Clinical Assessment
Clinical evaluation is an important first step in the detection and diagnosis of thyroid disease. A healthcare provider should perform a clinical evaluation of your thyroid function. You may be referred to an endocrinologist, a doctor who specializes in the treatment of endocrine disorders such as thyroid disease.
Blood Examinations
Thyroid hormone levels are not routinely measured in blood tests, but they can be ordered if you have any symptoms, signs, or risk factors for thyroid disease.
Before having blood tests, you should understand your options for testing timing and whether to fast and/or take medications prior to testing.
Interpreting Your Findings
The pattern of thyroid blood test results assists your doctor in understanding your thyroid disease.
Normal ranges may differ by lab, so keep that in mind when reviewing your results.
Examples of thyroid disease test results and their significance:
Antibody levels that are elevated may indicate an underlying autoimmune thyroid disease. Antibodies can be used to detect hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, nodules, or goiter. TPO antibodies can be elevated in Hashimoto's disease, and TSI antibodies can be elevated in Graves' disease.
Some integrative healthcare providers may use the more controversial reverse T3 test, which detects overproduction of an inactive form of the T3 hormone.