In my medical practice, I make it a point to run a complete thyroid panel if my patients: present with symptoms suggestive of an over- or under-functioning thyroid gland, have a family history of thyroid disorder, or if they have recently given birth.
When assessing the health of a thyroid gland, it’s important to test all of the biomarkers involved in its function, not just one or two. Far too often my patients report their doctor will only test their TSH (and perhaps T4), or their doctor “doesn’t believe in monitoring thyroid antibodies.” They are often prescribed Synthroid which helps for a bit, but doesn’t really change things long term. They frequently report feeling dismissed or frustrated because they are told their TSH is “normal” yet they continue to feel unwell.
The problem with only testing TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) is that you are only assessing the function of the pituitary gland (which secretes TSH) – not the thyroid gland itself. You need to understand not only what the stimulating signal is to the thyroid gland, but what else might be at play. Is your thyroid responding to the signal and producing adequate T4 thyroid hormones? Is your T4 properly converting into sufficient amounts of T3? Are you converting your T4 into Reverse T3 which can cause a kink in thyroid hormone function? What about your thyroid antibodies? Are you making them? Is your immune system potentially attacking your thyroid hormones?
As you can see, thyroid function is complex so it’s important to measure each one of the thyroid biomarkers, so you can see whether a pattern of dysfunction is occurring.
Some of the most common symptoms of thyroid dysfunction include:
– Unexplained fatigue
– Weight gain
– Dry, brittle hair
– Constipation
– Low mood/depression
– Irregular menstrual cycles
– Brain fog
– Muscle fatigue and weakness
– Puffy face
– Sensitivity to cold
– Presence of thyroid nodules
– Sensation of a swollen throat
Lab:
Life Labs
Test Type:
Blood
Method:
In-lab blood draw
Turnaround Time:
Approx. 14 business days.
What’s measured:
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TSH
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Free T3
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Free T4
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Reverse T3
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Anti-thyroglobulin antibodies
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Thyroperoxidase antibodies (TPO)