[Puzzle pieces] - Part 1: Thyroid Antibodies

Hello everyone,

The holidays are fast approaching. This is the last Sunday before Christmas Eve (where did time fly?), so this will be the last PCOS newsletter 2023. I will be in your inbox with some good wishes but I am not sure reading about PCOS is what you’d like to do over Christmas.

I will be in full planning mode for the following weeks. I want to make sure we develop The PCOS Newsletter in 2024 so it can help more women with PCOS. I would HIGHLY appreciate your feedback on the newsletter. Kindly fill out the 3 min survey below:

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In today’s newsletter, I would like to launch a new series: Puzzle Pieces 🧩. There is no secret in knowing that PCOS is largely an unknown condition. Anyone who tells you they know what caused your PCOS or why it’s happening they are lying. There is a lot of research and knowledge on PCOS, but no one has been able to pinpoint exactly why it happens and how to treat it. This is why it’s called a “syndrome”. The biggest shock of learning about medicine in my nutrition diploma is that we actually don’t know as much about our bodies as we think.

However, I see my own PCOS as a puzzle. I am collecting puzzle pieces through testing, reading research and practicing as a nutritionist with my clients. I have gathered a lot, but my puzzle is not complete. It might never be, but I am fully dedicated to unrevealing it. I have recently found a new puzzle piece.

The new puzzle piece

I have always thought that my PCOS is largely driven by insulin resistance, as I put on weight easily. However I have never gotten a bad glucose or insulin reading on my tests or through CGM. I have recently completed a new set of tests and this time, I got a more comprehensive thyroid pannel that included antibodies. To my surprise, my antithyroglobulin antibody levels were at approx 300 (normal ranges<100).

What are these antibodies?

Before we explain what the results mean, let’s need to understand some things:

Thyroglobulin = it’s a protein produced by the thyroid. It’s the most basic unit of our thyroid hormones. Combined with iodine, this protein transforms into T4 and T4 - our main thyroid hormone. We often test for these hormones.

Antibodies = Antibodies are proteins that our immune system makes to fight threats to the body such as viruses and bacteria. However, sometimes antibodies attack the healthy cells of our tissues and organs by mistake. This happens in auto-immune diseases.

Thyroglobulin antibodies = Our immune system registers thyroglobulin as a threat, so it starts attacking it, creating antibodies. This can be a sign of a number of thyroid Conditions, including Hashimoto’s disease, Grave’s disease and thyroid cancer.

Thyroglobulin antibodies can be detected in 30% of patients with Graves’ disease and 85% of patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

Do I have an autoimmune disease?

I don’t know yet. I am currently waiting for a referral to an endocrinologist for further testing. Part of me is super worried because the thought of having cancer or an auto-immune disease scares me. However, part of me is somehow relieved that I get to discover a new puzzle piece in my health, and if something is wrong, I trust that I caught it well in advance to treat it preventatively.

I am someone who is clearly anxious about my health. I lost my dad to lung cancer and I have been dealing with irregular periods since I was a teenager. This will forever be my push to learn about my body and my health in a lot of detail. It’s the reason why I write this newsletter, as I think we should all know more about our health and take care of it preventatively before it’s too late.

Are these antibodies common in PCOS?

In a recent meta-analysis, the prevalence of thyroid autoimmune diseases in PCOS was found in 315 (26.03%) out of 1210 PCOS women and in 96 (9.72%) out of 987 healthy controls. So, there is a higher prevalence.

A big question

We also know that hypothyroidism can cause irregular periods, as explained in this article. My big question is: do I have PCOS, or have I always had an autoimmune thyroid issue causing me symptoms👀?

I will keep you guys in the loop about how this will develop further. In the meantime, my advice is to keep investing in your health and discover your body further.

Have a lovely week!

Francesca

¹ Sources

1. Singla, R., Gupta, Y., Khemani, M., & Aggarwal, S. (2015). Thyroid disorders and polycystic ovary syndrome: An emerging relationship. Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism, 19(1), 25–29. https://doi.org/10.4103/2230-8210.146860

Ulrich, J., Goerges, J., Keck, C., Müller-Wieland, D., Diederich, S., & Janssen, O. (2018). Impact of autoimmune thyroiditis on reproductive and metabolic parameters in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome. Experimental and Clinical Endocrinology & Diabetes, 126(04), 198–204. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0043-110480