Can hypothyroidism still be Hashimoto's if antibody tests were normal?

[Lottiefranks]

Hi,

Ive been diagnosed with hypothyroidism for 5 years now - it was detected because of symptoms I was experiencing and blood test confirming high TSH. I was put on levothyroxine. I had antibody testing at the time which came back normal so I assumed this meant I did not have Hashimotos. Autoimmune conditions are present in my immediate family. Type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis etc so I was surprised there were no antibodies.

I've since realised through researching that just because antibodies are not present doesn’t necessarily rule out Hashimotos - has anyone else experienced this, how did you get the root cause of your hypothyroidism diagnosed?

Any advice or details of others experience with this condition is greatly appreciated. Mine is fairly well managed with medication but I have wild dips and flares and would like to understand it better - GP isn’t interested.

I’m interested as to why you think the root cause is important, OP. Unless you suspect that there is another problem too: do you?

Surely the main (only) issue is that you don’t produce thyroid hormone and thus you are taking levothyroxine - this is the solution no matter what the medical cause.

Well i guess it’s like anything wrong in your body - if you had pain, you’d want to know the cause. This is similar in that I get these flare ups and I’d like to know why since I take medication that stabilises everything - I know flare ups can be common with autoimmune conditions, hashimotos in particular.

I don't know the answer to your specific question, but in response to you wanting to know more about it - I have found the British Thyroid Foundation helpful. They have an email helpline for members.

I think it’s really important to know. Hashimotos can be put into remission (I haven’t quite managed this yet ). I have noticed that certain foods make flare ups worse though, so have cut out gluten, dairy and soy, which has made a huge difference.

Never heard of this before (& I’ve had Hashi’s for over 15 years).

Pain is a sign that something is wrong and needs investigating so it can be cured / otherwise fixed.
Low thyroxine is as a result of the broken something.

In my experience, the Dr will tell you nothing about the Hashimotos, and will only treat with Levo, so I did a lot of research.

That’s why I think it’s important to know what causes your hypothyroidism, so you can take steps to help yourself.

I think if you want to know more you will need to see an endocrinologist and that will likely have to be done privately as the chances of getting referred on the NHS is probably slim to nil .

Genuinely, I believe that the only effect of Hashi antibodies is to destroy the thyroid gland. Hence, prevent it from producing the only hormone that it makes. So I stick with my view, there’s not much to be gained by a probably slow & expensive investing. However if you prove me wrong then please share your findings!