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Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis: Personal Update
UPDATE: see crazy readings just two weeks later in which TPO soars to 1084 but using a different test.
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Auto-antibodies to my thyroid had plummeted back in April/May, and I started feeling great again. Like I had a life and a future again. What a great feeling! That feeling is long gone here in July.
By mid June it was obvious that things were going downhill again. Subtle flags at first, then increasing fatigue, low-grade but constant pain, large increases in sleep needs, concentration and motivation issues, appetite disturbances, etc.
Here now in mid-July, I restested and the news is very good: auto-antibody levels have dropped from 63 to 45 , which gets me into range of my 2017 test. Which makes me wonder if thyroid is even involved, though it could be.
Thyroxine TF: 5.9 range 4.5-12.0
TPO Ab: 45, range 0-34
T3 uptake: 28 range 24-39
Free thyroxine: 1.7, range 1.2-4.9
Trioiodothyronine T3, free: 2.8 range 2.0-4.4
Good news, but it blows-up my working hypothesis of the issues being driven by auto-immune attacks on my thyroid. With no other biomarkers to go (many tests done in past year), I’m stumped. That is, I *might* be hypothyroid, but the ranges are so idiotically wide that barring a personal baseline for reference, no conclusions can be reached.
Anon MD writes:
I did not entirely agree with the conclusions of your post on thyroid.The fact that you do not have high TPO is not enough to nullify your hypothesis...which may need some modification.
Something stimulated the immune system to make TPO and it ramped up over a couple of years with hyperbolic increase towards a high just prior to a crash. It takes a while to wipe out a thyroid gland which may not be irreversible. Apparently, that stimulus is not chronic...but damage to your thyroid (a complex organ and chemistry lab) may still exist at some state. That's how I interpret your lab tests.
Low (or near ) end of range of function in a sick population. It would be "fun" to look at ranges by decade in US. However, that would be difficult to do as newer tests are different and more accurate/sensitive (another reason to suspect hypothyroidism).
However, the most compelling are your symptoms.The drop in TPO interpreted as a very good sign suggesting the stimulus has attenuated.
WIND: as I am clearly impaired by whatever it is, I’ll keep the thyroid hypothesis active, especially since the symptoms seem very similar to those of my daughter, who absolutely has Hashimoto’s.
See also: What Does Elevated Anti-TPO Mean if Other Thyroid Markers are Normal?
Bill K writes:
Thanks for your ongoing commentary on various health related issues, we live in very strange times. My own curiosity with health related matters leads to various ‘alternative’ therapeutic approaches.
Recently I listened to a podcast with Regan Archibald, who runs EastWest Health in Salt Lake City. Like you, Regan has Hashimoto’s, which got him started on his quest for effective therapeutic treatments. EastWest specializes in regenerative medicine, including peptide therapies, which was the topic of the podcast. Specifically, there is strong evidence that peptide therapies are an effective treatment for Hashimoto’s.
I have no affiliation with EastWest, I’m just intrigued with regenerative medicine. Also enjoy the content on your website (including photography stuff). Who knows, maybe you’re already familiar with this clinic or perhaps it’s new information.
If you’re interested, their website is https://acueastwest.com/
WIND: maybe this will help someone. Like so many solutions out there, the time and energy and money required are always a big friction factor for me, and I’m sure for others too. I might or might not look into.
