What if I have thyroid antibodies but normal thyroid hormone levels?
Have you been told your thyroid levels are normal, but you have elevated thyroid antibodies? This is not an unusual occurrence, particularly in the early stages of thyroid disease. Let’s take a look at what it means when you have thyroid antibodies and what to do about it.
A quick note on normal thyroid hormone levels
Firstly, we need to talk about normal thyroid levels. When your GP tells you that your thyroid is fine, they might be basing that solely off a TSH level that is within range. But TSH is not even a thyroid hormone - it’s the hormone your brain produces to stimulate the thyroid.
TSH alone is not an accurate metric of how well or poorly your thyroid is functioning. Someone can have normal TSH, but an imbalance of T4, T3 and/or reverse T3. It also doesn’t take into account issues such as cellular hypothyroidism.
I hope that your doctor is getting a full thyroid panel before judging your thyroid function - but if they haven’t done so, we cannot rule out thyroid dysfunction just yet.
Why do I have elevated thyroid antibodies?
Whether your thyroid hormone levels are low, high, or normal - thyroid antibodies equal autoimmune processes.
Something has triggered your immune system to see thyroid tissue as a threat, and it has created antibodies to destroy it as a protective mechanism.
There are 3 main antibodies that we will see in relation to thyroid disease and dysfunction:
Anti-thyroid peroxidase or TPOAb (seen in Hashimoto’s)
Anti-thyroglobulin antibody or TgAb (seen in both Hashimoto’s and Graves’)
TSH receptor antibodies or TrAb (seen in Graves’)
If you have a high level of one or more of these antibodies, you have autoimmunity related to the thyroid.
The ‘watch and wait’ approach doesn’t work with autoimmunity!
Sometimes, doctors will see an abnormal thyroid result, and then ‘wait and see’ for a 3 month period to see if it’s transient.
This might be of merit if you’ve had a sudden change that could temporarily affect your thyroid function such as:
Severe stress
Pregnancy
Acute illness
Malnutrition e.g. low iodine
A big shift in your diet or lifestyle
Surgery to the neck area e.g. throat surgery
But what it doesn’t work for is autoimmunity. Autoimmune processes don’t just vanish by themselves -we need to take specific steps to calm the immune system and prevent further damage from occurring.
What should I do if I have thyroid antibodies?
There are a few simple steps to take here:
Educate yourself on the condition behind your antibodies
Whether you have Graves’ or Hashimoto’s, start reading up on what they mean and how they affect the body. I’ve already got plenty of resources on the blog for both conditions, so feel free to have a browse!
Learn what flares you
You might not have abnormal thyroid hormone levels yet, but you will likely be experiencing symptoms already. Autoimmune conditions tend to have flare-ups in symptoms. But the earlier that you learn what flares you, the sooner you can avoid your triggers and manage your flares more effectively.
Start working on the underlying causes
Autoimmunity doesn’t just appear out of nowhere. You need a combination of a genetic predisposition (the gun) and at least one environmental factor (the trigger pull).
You can learn more about how to do that for Hashimoto’s here, and Graves’ here.
Seek support from an experienced practitioner
Unfortunately, not all practitioners understand autoimmune thyroid conditions. So if you have one, you want to make sure you work alongside someone who is qualified but also has experience working with Hashimoto’s or Graves’ disease.
Looking to learn more about your thyroid condition?
Make sure you grab a copy of one of my ebooks for plenty of actionable content and helpful advice! If you have hyperthyroidism or Graves’, check out this ebook here. If you have hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s, this is the ebook for you.