Women's Guide to Thyroid Health by Kathryn Simpson

Author:Kathryn Simpson
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781608826902
Publisher: New Harbinger Publications
Published: 2009-01-02T16:00:00+00:00

Thyroid Antibody Tests

Simple blood tests are available to test to see if your immune system is producing antibodies that may be attacking your thyroid as if it were a foreign invader, which can impair its function. Several different types of thyroid antibodies should be measured if you have symptoms of thyroid dysfunction: thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb), and thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOAb), are implicated in hypothyroidism. For hyperthyroidism, on the other hand, it’s important to also test for TSH receptor antibodies (TRAb), which are implicated in Graves’ disease.

There is some controversy surrounding thyroid antibodies, as a small percentage of people who have them don’t develop symptoms of thyroid dysfunction. Because of this, some doctors don’t believe in testing for them. However, the great majority of women with antibodies do experience symptoms eventually. If you test positive for thyroid antibodies, this fact should definitely be taken into consideration when deciding if treatment is necessary.

Further confounding the issue are recent studies showing that blood tests sometimes fail to detect autoimmune hypothyroidism. One Swedish study looked at people with symptoms of hypothyroidism but “normal” blood tests for TSH, thyroid hormones, and thyroid antibodies. Small samples of thyroid tissue (taken with a needle) showed evidence of autoimmune thyroid disease in the tissues of many of the subjects (Wikland 2008a, 2008b; Sandberg 2008). This suggests that symptoms may be a more accurate indicator of thyroid dysfunction than lab tests in some cases of hypothyroidism.

Thyroid hormone therapy is helpful in reducing autoimmune antibody activity, as it lowers the need for the thyroid to make thyroid hormones. The decrease in autoimmune activity reduces inflammation in the thyroid gland. Plus, the supplemental thyroid hormones will help stimulate a higher rate of metabolic activity.

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