I silently suffered from Hashimotos for years before getting diagnosed. Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune disease of the thyroid. Why did it keep getting undiagnosed? Doctor after doctor, the wrong blood work was run. Regular CBC panels only tell you so much and even when my thyroid labs were ordered, my thyroid markers were checked, the only thing the doctors looked at was TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone). This is NOT enough to examine the complete health of your thyroid.
Why The Thyroid-stimulating Hormone Is Not A Thyroid Hormone Marker
TSH is actually the pituitary hormone that responds to the amount of thyroid hormones circulating. So again… TSH IS NOT YOUR THYROID HORMONE MARKER. It blows my mind that doctors still only check this. Yes, you CAN gather information about your thyroid if your TSH is high or low, but you can have completely normal TSH levels, but still have thyroid dysfunction and even an autoimmune disease of the thyroid.
Thyroid Hormone Markers
Thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPO Ab) and Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TG Ab) are the two markers that need to be checked for autoimmunity. People with Hashimoto’s will have one or both of these antibody markers elevated. In fact, these makers can often be elevated for YEARS before someone’s TSH levels ever change. So again… WHY are doctors only checking TSH?! Those with thyroid cancer may also have elevated antibody levels.
So what are your major thyroid hormone markers? Triiodothyronine (T3) and Thyroxine (T4). For lab purposes, Free T3 and Free T4 are the names when ordered. However, there are also Total T3 and Total T4 markers. T4 is actually a prohormone for T3, while T3 is the biologically active version of your thyroid hormones.
Reverse T3 and T3 Uptake are other thyroid makers that can provide valuable information about how your hormones are working.
Is A Thyroid Ultrasound Necessary?
A thyroid ultrasound is not necessary to start with or for routine thyroid check-ups. Usually, this is done if nodules are found and/or thyroid cancer needs to be ruled out.
6 Thyroid Hormone Markers You Should Check
Here’s a list of the main 6 markers that you should ask for to check your thyroid:
- TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone)
- Thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPO Antibodies)
- Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TG Antibodies)
- Free T3
- Free T4
- Reverse T3
What If Your Doctor Refuses To Order These Thyroid Labs
If your doctor refuses to order these for you… find another doctor! I also have the ability to order these panels for clients, so if you ever want to work together I can run a full thyroid panel including the following markers: TSH, Free T3, Free T4, Reverse T3, Total T3, T3 Uptake, Thyroglobulin Ab, and TPO Ab. We can also run individual markers.
Symptoms Indicating You Should Get Thyroid Labs
It’s important to take control of your life and health. If you suffer from a combination of the following, you may want to consider getting your thyroid markers ran:
- hair loss
- eyebrow hair loss
- puffy face
- slow heart rate
- constipation
- weight gain
- brittle nails,
- arthritis
- cold intolerance
- dry skin, fatigue
- forgetfulness
- infertility
- muscle aches
- heavy menstrual periods
- rapid heart beat
- heart palpitations
- excessive weight loss
- diarrhea
- tremors
- insomnia
- heat intolerance
- muscle weakness
- nervousness
- missed or light menstrual periods.
Make sure you are clear with your doctor as to which of these symptoms you are experiencing and follow up with the list of markers you would like them to run.
If you do suffer from any of these symptoms and figure out that it is hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, Hashimoto’s, or another thyroid disorder, don’t worry. I was able to reverse all of my symptoms naturally, and I help other people on their healing journey to do the same. Healing is possible. Don’t let people tell you that you will be stuck on medications for the rest of your life.
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