Our thyroid gland is located just in the neck below the thyroid cartilage. The thyroid gland is a very important part of our body. It helps in the formation of many hormones on which every cell of our body is dependent. If the thyroid is subjected to many threats and its function is interrupted with it, you may suffer from many diseases. That’s why doctors recommend doing the full thyroid test London to see if the glands are working normally and there is no problem in its functionality. The test will help in identifying the 2 basic problems which lead to many illnesses, they are hypothyroidism (which is the overactive one) and hyperthyroidism (which is underactive). The blood test will help in determining the levels of thyroid hormones.
What is Thyroid Function Test?
Thyroid function test is just a normal blood test. A physician will draw blood from your veins and the blood samples will be sent in the lab for further analysis. The report will come within a few days. The blood test doesn’t require any fasting and as such you don’t have to prepare yourself for the test. Just simply walk in the clinic, get in touch with someone who would be drawing blood and then your blood will be drawn. If you are currently taking any type of medication, just let your doctor know about this as often times, some medications can have an impact on your report. If you have been on an x-ray, also inform your doctor.
What Things Might Affect the Rest Result?
The test result for the TSH value may vary as per the following things:
- TSH is never produced at an equal rate. It changes as per the time. You may contain a higher level of TSH at night while you sleep. It follows a circadian rhythm.
- The result varies depending upon the type of test used.
- Your eating habits can highly influence the level. If you are malnourished, you may have a decrease in the level of fT3 and total T3. While excessive eating can cause just the opposite, it will increase the fT3 and T3.
- If you are very much stressed out, the T3 level will tend to fall.
- If you are under some sort of medication then it will affect your thyroid hormones as well. Medications will increase the levels of fT3 and fT4 but it won’t happen in a good way. The medications block the real activity of T3 and T4. so it doesn’t matter how much it is increased. They become just useless.
- People who indulge in heavy exercise might need to have their regular test on thyroidism as it might affect their hormonal discharges. Just wait for some time before going for the test. If the test report states that you have a thyroid problem, it would be better not to over pressurize your body.
- Sometimes you may encounter lab mistakes. Such mistakes happen with either old or spoiled chemicals used to detect the actual result of the blood test. But if the report of the thyroid test london was inappropriate or hasn’t turned out to be worth it then you may get a straight notification from your lab clinic that the result wasn’t true and that you have to come for the retest.
Sometimes your TSH value might change depending upon your age and if you are pregnant.
Changing of the TSH Values at Varied Ages
We all have heard that the levels of TSH values change with age. Let’s find out!
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Newborn Babies
The TSH levels in newborn babies are high. When the baby enters into his puberty age, the level will start to decline.
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Adolescents
During this stage, the TSH and T4 tend to decrease.
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Adults
A healthy TSH level must be within 1.5 mIU/L. This is found higher in females than in males. Studies have found that 1 in 10 adults have higher TSH levels than 2.5mIU/liter.
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Pregnancy
During pregnancy, a woman tends to grow TSH levels more. The levels increase as per the trimester session. During their first trimester, a woman will have 1.20 mIU/L and in her second trimester, she will have around 2.12 mIU/L and her third trimester will be somewhere around 3.30 mIU/L.
What is Defined as Out of Range in Blood Value?
There are some medically accepted averages that are to be taken into consideration. These ranges vary from country to country. If you are a travel lover kind of person, then it would be somewhat difficult to state your average levels and which country’s averages should be applicable to you. The real question is, which average do you most belong with- the place where you are born or the new environment where your body has adapted to it.
Sometimes, the blood values aren’t accurate enough within the first test. You must go through at least twice to make sure that your blood count level comes out to be true. If you do this, you can have a fair bit of an idea about your actual health issue.
The TSH test can be very misleading as it tends to increase with age. When a child is born, he is naturally born with high TSH values but it drops when he reaches puberty. Hence, the test can not strictly determine the disease.
Is Value Inside the Average Range Safe?
Yes, but it can not always be. Make sure that the range is shifting from one end of the normal range to the other. If you see shifting, this is even normal as it changes because of many reasons. Some of the reasons being stress, other illnesses, any type of seasonal changes, or you have currently changed your medication. It has been seen that the patients who are at the first stage of Hashimoto’s have got their TSH level 2.5–4.5 mIU/L (1) which is actually considered normal in some labs.
What is Defined as Out of Range in Blood Value?
There are some medically accepted averages that are to be taken into consideration. These ranges vary from country to country. If you are a travel lover kind of person, then it would be somewhat difficult to state your average levels and which country’s averages should be applicable to you. The real question is, which average do you most belong with- the place where you are born or the new environment where your body has adapted to it.
Sometimes, the blood values aren’t accurate enough within the first test. You must go through at least twice to make sure that your blood count level comes out to be true. If you do this, you can have a fair bit of an idea about your actual health issue.
The TSH test can be very misleading as it tends to increase with age. When a child is born, he is naturally born with high TSH values but it drops when he reaches puberty. Hence, the test can not strictly determine the disease.
Risk Factor for Thyroid Problems
If you are suffering from Type 1 diabetes, coeliac disease or Addison’s disease your chances of having thyroid problems will increase multiple times. Often times, people suffering from syndromes like Down syndrome and Turner Syndrome also have higher chances of having thyroid diseases. If you consume meds like lithium and amiodarone, it can be a ladder for the malfunctioning of the thyroid glands.
Thyroid function tests have become very simple and easy. Just search for a walk in the medical clinic near me and talk to the physician for your next visit.
