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What Happens Before You Get Your Thyroid Tested? You start to notice disturbing symptoms – notorious fatigue, problems with concentration, a lump in the esophagus, hair loss, decreased libido. Everything points to Hashimoto’s.
You search online forums, Facebook groups, blogs. You come across a million pieces of information, often contradictory.
- “Study TSH Only.”
- “The most important thing is the antibody result”
- “For me, Hashimoto came out after FT3 and F4.”
In this article you will find out how it really is.
Thyroid tests – where to start?
Thyroid tests vary, prescribing them depends on your doctor and your symptoms. We will try to clarify the topic a bit and dispel any doubts about the correctness of performing specific tests. At the very beginning, it is worth noting that the doctor always interprets the tests. However, I encourage you to take a careful look, even at the opinions of specialists, and in case of doubts – ask questions on the issues bothering us. Medical appointments are there for you, so ask for all unfamiliar words, abbreviations and results.
See also: You can have your thyroid tested at home. It’s good to know how to do it properly
Understand your hormones
Thyroid testing is one thing, but understanding their validity is another important thing. To understand the changes taking place in our body, let’s follow the fate of hormones in the course of Hashimoto’s disease. Untreated thyroiditis leads to hypothyroidism. The function of this gland is regulated by the pituitary gland. It is a kind of command center.
The pituitary gland produces thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). It works on the principle of feedback. When the thyroid gland produces too little of the hormones T3 (triiodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxin), the pituitary gland sends its intermediaries (TSH) to report “hello! thyroid-make hormones! ”. Inflammation in the body leads to the impaired production of the right amount of the previously mentioned T3 and T4, the pituitary gland usually sends even more TSH.
Thyroid tests – their GOLDEN TRIO
On the Internet, when looking for the subject of “thyroid tests”, you can find the golden trio of diagnostics. These tests are most often recommended to check the condition of the thyroid gland. The level of each of them is referred to as the gold standard. The trio consists of:
- TSH — hormon tyreotropowy
Its elevated level may indicate hypothyroidism. TSH ranges are unique to each patient, so the analysis is done by the physician. A normal result does not necessarily reflect the health of the body.
- FT3 (triiodothyronine) and FT4 (thyroxine)
These are free thyroid hormones. Only when analyzing the latter two, it is possible to diagnose or exclude hypothyroidism, such as in the course of Hashimoto’s disease.
Often, during a public health examination, only TSH is ordered, which is a big mistake due to the multitude of factors affecting its level.
Find out more: Thyroid profile, or what tests will detect thyroid disease?
Is the thyroid triple enough?
Unfortunately not. Hashimoto’s disease differs from normal hypothyroidism in that it is an autoimmune disease. It is associated with inflammation, which translates into the presence of antibodies against thyroid cells. When Hashimoto’s is suspected, 2 types of thyroid antibodies are usually measured:
- anti-TPO – found in 95% of patients
- antiTG – found in 70% of patients
As you can see, anti-TPO is more reliable as a thyroid test for Hashimoto’s. It is the result of this test that most often allows us to diagnose Hashimoto’s disease and at the same time differentiate it from ordinary hypothyroidism. With all this, remember that positive antibody levels are not positive for all people with thyroiditisand some people have hypothyroidism without the presence of antibodies.
Blood thyroid tests behind us – time for ultrasound
In Hashimoto’s disease, the size of this gland changes, but remember that not every enlargement or reduction of a gland will represent a lesion. The doctor always interprets the examination. Based on the ultrasound result, you can calculate the volume of your thyroid gland. You can do this using a calculator.
- Thyroid ultrasound – how to interpret the results?
These tests will not make a diagnosis, but they are extremely important. Hashimoto’s disease is often bravely accompanied by insulin resistance and elevated cholesterol, which makes it important to exercise glucose and insulin curve and lipid profile.
Excess of coins in the wallet, the desire to shine in front of the endocrinologist, the good mood of the ordering party or the vagueness of the predecessors of the results (unlikely, but still likely). Sometimes there is a need to broaden the diagnosis and this is where other thyroid tests come in:
- rT3- reverse triiodothyronine
Also called the anti-thyroid hormone, it is its inactive form. rT3 blocks the receptors reserved for T3, which causes the thyroid gland to get a “okay, I have enough hormones” signal and not to produce enough of them. Marker used in differentiating between low T3 syndrome and actual hypothyroidism.
- TRAb – anti-TSH antibodies
Among them, the TBII score is particularly important. These antibodies prevent TSH from binding to receptors in the thyroid gland. The thyroid stimulating hormone cannot stimulate the thyroid gland adequately and impairs the production of its own hormones.
As you can see Hashimoto’s disease diagnosis is not always the simplest one. It is especially important to exclude diseases that require different treatment. For diagnostics, we need several parameters, if the doctor refuses you of any, it may be worth talking to him about it, or if you do not feel confident in him, it may be time to change the specialist. Diagnostics are extremely important to find out what is causing your symptoms.
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