[Tissy]

#1059017

Hello, I hope you don’t mind me popping up again and asking more questions

I have been pressing on with my blood test results and it seems that my T3, T4 all continue to fall within the ‘normal’ range. My TSH are very low, I think that means that my pituitary gland is definitely not requesting more thyroxine.

But I still feel so hypo, tired, slow, and yet sometimes nervous, dizzy and shaking. My eyelids are still itchy, my eyebrows seem to have given up growing.

I just wondered if anyone has any thoughts on antibodies and adrenals.

My last blood test for ‘Thyroid Peroxidase Antibody Level was 92 IU/ml. Does anyone know if this is high or low please? I have found a lot of info re other blood tests, but cannot find any info for the antibody level.

Also, regarding the Adrenals, has anyone had experience of these being affected by Graves Disease, and RAI.

I have an appointment coming up with an endocrinologist, and I want to prepare my questions in advance. Otherwise I know I will forget what I want to say and then regret it.

Many thanks to you all.

[Bobbi]

#1171587

Getting up a list of questions to ask the endo is a good thing.

While there may be antibodies that affect the adrenal glands, our antithyroid antibodies do not. Antibodies are very specific in the functions they have.

I am not sure how long you have been treated for your hyperthyroidism, but one thing you need to know is that just “getting to normal” levels of hormone does not make us feel instantly normal again. Our bodies took a beating while hyperthyroid, and it takes months AT normal levels of hormone for the body to heal.

If you are experiencing itchiness you might be having an allergic reaction to something. Itchy eyelids (along with general itching elsewhere) was one of the signs of a sulfa allergy that I had, which reproduced itself when I was accidentally given a different medicine that was in the sulfa family. Be sure to mention it to your doctor.

And the only way to tell whether or not that thyroid peroxidase antibody level was high or not, is to look at your actual lab test paper. They indicate on the report what the normal range is and whether a value falls outside the range, high or low. It’s not a bad idea to start a file of your test results: typically our doctors will make us a copy of our own to keep.

[Tissy]

#1171588

Thank you for your reply, Bobbi. Its actually some years since I had the RAI, and its only recently I have started to fight back a bit and really push for some help.

I feel if I don’t get myself sorted out now, then it might never happen. I also feel as if I am clutching at straws

I am sorry so many people are feeling this way, reading other threads has helped me understand its really not that simple.

Thanks again x

[Bobbi]

#1171589

I am sorry that you are feeling under par. But a word of caution. Just because we “have” Graves, it doesn’t mean that other things cannot go wrong in our bodies that have little or nothing to do with “thyroid.” If, however, we consult our doctors and insist that our thyroid levels “must be off” because of the way we are feeling, and the doctor checks those levels and finds they are OK, then the doctor’s thinking typically stops with the statement “It’s not your thyroid.” It is important to get the doctor’s problem solving mode back on track by then asking “Well then, what IS IT???” Or words to that effect.

An illustration. A year or so after my treatment for Graves, my digestion was “off.” Then I began having some abdominal pain. It was determined that I had gallbladder disease, and I had my gall bladder removed. I could not believe how much better I felt. There had been niggling “off” issues for months. Had I only been focussed on “thyroid,” I could have suffered longer before we found out about the problem.

So, it’s important to cast a wider net when we are not feeling well. It could be thyroid. That’s what I usually have my doctor look at first. It’s such an easy fix if whatever it is is caused by my thyroid levels. But if they are OK, we look for something else.

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