Thyroid antibodies

[LisaG]

It's a soapbox moment I'm starting to feel like Chicken Little but instead of "the sky is falling, the sky is falling!", it's "get your thyroid antibodies checked!"

Just heard this story about a woman beginning her 2nd IVF. She had had her thyroid levels checked and her TSH was 2.5 - well within normal range, although some studies have shown improved fertility with levels around 1.0. After her first failed IVF she requested to have her antibodies checked. They were at 200 (over 39 is high). Normal TSH, very high antibodies. So any doc who says you shouldn't check your antibodies if your TSH is normal is full of cr*p!

And they still opted to go ahead with her IVF, hoping that medication would bring the levels down.

Also know that high thyroid antibodies increases your risk of miscarriage - one more reason to have them checked.

I am now stepping off of my soapbox

[Stacymom]

This is really good info.

I just had my blood drawn for thyroid levels and prolactin last week, and should find out results early this week. Do they automatically test for antibodies, or do I have to ask for it?

[LisaG]

Nothing's automatic - most frequently when testing the thyroid they'll order TSH levels, maybe T3 and T4 as well. Checking for antibodies doesn't seem to be as routine. Not sure why.

Hopefully they did it with your bloodwork

[airmide_m]

LisaG thank you for bringing this up! Thyroid is one of my top soapbox issues too! I don't have a ton of time to write everything out now but I wanted to make a few more suggestions and add some more info.

Not only can being hypothyroid especially with antibodies cause miscarriage, it is also known to cause birth defects and low IQ. Babies can also be born hypothyroid if they don't get enough support from their mother's thyroid while in the womb.

And of course being hypothyroid (or hyper though I know less about that) and especially any type of hypothyroid with antibodies (like Hashimoto's) can cause infertility. Thyroid issues very often go hand in hand with a lot of other health issues, especially adrenal fatigue and hormone imbalances.

A great patient-led site to learn a lot about thyroid is www.stopthethyroidmadness.com also you can go to www.yahoogroups.com and do a search for Natural Thyroid Hormones and there are people there who are very knowledgable and can help you interpret symptoms, test results and all sorts of other stuff.

Armour thyroid or other forms of natural thyroid are by FAR the best! They have zero side effects and supply the body with exactly what it needs. It is 100% natural, not like having to take a "medication" every day. Synthroid only contains t4 and a LOT of people have trouble converting stored t4 to active t3. Armour also contains trace amounts of t1, t2 and calcitonin, which helps prevent bone loss and helps your body absorb everything you need.

Especially for women who plan to become pregnant I believe Armour is the most important. I was vegetarian when I started Armour and it was a difficult decision for me, but I researched and firmly believe it is the healthiest option for both mother and (to me, more importantly) baby. Do a google search for "synthroid" or whatever name brand of synthetic thyroid medication and the word "miscarriage"...I did and got TONS of hits. I then searched "Armour miscarriage" and the only hits I got were of women saying they'd had miscarriages before getting on Armour and had healthy pregnancies since.

When looking for a doctor, it's important to find one who will prescribe Armour (and if you can't find one there are other options too) and also who will treat mostly by symptoms. When you have antibodies TSH is useless because it can bounce back and forth wildly. TSH is a pituitary hormone that actually measures how much thyroid hormone your body is *asking* for, not how much it *has*. So if you give your body what it needs by taking Armoud or a natural medication it will not need to ask for more and will of course be surpressed. The real guides for knowing when you're on an optimal dose are symptoms, and also Free T3 (check with the naturalthyroidhormones group, they know a LOT more about dosing by tests and symptoms than I do)

It may take some trial and error to find a great doctor but there are a lot of places to look. If you join the Naturalthyroidhormones list there is a document in the FILES section with lists of good doctors in lots of areas. You can also google Top Thyroid Doctors to find another list, check the diagnos-techs website for lists of doctors who do saliva testing for hormones and adrenals (it's most accurate for those, while blood is usually most accurate for thyroid) because those docs are more likely to prescribe bio-identical hormones and natural thyroid. You can call your local pharmacy and ask which docs prescribe Armour, or call your local compounding pharmacy (you can find a link by googling compound pharmacy) and ask them who prescribes Armour and/or bio-identical hormones. You can also check Armour's main website for docs who will prescribe it.

And you can google Canary Club and find a link to a website that has discounted saliva tests for hormones and adrenals, and go to www.healtcheckusa.com and order your own thyroid and lots of other blood tests. The only drawback with that is that most insurance will not pay if you order it yourself, but if you can't find a doctor and really want answers it can be worth the money.

I think that's about all for now, maybe I'll think of other stuff later and please feel free to contact me if you want to talk one-on-one. My PM box is usually full so email me at [e-mail]

[blueyezz4]

Airmide,
Wow, that is a lot of good info. Thanks for sharing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!