Thyroid Blood Tests: Several Choices For Diagnosing Thyroid Problems

Thyroid blood tests help in detecting thyroid hormone levels in its association with the bloodstream. Here are some of the most common blood tests you must know.

Diagnosing thyroid problems will help you and your doctor determine which type of thyroid disorder you have. It actually starts from the very basic physical examination and the consultation phase. The most popular techniques include biopsies and imaging tests. For basis of discussion, let us focus on thyroid blood tests for this article.

Thyroid blood tests are used to detect the hormone levels in the thyroid gland. It may detect all the hormones starting from the hypothalamus, down to the pituitary gland before looking into those which the thyroid gland contains. Look at some of the most common thyroid blood tests conducted in your doctor’s clinic.

The most common thyroid blood tests

Each thyroid blood test is specifically done to determine the production and activity of the hormones in the body. Here are some of the most common types of exams conducted to determine a thyroid disorder:

·         TSH test. The abbreviation TSH is a short-term for thyroid stimulating hormone thus this test determines the amount of TSH traveling through the bloodstream. If your TSH levels is said to be higher than the usual amount needed by your body, you may have hypothyroidism. Otherwise, hyperthyroidism is something you need to focus on.

·         Free and Total Thyroxine (T4) Tests. Obviously these tests are conducted to determine T4 levels. The free T4 test is an aid in determining the T4 used by the cells. If the results of this test show a free T4 on an elevated level, then this simply means that one has hyperthyroidism. The total T4 test on the other hand, calculates how much of the hormones had traveled through the blood totally. Results with higher values for T4 are also indicative of hyperthyroidism. Between the free and total test for T4, the former is favored because it yields better results than the latter. This is because total T4 may also include hormone level increases manifested by pregnancy and the ingestion of birth control pills.

·         Free and Total Triiiodothyronine (T3) Tests. Just like the free and total T4 tests, the free and total T3 tests have their own disparities to present. Yes, free T3 test is more favored than the other. Likewise, an elevated T3 means hyperthyroidism while a lower than normal amount means hypothyroidism.

·         T3 Resin Uptake. If you have undergone, both the T4 and T3 tests you may proceed to the T3 Resin Uptake or the T3RU. This is also oftentimes called as the T7 tests. The T7 is indicative of the ratio between the T3 and the T4. If results show that the T3RU is higher than the normal, then hyperthyroidism exists.

If you want to know more about the real thyroid disorder that is troubling you there are other tests which you may resort to aside from the blood tests. As the name denotes, blood tests may only be useful in detecting hormone levels in accordance with the blood samples. This may mean that more aggravated conditions such as thyroid cancer or nodules may not be strongly affirmed by the results of the above-mentioned exams.