Contact to Mrs. Dr. Kathrin Hamann
April 11, 2014 | 35,00 EUR | answered by Dr. med. Frauke Gehring
Dear Dr. Hamann,
I had already contacted you through JustAnswer in November 2013 and received the initial information from you. On 9.4.2014, I was unable to reach you through JustAnswer. It was regarding the results of the scintigraphy showing active autoimmune thyroiditis of the Hashimoto type. On 19.03.2014, I had a baseline scintigraphy done. As I now know from your responses, the thyroid values should be monitored quarterly to detect the point at which hyperfunction turns into hypofunction - when the thyroid is burnt out. What should the values be at that point? I could fax you the results of the scintigraphies, as well as my previously determined thyroid values and the increase in the volume of the thyroid lobes since 2005, as I have not been taking hormone tablets since then. Thank you, Gisela Hub, via email ARCHITEKT-HUB@t-online.de, Tel 03493.81045 with answering machine or 03493.81034, Fax 03493.81078.
Dear Mrs. H.,
Allow me to respond to you, as my esteemed colleague is currently on vacation.
Sending a scintigram is not necessary because the activity of thyroiditis can be determined by the antibodies, and the timing of the transition from over to underfunction can be determined by the values of the thyroid hormones fT3 and fT4, as well as the TSH value.
The normal values for fT3 are 3.5 to 8.0 ng/l, for T4 0.8 - 1.8 ng/l, and for TSH 0.3 to 3.0 mU/l.
In case of underfunction, fT3 and fT4 levels drop below the norm, while TSH levels increase. You may notice this because you suddenly feel very weak and tired.
During the course of the disease, the thyroid gland tends to become smaller. While the acute inflammation with overfunction persists, it may be swollen, but as some cells are destroyed and scarred by the inflammation, the thyroid gland shrinks. The increase in volume is therefore more likely due to the inflammatory reaction, rather than the lack of medication.
Best regards,
Dr. Höllering, Specialist in Internal Medicine and General Medicine
