Thyroglobulin increase

Hi My husband has just had an increase in his Thyroglobulin levels. From 1.2 to a 4. He had RIA in February and levels were 1.2 on first visit to oncology. They saw him other day 3 months after initial consultation. They organised ultrasound, which was done following day. It’s worrying that they are acting so quick. Not complaining but this is how it was at initial diagnosis. Oncology did say maybe those levels are normal for him but in theory with no thyroid it shouldn’t be. Have you discussed your concerns with them? Perhaps it might be a good idea. They can hopefully tell you what’s going on. My husband had ultrasound and Dr said there were suspicious tissue and it’s up to Dr as to next step. So the worrying ramps up. Get in touch with oncology  and hope they can alleviate some of your worries. Hope all goes well. Take care xx

Thank you, 

I’m just wondering about my increase… and what can impact on Tg levels as I have never been zero. It has always been elevated and that was normal for me.

so now it’s gone from 2.7 to 3.9 however the 2.7 was from 4 years ago (that was my last stimulated test) my unstimulated has always been stable with some fluctuation.

I am having an ultrasound next week

but is there anything else that could cause the Tg to rise? They have always been happy with my TSH but I’m not sure of the readings. 

just really struggling at the minute 

Hi Honeylove. I’m sorry I can’t help with what can cause Tg levels to rise etc. We are new to this Cancer journey. It’s good they are doing an ultrasound. I know you will be worried, I get how you are feeling. Sorry you are struggling. McMillan have nurses on here you can ask questions. Perhaps give that a go. Personally am trying not to cross bridges before I get to them. Which is easier said than done. We were told only look on reputable sights for information such as cancer research, McMillan.  I hope your ultrasound goes well. Please reach out for help in some form. There is also an organisation called the butterfly trust, who support people with thyroid cancer.. Wish I could be of more help to you. Take care and all the best  xxx

Thyroglobulin is only produced by thyroid cells. Its presence in your blood test simply means that there are still thyroid cells in your body. It doesn't mean you still have cancer. Healthy thyroid cells produce thyrglobulin. So do thyroid cancer cells. 

Stimulation with thyrogen (or natural hypo by drug withdrawal) makes any thyroid cells go into over-drive to create thyroglobulin. 

If the test was stimulated both times then the levels are really pretty tiny and the difference might not be significant. 

Did you also have a TSH reading taken both times? It could be that if the TSH was higher the second time, you were effectively MORE stimulated and that lead to a higher Tgreading. 

Thank you Barbara, helpful and reassuring as always. 
if it is a recurrence, can it still be cured? 

Also do you happen to know anything about biotin? My hair has been falling out for a couple of months now at an alarming rate and have been recommended biotin by Holland and Barrett but I have heard this can have an impact on levels? 
thank you again 

IF it's a recurrence, it's a very tiny one and it's quite possible that another dose of RAI will knock it into submission. 
I

I don't know anything about biotin but a quick google suggests it could interact when used at high levels - but no indications of what constitutes 'high'.
I would suggest to get a recommendation from a doctor rather than somebody in Holland and Barrett. It may be other things causing the problem that could show up on a blood test and avoid you going down the wrong route. 

Thank you, I just keep worrying about if it is… that it won’t be cured. Although I do see that some people do have more than one RAI. Sorry for the questions 

I am a bit edgy about using the word 'cured'.

I'm 12 years post-treatment and I never use that about myself even though there's never been any sign of recurrence.

Let's just say I always feel it's tempting fate because every one of us COULD get a recurrence, maybe even decades later. Most of us won't, but that's why we are monitored for the rest of our lives.

Let's just say, there's no reason to think that you won't have a long and healthy life even if you get a recurrence and that RAI is a fantastic weapon to keep us all going strong for the rest of our lives.