Anti-Thyroglobulin Test Price in Pakistan: Rs 980 at Marham Lab

An anti-thyroglobulin test looks for thyroglobulin antibodies in your blood. MedlinePlus explains that antibodies are proteins your immune system makes to fight germs, and that sometimes antibodies attack your own healthy tissue by mistake. Those are called autoantibodies. At Marham Lab this test costs Rs 980, reduced from Rs 1,400.

MedlinePlus is direct about this one: high levels of thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb) are a sign of Hashimoto's disease.

It describes Hashimoto's disease, also called Hashimoto's thyroiditis, as the most common cause of hypothyroidism, where your thyroid does not make enough thyroid hormone to meet your body's needs, causing many of your body's functions to slow down.

So this test does not tell you whether your thyroid is underactive. A [thyroid profile](/labs/tests/free-thyroid-test-price) does that. This test helps answer the next question: why.

Worth getting right, because booking the antibody test first is a common and expensive mistake.

MedlinePlus states your provider may use thyroid antibody tests if other tests have shown that you have hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. Those tests usually look for T3, T4 and TSH. If any of those come back too high or too low, your provider may then use antibody tests to see if an autoimmune disease is causing the problem.

In other words: hormones first, antibodies second.

MedlinePlus lists four different thyroid antibodies, each targeting a different protein that helps your thyroid make hormones.

• Thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOAb). High levels are a sign that Hashimoto's disease or Graves' disease is causing hypothyroidism
• Thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb). High levels are a sign of Hashimoto's disease
• Thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI). High levels are a sign that Graves' disease is causing the problem
• Thyrotropin receptor antibodies (TRAb). These can be a sign of Graves' disease

It notes your provider decides which tests to use based on your symptoms, the results of other tests, and your medical and family health histories. MedlinePlus also states that in Hashimoto's disease, most people have high levels of one or both of TPOAb and TgAb.

MedlinePlus singles this out. It states you may need thyroid antibody testing if you are pregnant and have thyroid disease or symptoms of thyroid disease. It explains that in pregnancy, thyroid disease can harm both you and your fetus, so it is important to get tested as soon as you know you are pregnant, and that medicines to treat thyroid disease are safe to take during pregnancy.

Given how often thyroid problems surface during pregnancy here, this is worth raising with your obstetrician rather than waiting.

MedlinePlus describes the results this way.

Negative, no thyroid antibodies found. This means your thyroid symptoms are probably not caused by an autoimmune disease.

Positive for TPOAb or TgAb. This may mean you have Hashimoto's disease. MedlinePlus notes most people with Hashimoto's have high levels of one or both.

Positive for TPOAb, TSI or TRAb. This may mean you have Graves' disease or Hashimoto's disease.

It adds a useful rule of thumb: the more thyroid antibodies you have, the more likely it is that you have an autoimmune disorder of the thyroid. And it closes on the reassuring part, that if you are diagnosed with Hashimoto's or Graves' disease, there are medicines you can take to manage your condition.

MedlinePlus notes you may also need thyroid antibody testing if you have had thyroid cancer treatment and your provider wants to see if the cancer comes back. This is because thyroglobulin antibodies interfere with [thyroglobulin testing](/labs/tests/thyroglobulin-test-price), which is the main marker used in that follow-up. See that page for how the two interact.