If your Doctor Will Not Order All The Tests You Need For Properly Diagnosing The Health Of Your Thyroid Function, You Can Run Them Yourself, Without Your Doctors Script Or Approval.
Click On This Link For More Information: MyThyroidTests
- Thyroid tests should be run in the morning by or before 10:00AM.**
- If you are taking thyroid medication, do not take it the morning of your blood draw; however, it can be taken after the blood draw.**
- Ranges are "Optimal". These are the Values You Should Be Working Toward. If Your Doctor Tells You Your Values Are Normal And Sends You On Your Way, It's Time For A New Doctor!!!
24 Hour Iodine Loading Test: This test will evaluate whole body sufficiency for iodine. It compares the amount of iodine taken to the amount excreted in urine after taking a 50mg tablet of Iodoral. ** The thinking is, for example, if you put 50mgs of iodine into your body and 45mgs comes out, you are probably pretty iodine sufficient. However, if you put 50mgs in and only 5mgs comes out, you are iodine deficient, as your body has absorbed and held onto most of the iodine you ingested from the tablet. We look for 90% sufficiency. Order the 24-Hour Iodine Loading Test
TSH: Measures the amount of Thyroid Stimulating Hormone in your blood. Most MD’s will use this to determine whether you are hypothyroid, but the range is so broad, that you can be hypothyroid and have symptoms with a TSH in the normal range. The TSH should NOT be used to diagnose or dose hypothyroid. (TSH should be below 1, preferably 0. If your thyroid has been removed due to cancer, your TSH should be suppressed.) HEALTHY TSH LEVEL: .1-1.5 mlU/l
Free T4( fT4): Free meaning unbound, is what is bioavailable to your cells and tissues. Thyroxine or T4 is converted into active T3. A low level of this hormone indicates hypothyroid. (Free T4 should be mid range and above.). HEALTHY FT4 LEVEL: 0.8-1.8 ng/dl
Free T3 (fT3): Triiodothyronine or T3 is the active hormone. A low level of this hormone indicates hypothyroid. (Free T3 should be mid range and above. Many individuals feel best when it is closer to the top end of the range.) HEALTHY FT3 LEVEL: 3.5-4.3 pg/ml
Reverse T3 (rT3): Sometimes known as the ‘antithyroid,.’ It is the mirror image of T3, but goes into the receptors and blocks the thyroid effect. If your rT3 is high, you are likely suffering from hypothyroidism. Your rT3 should be lower than 15. The ratio of fT3 and rT3 is also important and should be 20 or higher. To figure out the ratio, divide fT3 by rT3. (Some individuals feel good with a higher rT3 when they are able to keep their fT3 at the higher end of the range and their fT4 at mid-range. But, for some, a high rT3 can cause problems.) HEALTHY rT3 LEVEL: <15 ng/dl (preferably below 9). T3/rT3 Ratio: Should Be >2
TPO/Anti-TPO: Antithyroid Peroxidase Antibodies: These are antibodies that attack the enzyme, thyroid peroxidase. The test will help to diagnose Hashimoto’s Disease, which causes hypothyroidism. (You can be hypo without having Hashi’s) HEALTHY LEVEL: IF YOUR RESULT IS ABOVE THE NORMAL RANGE, YOU PROBABLY HAVE HASHIMOTO'S.
TgAb/Thyroglobulin Antibodies: Thyroglobulin is a protein present in the thyroid gland. It is needed to produce T3 and T4. This test also measures antibodies and will help to detect Hashimoto’s Disease. HEALTHY LEVELS: >3 IU/ml OR <40 IU/ml
Iron Labs: (Iron, Ferritin, Vitamin D and B-12 must be in optimal ranges for the body to tolerate and use thyroid hormone properly)
Ferritin: Is the major iron storage protein in our body. A ferritin level that is less than 50 could be causing you to have symptoms of hypothyroidism. (Ferritin levels should be between 70 and 90 minimum.) A high Ferritin level may mean inflammation. Hemochromatosis is a genetic condition where too much iron is absorbed by the body. If you have a high ferritin level, this test should be run. HEALTHY LEVELS: BETWEEN 70-90 mg/dl
Percent % Iron Saturation: Measures your serum iron divided by your TIBC. Women want to be close to 35% and men closer to 45%. Like all iron labs you should be off all iron for at least 12 hours before testing to see how your supplementation is doing, or up to 5 days to see what your natural levels are. % saturation can look falsely good or high if your TIBC is too low.
Serum Iron: Measures how much iron is in your blood. (Higher is better). HEALTHY LEVELS: AROUND 110
TIBC (Total Iron Binding Capacity): This test will determine whether you have too much or too little iron in your blood. HEALTHY LEVEL: SHOULD BE ABOUT 1/4TH ABOVE THE BOTTOM IN THE LAB RANGE.
Vitamin D is stored in the liver as 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25-OH vitamin D; calcidiol). This is what doctors are measuring when you have your D3 levels checked. It tells you how much D is available in your body, but it still needs to be activated to 1,25 OH vitamin D by the kidneys (calcitriol; active D3) to provide vitamin D functions in the body.
Vitamin D controls how much calcium is available in the blood only when in is in the 1,25-OH vitamin D (active; calcitriol) form. 1,25 OH vitamin D (active; calcitriol) levels change based on the body's need for calcium. Once activated and released in the body, it can stay in the system for as long as 24 hours before it's fully metabolized. This means that you can have extended period of excess calcium in the blood. When calcium is in excess, the body finds unhealthy ways to get it out of the blood.
Vitamin D is "activated" by the kidneys to 1,25 hydroxy vitamin D (1,25 OH vitamin D; calcitriol). This is the active form of vitamin D that's responsible for its biological activities.
Vitamin D3 (25 hydroxyvitamin D test/Storage hormone):
Measures the amount of Vitamin D. (Vitamin D levels should be above 50, preferably around 85. **WHEN STORAGE D IS LOW, IT COULD MEAN YOUR MAGNESIUM LEVEL IS TOO LOW.)
You Need Another Vitamin D test:
With the advent of genetic testing, some people have discovered they have a Vitamin D25 Receptor Mutation, known as VDR BSM.
The VDR gene encodes your vitamin D receptor. If you have a mutation of this gene, it can influence the density of your bone minerals in a negative way, causing increased risk of osteoporosis or bone fractures. It might even contribute to hyperparathyroidism or Rickets Type II.
Folks with this mutation convert vitamin D to vitamin D1,25, the active form of Vitamin D, but their Total Vitamin D 25 (the 25-hydroxy vitamin D) may be low because it’s converting to the Vitamin D1,25. Unfortunately, doctors aren’t checking the Vitamin D1,25 levels, which has a short half life, and they and you need to.
If you have too much of the active Vitamin D1,25, there is a possibility that the thyroid hormone T3 may not get to your cells well from being blocked thanks to the high D1,25. The excess 1,25-D can cause problems with other secosteroid receptors in the body, such as the thyroid receptor.
When physicians talk about vitamin D deficiency, they are invariably talking about low levels of a compound called hydroxyvitamin D 25 or “25 (OH) Vitamin D3” which is inactive. There’s another form in case you didn’t realize it, it’s the “1,25 (OH)” form of vitamin D, which is biologically active.
Our kidney has the lovely task of converting D from inactive 25 form, to the active 1,25 form, and magnesium is necessary for that conversion. Some drugs steal magnesium (such as acid blockers, diuretics and steroids) can hinder the conversion process. Additionally, kidney disease or reduced kidney function means suppressed vitamin D activity and thus, reduced 1,25 levels of the active form. Vitamin D toxicity can occur if you take very high doses of vitamin D because it uses up your magnesium stores, leading to low levels of magnesium and relatively higher calcium. The picture of this mineral see-saw can trigger heart palpitations, nausea, constipation, kidney stones, memory loss, softening of bones, hyperparathyroidism and body aches.
Most physicians measure your blood levels of vitamin D 25 (which is the inactive form). Keep in mind your cells have receptors on them for vitamin D to attach too. Picture a lock and key where the key is vitamin D and the lock is the receptor on your cell.
The inactive form of D (25) grabs hold of this vitamin D receptor (VDR) and occupies it kind of like a key sitting in the lock (but you can’t turn it). In this example the 25 D renders the receptor inactive. Now your cell can’t bind the 1,25 form of D which is what you want! All the receptors are occupied with inactive D, rather than active 1,25 form. But docs are measuring the inactive form to get a picture of D levels but, you could have sufficient levels of inactive D, and poor conversion which would lead to insufficiency (even in the face of “normal” 25 D levels). If your doctor evaluates your inactive form and makes the assumption you are converting properly and you have all the nutrients on board to convert, that is a rather big assumption.
You probably should not supplement based upon low 25 D levels (unfortunately, this is seen on almost all lab tests) because that is only half the picture.
It’s better to evaluate two biomarkers in one blood test (just measure BOTH of these):
1,25 (OH) Vitamin D3: Active
25 (OH) Vitamin D3: Inactive
Your doctor can evaluate both biomarkers and see how much active versus inactive D you have.
Low levels of 1,25 (active) D can occur with kidney disease since the kidneys are unable to activate the inactive 25 form to 1,25 which is active. You would think a high amount of the 1,25 form is desirable but it’s not. It could spell parathyroid disease, sarcoidosis, rheumatoid, fibromyalgia, Lyme and many other infections.
You physician can determine how much D you need, and how much you should supplement with.
I don't think there is a need to supplement based solely upon low levels of the 25 D. It’s inactive. It’s what you see on most labs today. The reason is because your active 1,25 levels might be fine, or even high. Keep in mind that just because you take supplements, doesn’t necessarily mean you activate that D either! You should get the full picture and evaluate both forms of D. It’s scary that over 100 drugs impact your D and calcium levels.
Bottom line: it can be wise to check both D3 and D1,25.)
The test is, 1, 25 Hydroxy Hormone D Active (WHEN ACTIVE D IS HIGH IT MEANS CALCIUM IS ALSO HIGH, WHICH IS RISKY)
B-12:
SHOULD BE NEAR THE TOP OF YOUR LAB RANGE, NOT BELOW 800. (Individuals who are MTHFR positive, generally have B12 levels in the thousands.)
RBC Folate (B9):
Also needed for the development of red blood cells.
This is a B Vitamin which can be low in hypothyroid patients. Folate is important for prenatal development, as well as your blood cell health. Folate works with B12 in the use and creation of proteins. It's folate that is needed instead of folic acid, especially if you have MTHFR.
HEALTHY LEVELS: 3-17. Optimal: Top third of your lab range and Higher if you are MTHFR positive.
RBC (Red Blood Count, Tells you what is in the cells)
RBC Magnesium:
Thyroid patients can be chronically low in the electrolyte magnesium, which causes a multitude of problems ranging from worsened mitral valve prolapse, less cancer protection, poor muscle development, too much calcium, cramping and many other chronic conditions.
HEALTH LEVEL: 6.5 mg/dl or mid-range or higher.
RBC Zinc:
HEALTHY LEVEL: 100-130 mcg/DL or top 1/3 of lab range.
RBC Selenium:
HEALTHY LEVEL: Not Over the Lab range. Higher if MTHFR
Adrenals:
24-hour Salivary Cortisol Test:
This test will give the most accurate results. Cortisol levels should be the highest, first thing in the morning and fall throughout the day, with the lowest level happening between ten and midnight.
Comprehensive Metabolic Profile:
Measures your glucose, electrolyte and fluid balance, kidney and liver function.
Sex Hormones:
Progesterone, Estrogen, Testosterone, Sex Hormone Binding Globulin and DHEA. This test gives a more accurate measure of these hormones. (If you are a female still menstruating, testing should be done days 19-21 from the first day of your period.)
C-Reactive Protein:
A blood protein that measures general levels of inflammation in the body.
Elemental RBC (Elemental Analysis) Test Kit
Note: This is a test kit that will be mailed to you and requires a blood draw.
Identifies short-term toxic element exposure and evaluates intracellular mineral nutrient status. This test can help to quickly pinpoint imbalances and underlying conditions such as chronic fatigue, depression, ADHD, and cardiovascular disease.
The vast majority of chemical reactions controlling cellular processes are, in turn, regulated by enzyme conversion. Enzymes usually require mineral cofactors such as magnesium and zinc to operate. Toxic elements, on the other hand, can interfere with enzymatic conversion and disrupt cellular activities. Thus, both element insufficiencies and excesses have a significant impact on health.
