Thyroid Antibodies

What is a blog for if not to bore people to death?
At least you can leave if the topic looks deathly dull.

So today we are going to attempt to talk about thyroid antibodies. In autoimmune thyroid disorders, there are antibodies that attack the thyroid.
(I believe this is what happens in other autoimmune disorders, where the antibodies attack the joints as in Rheumatoid Arthritis or the nerves as in MS)

There are several different antibodies that attack the thyroid.
In Graves disease it is called Thyroid Stimulating Immunsomthing or TSI. This antibody takes the place of the thyroid stimulating hormone TSH and makes you hyperthyroid.
Apparently there are both stimulating and blocking antibodies in Graves, but I won't get into that.

I'm less familiar with Hashimoto's, having thought all this time that I had Graves in and out of remission or something.

The antibodies in Hashi's directly attack the proteins in the gland, causing gradual destruction of the gland. Many people with Hashi's are hypo, and most will become so. In some, the destruction of the cells causes them to spill out excess hormone, making them hyper. This is called Hashitoxicosis. And it tends to be cyclical in those that have it. Meaning that you will go from being hyper to being hypo and back again, as the follicles that are typical of Hashi's spill hormone and then die.

Still waiting on my labs from Monday to see which antibodies I have and which disease. It is possible to have all the antibodies and have both Graves and Hashimotos.
What fun!