[Carito71]

#1059157

Hello. I’m new here. I left a message about my thyroid situation in another message if you would like to read more details.

As for right now, I wanted to ask you, what are your TSI #s? What do does the #s mean?

I went to the ER on June 8th because I was having tachycardia and was feeling very sick. Well, it turned out it was my thyroid. I was told I have hyperthyroidism.

At the ER they tested my TSI #. The paper they gave me says:
Thyroid-Stimulating Immunoglob, 4.5 H TSI index < EQ 1.3 On the 14th I had an appointment with the Endocrinologist. He ordered a TSI test. This time the result said: Value 237 Reference Range 0-139% I’m confused about the results. Can anyone help me? Did the # get better? Are the #s really high? The Dr. sent me the printed results but did not give me any other information. Thank you for reading me and for your help.
Carol

[Kimberly]

#1172598

Hello – We’re not docs here, so we aren’t qualified to interpret labs. However, keep in mind that the antibodies in Graves’ have a fairly long “shelf life”, so it’s generally not considered helpful to do antibody testing in short intervals. (My own doc only tests antibodies once or twice a year).

In your case, the ER was obviously using a different lab (due to the different reference ranges), and your doc probably wanted a baseline test from the lab that he/she regularly uses. This will be the number that you’ll want to compare to future tests.

[Carito71]

#1172599

Thank you for your response Kimberly. I know … no Dr.s here

I didn’t know they had a long “shelf life”. That is good to know. I was getting worried that he hadn’t asked for a TSI test 5 weeks from now. 5 weeks from now I have labs again for TSH, FT3, FT4.

Yes, the ER used a Mayo lab and the Dr. used LabCorp. 4.5 and 237 sure are two different #s. I was hoping the # differences meant that the TSI had decreased . . . but they were taken 1 week apart.

Does TSI only increase with GD? How high can it get? I wonder what it means when the TSI is in the normal range of 0-139.

I had a TPOab done one year ago by a RE and it too was high … 800 something. All the RE told me was to test my thyroid periodically because at that time my TSH was normal. So in Feb I asked my OB/GYN to test me. Once again … normal TSH. Little did I know I would be stuck here today.

Thank you again,
Caro

[Kimberly]

#1172600

Hello – Antibody levels can fluctuate for reasons that aren’t well understood, although they *can* decrease. In fact, the latest medical guidelines recommend testing antibody levels prior to taking a patient off anti-thyroid drugs, as patients with low levels of antibodies have the best chance of remission.

A “normal” cutoff is determined by looking at test results from a sample of patients who do or don’t have Graves’.

I don’t know just how high the values can go…mine have been as high as the 400s.

Hope this helps!

[Carito71]

#1172601

Hello Kimberly

Thank you for replying back and sharing your # with me. I’m so glad you told me about the TSI and remission. My Dr. has prescribed the Methimazole for 6 weeks and then he wants me to stop it. At that point he wants to do labs for TSH, FT3 and FT4 but no TSI …. probably b/c of what you shared with me before about the TSI not changing that fast.

I think I’ll call the Mayo Clinic Labs to see what the 4.5 means in my results. I was thinking that the “index < EQ 1.3" might mean 130%. If that is the case then the 4.5 might mean 450% The only thing is that if that is the case, how can it be 237 a week later?

Thank you!
Caro

[Kimberly]

#1172602

Carito71 wrote:

Hello Kimberly

The only thing is that if that is the case, how can it be 237 a week later?

Thank you!
Caro

Hi Caro – I’m not a doc and can’t speculate on why this change might have occurred. Your doctor might have some suggestions, but I don’t believe he/she will even be able to tell you for sure. Antibody level fluctuations just aren’t well understood at this point.

Take care!

[Carito71]

#1172603

Thank you Kimberly. It is definitely an area that should be researched We’ll see what my Dr. says on Mond. I was thinking last night that there wouldn’t it be nice if there was a Rx that could block the TSI. Maybe one day in the future

Caro

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