When I was told I had hypothyroidism, I bought every book and read everything on the internet I could. You can imagine how much of a pain I was for my doctor*. Getting diagnosed was no easy task (read: What happened to my body?), and I struggled to understand what was happening to my body.
Some doctors didn’t take me seriously, and my lab work came back within a normal range, but I was still feeling like doo-doo. Later on, I discovered that there are WAY more blood tests to run to get the full picture of your thyroid. Typically, doctor’s only run a TSH and T4 panel on the thyroid, resulting in many thyroid problems missed; 70% of your active thyroid is in T3!
Now, I hear all the time how someone visited a doctor’s office several times before the right thyroid tests and treatment plan were received for hypothyroid or hyperthyroid symptoms.
First, don’t ignore what your body is telling you. There are some clear signs that your body fires off when it isn’t operating 100%, especially when your lifestyle hasn’t changed.
Hypothyroid Symptoms:
- Joint pain
- Fatigue
- Cold intolerance
- Weight gain
- Puffy face
- Hair loss
- Eyebrow thinning
- Depression
- Swollen neck
- Skin changes
- Irregular menstrual cycle
Hyperthyroid Symptoms:
- Mood swings
- Restlessness
- Heat intolerance
- Heart palpitations
- Weight loss
- Insomnia
- Excessive sweating
- Vision problems
- Irregular menstrual cycle
Second, you’ll probably get pushback when requesting these thyroid labs because most doctors believe it’s not necessary to test for all of this, but how do you get the full picture with only TSH and T4 tests? A full-thyroid panel will paint a clear picture of how your thyroid is functioning and then you can get the treatment plan you need faster.
Thyroid Tests:
- TSH
- Free T3
- Free T4
- Reverse T3
- Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPOAb)
- Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TgAb)
- Thyroid Stimulating Immunoglobulin
- Thyroid Ultrasound
Now that you know better, start feeling better!