How To Know If Your Thyroid Is
Working Properly With Blood Tests
A recent
study showed that nearly 13 million Americans may be unaware of and
undiagnosed for their thyroid conditions. Are you one of them? Another
study showed that if you are a pregnant woman and you have a low
thyroid your child's IQ will be affected. Yet another
recent study showed that if you an elderly woman with thyroid problems
you will have an increased risk of heart disease
The big myth that persists regarding thyroid
diagnosis is that an elevated TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) level is
always required before a diagnosis of hypothyroidism can be made.
Normally, the pituitary gland will secrete TSH in response to a low
thyroid hormone level. Thus an elevated TSH
level would typically suggest an underactive thyroid.
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Click
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About.com.
Your Doctor Does Not Likely
Understand How To Interpret Your Tests Properly
Thyroid function tests have always presented doctors
with difficulties in their interpretation. Laboratory testing is often
misleading due to the complexity and inherent shortcomings of the tests
themselves. Many doctors not having an adequate understanding of what the
test results mean, will often make incorrect assumptions based on them or
interpret them too strictly. A narrow interpretation of thyroid function
testing leads to many people not being treated for subclinical
hypothyroidism.
Old
Laboratory Tests Unreliable
Most all older thyroid function panels include the
following:
- Total T4
- T3
Uptake and
- Free Thyroxine Index (FTI).
These tests should be abandoned because they are
unreliable as gauges of thyroid function. The most common traditional way
to diagnose hypothyroidism is with a TSH that is elevated beyond the
normal reference range. For most labs, this is about 4.0 to 4.5. This is
thought to reflect the pituitary's sensing of inadequate thyroid hormone
levels in the blood which would be consistent with hypothyroidism. There
is no question that this will diagnose hypothyroidism, but it is far too
insensitive a measure, and the vast majority of patients who have
hypothyroidism will be missed.
Basal Body
Temperature
Basal
body temperature popularized by the late Broda Barnes, M.D. He found
the clinical symptoms and the body temperature to be more reliable than
the standard laboratory tests was provided. This is clearly better than
using the standard tests. However there are problems with using body
temperature.
- Sleeping under electric blankets or water beds
falsely raise temperature
- Sensitive and accurate thermometer required
- Inconvenient and many people will not do (poor
compliance)
New and More Accurate Way To Check for
Hypothyroidism
This revised method of diagnosing and treating
hypothyroidism seems superior to the temperature regulation method
promoted by Broda Barnes and many natural medicine physicians. Most
patients continue to have classic hypothyroid symptoms because excessive
reliance is placed on the TSH.
This test is a highly-accurate measure of TSH but not of the height of
thyroid hormone levels.
New Range
for TSH
to Diagnose Hypothyroidism
The basic problem that traditional medicine has with
diagnosing hypothyroidism is the so-called "normal range" of TSH
is far too high: Many patients with TSH's of greater than 2.0 (not 4.5)
have classic symptoms and signs of hypothyroidism (see below).
- So, if your TSH is
above 2.0 there is a strong chance
your thyroid gland is not working properly.
Free
Thyroid Hormone Levels
One can also use the Free T3
and Free T4
and TSH levels to help one identify how well the thyroid gland is
working. Free T3 and Free T4 levels are the only accurate measure of the
actual active thyroid hormone levels in the blood.
When one uses free hormone levels one will find that
it is relatively common to find the Free T4 and Free T3 hormone levels
below normal when TSH is in its normal range, even in the low end of its
normal range. When patients with these lab values are treated, one
typically finds tremendous improvement in the patient, and a reduction of
the classic hypothyroid symptoms.
Secondary
or Tertiary Hypothyroidism
There are a significant number of individuals who
have a TSH even below the new 1.5 reference range mentioned above, but
their Free T3 (and possibly the Free T4 as well) will be below normal.
These are cases of secondary or tertiary hypothyroidism, so, TSH alone is
not an accurate test of all forms of hypothyroidism, only primary
hypothyroidism.
Symptoms of
Low Thyroid
- The most common is fatigue.
- Skin can become dry, cold, rough and scaly.
- Hair becomes coarse, brittle and grows slowly or
may fall out excessively.
- Sensitivity to cold with feelings of being chilly
in rooms of normal temperature.
- Difficult for a person to sweat and their
perspiration may be decreased or even absent even during heavy
exercise and hot weather.
- Constipation that is resistant to magnesium
supplementation and other mild laxatives is also another common
symptom.
- Difficulty in losing weight despite rigid
adherence to a low grain diet seems to be a common finding especially
in women.
- Depression and muscle weakness are other common
symptoms.
Treatment
of Hypothyroidism
You can click
here for an article on how you can treat your thyroid problem with
natural hormone therapy.
If you find this information
helpful click here
to subscribe to the FREE weekly newsletter so you will get all the
updates.
If you are interested in a more comprehensive
articles directed towards health care professionals click
here. Also available is an excellent
text book article on thyroid testing for those with more technical
interests.
Mary Shomon is the www.about.com thyroid expert. Her
$11 352 page book published in March of 2000 is one of the most cost
effective and valuable resources that you could own on this subject. If
you have thyroid disease this book should be in your library.
Click
here to Purchase: Living Well With Hypothyroidism
The Los Angeles Times wrote: March 27, 2000
"Hypothyroidism is a common, very treatable disorder that is also
poorly managed by doctors. In this first-rate book by Mary Shomon...the
disorder, its myths, and medicine's successes and failures at dealing with
it are thoroughly examined. This is not a book that rehashes old facts on
thyroid disease. Shomon instead challenges patients and their doctors to
look deeper and try harder to resolve the complicated symptoms of
hypothyroidism...In a fascinating chapter, Shomon, who also has a
Web site and an online newsletter about the disease, explores recent
evidence that the addition of the thyroid hormone T3 to the standard T4 (levothyroxine)
may help some people feel better. In addition, the section on babies born
with hypothyroidism, although brief, has the best advice on how to give
medication to an infant that I've seen. As Shomon writes: 'or years,
thyroid problems have been downplayed, misunderstood and portrayed as
unimportant.' With her advocacy, perhaps no more." --Shari Roan
Dr. John Lowe, author of "Speeding Up to
Normal" wrote:
Mary Shomon is the harbinger of the latest
scientifically-sound information on hypothyroidism. With keen intellect,
loyalty to truth, and plain language, she sweeps away the medical dogma
that bars millions of patients from rational thyroid hormone therapies. In
this book, she describes practical thyroid therapies that can improve
patients' health and extend their lives. The book is vital for hypothyroid
patients who want to get well, and for physicians who want to help them do
so.
Shomon is the www.about.com thyroid expert. Her $11
352 page book published in March of 2000 is one of the most cost effective
and valuable resources that you could own on this subject. If you have
thyroid disease this book should be in your library.
Click
here to Purchase: Living Well With Hypothyroidism
The Los Angeles Times wrote: March 27, 2000
"Hypothyroidism is a common, very treatable disorder that is also
poorly managed by doctors. In this first-rate book by Mary Shomon...the
disorder, its myths, and medicine's successes and failures at dealing with
it are thoroughly examined. This is not a book that rehashes old facts on
thyroid disease. Shomon instead challenges patients and their doctors to
look deeper and try harder to resolve the complicated symptoms of
hypothyroidism...In a fascinating chapter, Shomon, who also has a
Web site and an online newsletter about the disease, explores recent
evidence that the addition of the thyroid hormone T3 to the standard T4 (levothyroxine)
may help some people feel better. In addition, the section on babies born
with hypothyroidism, although brief, has the best advice on how to give
medication to an infant that I've seen. As Shomon writes: 'or years,
thyroid problems have been downplayed, misunderstood and portrayed as
unimportant.' With her advocacy, perhaps no more." --Shari Roan
Dr. John Lowe, author of "Speeding Up to
Normal" wrote:
Mary Shomon is the harbinger of the latest
scientifically-sound information on hypothyroidism. With keen intellect,
loyalty to truth, and plain language, she sweeps away the medical dogma
that bars millions of patients from rational thyroid hormone therapies. In
this book, she describes practical thyroid therapies that can improve
patients' health and extend their lives. The book is vital for hypothyroid
patients who want to get well, and for physicians who want to help them do
so.
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