The thyroid is a butterfly shaped gland on the front of your neck. It is responsible for your metabolism, growth and development and is involved in countless bodily systems from digestion to cardiac function to mood. Every cell in the body has a thyroid receptor on it, so its effects are very far reaching and there are very many varied symptoms experienced when it isn’t quite functioning perfectly.
If you’ve recently had your thyroid tested via a venous blood draw or finger prick blood test and been told that everything is “normal”, but you’re feeling anything but … I can help!!
Standard GP NSH thyroid tests are for TSH only which stands for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone – this is the hormone made by the pituitary gland in the brain. TSH responds to a feedback loop from the body to the brain e.g. when thyroid hormone is low, there is a message from the thyroid to the brain and that translates to a message to increase TSH. When there is too much thyroid hormone, the same feedback loop happens, only the message is to decrease TSH in that situation. Then only occasionally is T4 tested as well – the hormone made by the thyroid gland.
High TSH and low T4 signals an underfunctioning thyroid. Low TSH and high T4 signals an overactive thyroid. However the standard lab ranges are very wide, and widening every year and therefore they don’t aim for ‘optimal health’, just ‘average’ results. So you can be “in range” but feeling terrible because the range is too wide for you.
And what about T3?
A private functional blood test e.g. Medichecks or Thriva will offer panels including T3 also. This is the metabolicially active thyroid hormone, the one that does all the work, the fat burning one. It is important that this is optimal and measured, as it can be low when TSH and T4 are normal, and so symptoms are disregarded as being non-thyroid related – when potentially they very much are thyroid related but being missed.
How do we make T3?
T4 is made by the thyroid and that then converts to T3. The majority, about 60%, of conversion happens in the liver, and the rest in peripheral tissue, so liver health is key for thyroid health. Try aiming for 2L water daily and including liver loving bitter foods in your diet daily e.g. radishes, rocket, watercress, herbs, endives, artichoke.
And what about Thyroid Antibodies?
These are not routinely tested for on the NHS, but can be requested, and they measure if there are any auto antibodies created against the thyroid gland. In other words, if there is any autoimmune activity, if the body is attacking its own thyroid gland or not. The two main ones are Thyroid Peroxidase antibodies (TPO) and Thyroglobulin (TgAb).
If you know you have raised thyroid antibodies, I would strongly suggest that you work with an experienced practitioner (myself included) in order to support your immune system, as well as supporting your thyroid, and to discover the root cause for the auto immune activity in order to stop it. The average autoimmune warrior develops a new autoimmune disease every 5-10 years, and they become more progressive and systemic and serious in nature.
If you don’t know you whether you have raised thyroid antibodies or you don’t know whether your thyroid needs support or not, get in touch and I can send you a link to an at home full thyroid panel finger prick blood test along with a consultation. Why test? Because autoimmune thyroid disease is the most common autoimmune disorder and it’s growing in reach every year. If you have some of the symptoms below, it’s best to rule in or out the thyroid early on.
Some signs of an underactive thyroid: constipation, dry skin/hair/nails, mental sluggishness, feeling cold especially in hands/feet, wake up feeling tired still, needing more sleep than usual, fatigue all day, weight gain or inablility to lose weight, thinning hair/hair loss, low pulse rate.
Some signs of an overactive thyroid: racing heart/tachycardia, weight loss, feeling wired, issues sleeping, extreme fatigue, nervousness/irritability, sensitive to sleep, swollen thyroid gland.
I have Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis myself, the autoimmune version of underactive thyroid and I’ve successfully supported very many clients with thyroid issues. If you’re concerned, do contact me and book into clinic. I’d love to help.
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