How can I lower my antibodies? - Question and Answer Forum - Elaine Moore Graves' Disease and Autoimmune Disease Education

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Saturday, April 07, 2012

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Welcome to The Q&A with Elaine Moore. Registered members are invited to ask any question of Elaine Moore on autoimmune diseases, Graves' disease, other thyroid diseases and subconditions, laboratory work, traditional and complementary medicine, triggers and environmental influences, thyroid and immune disorders in pets and animals, and other relevant areas of inquiry.

Each thread represents one question with one answer and will only appear at the time it is answered. Once answered, further replies cannot be made to the same thread since each thread represents only one question. A new thread will need to be started for additional questions.

Questions are answered solely by Elaine Moore, a medical writer and clinical laboratory scientist, MT, CLS, with more than 30 years of experience in immunology. Moore has also authored and edited over a dozen books in the area of health sciences and is an editor for McFarland Publisher's Health Topics Series.

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How can I lower my antibodies?

2/27/2012 11:27 PM

Jane

Joined: 6/14/2011

Posts: 12

How can I lower my antibodies?

Hi Elaine

A massive thank you for your last reply, and I have to say I really would love to send you a massive bouquet of flowers for all the help you give everyone, including me!

Well, I have just found out my latest TRAB results and am a bit disappointed. Just to remind you... I was hypo for 4 yrs, then went hyper with TRAB antibodies of 400, came off thyroxine and went to eurothyroid and then hypo again. Now I have a TSH of around 3. We are increasing my levothryoxine dose to try and get it nearer 1 in a hope that it will help my congestive TED.

My TED is just getting worse, 18 months after first appearing. My last appointment with the eye doc this week shows protrusion becoming a lot more obvious and my eyes just feel like they are going to fall out. It's getting really ugly and scary now.

What I would like to know is what on earth can I do to help the antibodies. Its the weirdest thing because I am actually so hypo and yet its the graves antibodies that are causing a nightmare. It's like my thyroid is hashimotos and my eyes are graves, I worry that that the thyroid replacement is stimulating them!

My TRAB levels have been over the last 18 months - 400, then 150, then 58, then 38 about 6 months ago and now 31 !! So it's gone down just 7 in approx 4 - 6 months. I was happy when it came down from hundreds in the space of months and yet now its hardly moving. Do you know why this is and what can I do to help??? I am so desperate now.

I have quit work to avoid stress, I am walking 30 mins everyday now, taking I don't know what vitamins, havent had any vaccinations (though I did have an operation for an ovarian cyst 4 weeks ago). I dont know what more I can do. Although my opthamologist has given me Nasonex and said this can help as its got steroids in. I would love your thoughts on Nasonex and whether it works and how much I should use, as well as advise on why the antibodies have slowed down so much. Does this normally happen??

Look forward to your thoughts as always.

2/28/2012 6:16 PM

Elaine

Joined: 8/1/2008

Posts: 3374

Re: How can I lower my antibodies?

Hi Jane,

Thanks for your kind words. The problem here is that having high levels of both stimulating and blocking TRAb increases the risk of developing TED. You're doing all the right things to lower your thyroid antibodies, and Nasonex can help because of its mild system corticosteroid effect.

Make sure you're taking adequate selenium (200-400 mcg daily) and ask your doctor about adding low dose naltrexone. It seems to work well for people with TED. B vitamins and flaxseed oil also help, and be sure that you're avoiding sugar (promotes inflammation) and aspartame and processed foods.

Some doctors have successfully treated TED with a block and replace approach using methimazole to suppress the immune system and reduce antibodies along with thyroid replacement hormone to keep thyroid hormone levels adequate. Good luck, Elaine

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How can I lower my antibodies?

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