Diagnosing Graves without TSI--Cindy

[Guest guest]

Hi Cindy,

As far as I know, without the proper antibody test, diagnosing Graves' is just

an educated guess (the most likely diagnosis). My endo diagnosed me based on a

more general antibody test and the fact that my levels were hyper. There are

also " signs " of Graves' patients, but I suspect they relate more to being

hyperthyroid in general (velvety skin, quick movements, etc.) And as Elaine

pointed out, even having thyroid eye disease, as in my case, doesn't rule out

other problems.

My endo also adheres to the theory that if you stop the meds and your thyroid

levels stay in normal range, you're in remission. Unfortunately, the fact that

there can be both stimulating and blocking TSH receptor antibodies involved

makes this incorrect too, although it may work for some people.

Although my young endo doesn't believe in TSI testing, it seems to me that

you're relying on chance to do without it.

Best wishes

B.

From: Ken & Cindy DeVries

To: graves_support

Sent: Friday, November 14, 2003 1:23 PM

Subject: Re: Need some advice on treatment for TED

can they tell that you have graves if they have never tested TSI?