Thyroid Peroxidase AB 38

[HiItsMeSandy]

Thyroid Peroxidase AB measured at 38. The doc said they wanted to see less than 35. 8 weeks ago they were 24. All my other thyroid tests measured fine. They measured my Thyroid Peroxidase AB because I have developed chronic hives. My doctor said that a 38 was clinically insignificant. Is it? Can the antibodies vary from day to day?

[tanyalynn]

You had this tested because you're having health problems, right? If it were me, I'd assume it's somehow involved in my overall health.

I didn't have elevated antibodies when I was tested several years ago, in retrospect I'm not sure if they could've been elevated earlier, because by that time I'd been supplementing with selenium for several months. Google for a study on selenium and thyroid antibodies, 200 mcg is the amount they used in the study, and they didn't even use the best form of selenium available.

Some people also have good results with eliminating gluten, gluten sensitivity (celiac or not) and autoimmune things seem to co-exist quite a bit. And in general, gluten intolerance/allergy/sensitivity can cause a wide variety of symptoms.

[JaneS]

Do the hives look like Dermatitis Herpetiformis? http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/wh...atitisHerp.htm

If so I would get tested for celiac disease:
http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/di...agnosis.htm#s4

The reason why anti-tpo antibodies and gluten is correlated is that the gluten protein is similar to the thyroid protein. If the body has decided to attack gluten, it will also mistakenly attack the thyroid. So going gluten free will likely calm down the attack and prevent progression of the disease.

I've also recently read that high ingestion of fluoride is implicated in the development of autoimmune thyroiditis (aka Hashimoto's disease).

Even in the presence of "normal" lab tests... what are your test numbers?....elevated antibodies can still cause problems. In one Italian study, women with "normal" lab numbers and elevated antibodies showed higher m/c and infertility.
http://www.thyroidscience.com/

And for the record, my research is showing that "normal" lab test values don't mean very much because they do not reveal all that can occur in the various steps of thyroid hormone function or dysfunction. Physical symptoms are key.