. All this stuff basically causes autoimmune disease.
If your T3 or T4 is high and your TSH is high, it means your body is producing plenty of thyroxin, but it isn’t getting into the cells. It’s likely that antibodies are binding up your thyroxin.
From what I’ve read, you can do a bunch of antibody tests and then compare them to your T3 and T4 by using ratios- this can help get a better idea of what’s really going on. However most docs don’t do this. I’m not sure why. It could be due to unreliable antibody testing, it could be due to lack of standards, it could be that this is not cost effective.
My feeling is that doing a million tests doesn’t tell you as much as your symptoms. Extensive testing is costly and time consuming. rT3 testing can sometimes get helpful. You can also get an understanding of how advanced your thyroid disease is by a thyroid ultrasound. Thus detects cysts andctelks you their sizes. The larger and more dense the cysts, the more advanced the disease.
Autoimmune disease is the source of most hypothyroidism. Thyroid medication does not treat autoimmune disease, and in fact, synthetic thyroid medication is known to worsen thyroid disease.
Thank you for your reply however I am not on any medication as yet for thyroid I am on beta-blockers as I have been diagnosed with intermittent ventricular tachycardia . I have not been told I have autoimmune disease and that anything will be done all the doctor has said is to start me on levothyroxin 25 mg once my doctor is back from holiday ! Well I feel like I'm at a lost cause now my symptoms just seem to be getting worse by the day and I have no idea what's wrong with me 😞Xx
You are hypothyroid and need the medication. Many of us have a version of hypothyroidism called Hashimoto’s where the immune system is harming the thyroid. The treatment is the same in any case, so do not be alarmed, just start the medication as soon as you can.
I have Hashimoto's and have never taken prescribed medication for it. The treatment for Hashimoto's and hypothyroid is not the same depending on your doctor, your symptoms, and your labs.
Can you elaborate? All I’ve read and been told is that if you have hypothyroidism, no matter what the cause, you need to take thyroid hormone.
Wow..thank you for the extensive explanation re results. But thank you even more for confirming what I've suspected...synthetic thyroid medication worsens autoimmune disease! The only trouble is...when you're on it (I'm take 50mcg)...what on earth can you replace it with without worrying and getting a right earful from your doctor?
Do you take any particular supplements?
Lindsay, check the side effects of your beta blockers. They generally have ridiculous side effects.
My mother was in and out of the ER with tachycardia. It was super scary. Had to put her on meds and they had so many side effects, she lost half her hair and was so lethargic she couldn’t eat and wound up in hospice . While in hospice, I weaned her off the heart meds, gave her high doses of oregano oil and took her to acupuncture. She hasn’t had a repeat of the tachycardia. Her hair grew back, and she’s out of hospice.
Hi Claireeery,
My mother takes ThyroGold as well as essentual amino acids- she’s had her thyroid gland removed.
I take essential amino acids. I have advanced thyroid disease. I went off the Levo because it never really fixed the thyroid symptoms (you’re always low T3 and highT4), and caused a bunch more problems.
I go to a Sutter Health Facility. I stopped going because they don’t treat anything properly. Even their own doctors are suing them because they don’t allow their doctors to treat patients.
Follow the money if you want an answer as to why. Thyroid disease isn’t rocket science. It’s simple and easily treated-with the right information.
Give the aminos a try as well as the ThyroGold.
Can't really elaborate because this is all I know , I just received a letter from the doctor stating I have been diagnosed with intermittent ventricular tachycardia after having a 24 hour ECG monitor fitted After after I complained of palpitations and sweating and was prescribed beta-blockers , The other diagnosis was positive TPO antibodies elevated to 108 The dr then said to start me on 25 mg of levothyroxin
All I can tell you is that I was diagnosed hypothyroid 30 years ago and taking Levothyroxine gave me my life back. I think you would be well advised to try it because it works for most people. As to Levo making autoimmune disease worse, I have never heard that.
Thyroid disease can
lead to heart problems when untreated or not treated properly. Your tachycardia may resolve itself once the hyroid stuff is under control.