The thyroid is one of the oddest glands in the body, sitting on the neck, wrapped around like a pink butterfly and barely noticeable – until something goes wrong, that is!

The thyroid is responsible for ensuring that a great many bodily functions work as they should, from the processing of food into fuel to temperature regulation to appetite and many more, so when it does go wrong, it can present in a number of ways, which can make a definitive diagnosis tricky unless a wise doctor includes a thyroid function test amongst the battery of blood and urine tests that accompany the attempt to ascertain what had gone wrong in the body.

What Is a Thyroid Function Test?

Simply put, the thyroid function test is actually more than one test and takes the form of a series of blood tests. When you present yourself to your doctor with signs of illness that might be attributable to thyroid disease, which takes two forms (see below), the first thing your doctor will do is order a Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) test. This test will assess the amount of thyroid stimulating hormone in your blood as this is a marker of how efficiently your thyroid is working. TSH is produced by the pituitary gland, in the brain, and it sends a ‘work-order’ to the thyroid to begin production of thyroid hormones T3 and T4. If your pituitary has sent out excessive amounts of TSH, this can mean that your thyroid is sluggish, not producing enough thyroid hormones to meet demand, while if your pituitary is producing very little, you might be suffering from an excess of thyroid hormone in your body.
 

 
These are the two forms of thyroid disease:

1. Hypothyroidism: when your body is not producing enough thyroid hormones for your body to operate optimally, and
2. Hyperthyroidism: when your body is flooded with excess levels of thyroid hormone – which has the same effect (namely a body that cannot function effectively), albeit with very different symptoms

What if My TSH Test Results are Abnormal?

Once your doctor understands that your TSH levels are not right, he or she will ask for more blood tests to begin to narrow down the options for your diagnosis. You should have a discussion with your doctor – especially if you are seeing a specialist rather than your usual healthcare practitioner – about any medications that you are on, whether or not you are pregnant, and about any other health conditions that you might have. All these factors can have an impact on a diagnosis of thyroid illness, making it harder to correctly diagnose your issues. Once your doctor is fairly sure of your diagnosis, he or she will offer treatment.
 

 

How is Thyroid Illness Treated?

Hyperthyroidism (or overactive thyroid) is impossible to cure, and it is all but impossible to treat too. But the one effective method of treatment that has been found is to transform the overactivity into underactivity, because an underactive thyroid can be treated. This is done by removing the thyroid, or otherwise rendering it ineffective.

Hypothyroidism (or underactive thyroid) is treated with carefully tailored doses of replacement T3 and T4 – check out levothyroxine tablets at internationalpharmacy.com here – to restore your body’s balance to something approaching normal.

This can be a time-consuming process as you and your doctor will have to ascertain your ideal dose through a series of trial and error attempts: it is best to commit to working with your medical team on this as restoring your body’s levels to a good balance means that you will be able to get back to living your life on your own terms – albeit with a daily tablet added into your morning regimen!