Hi KK,

If you're hyperthyroid and have thyroid antibodies, you have Graves' disease, which is autoimmune hyperthyroidism.

If without medication, you're hypothyroid and have thyroid antibodies you'd have Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Some doctors get confused by the antibodies. Long ago, labs thought that TPO and thyroglobulin antibodies were only seen in Hashimoto's. Now we know that they occur in as many as 70-90% of people with Graves' disease. Still, doctors get confused by this.

The uptake test is no longer considered necessary or reliable for that matter. Here, the patient is given radioiodine orally and hours later the amount of radioiodine taken up by the gland is measured and the gland is scanned to see how the radioiodine was distributed. Many, many factors influence this test, including diet. If you've been on meds in the last month, the test won't be accurate. The scan can show if you have nodules but an ultrasound would be a better method as it doesn't expose you to radioiodine.

Your best diagnostic tools are FT4, FT3, and TSH, which tell your thyroid status and tests for TSI antibodies, which are the cause of Graves' disease. Best, Elaine