It’s almost impossible to have a low body fat, let alone optimal health or fertility, with an improperly diagnosed or managed case of hypothyroidism. And four tests – TSH, Free T3, Free T4 and thyroid antibodies – are required to accurately assess the function of the thyroid gland, our master gland of metabolism. An optimal TSH should be less than 2.0, not the currently accepted 4.7 reported by most labs. T3 and T4 should be in the middle of your lab’s reference range and your thyroid anti-bodies should be negative.

Mary Shomon optimal thyroid lab ranges
Here is the catch: Many people experience thyroid symptoms even though their thyroid blood tests are reported to be “normal”.  For instance, patients with weight gain, chronic low iron, hair loss, irregular periods and constipation even though their TSH is 2.64 (within the normal range), their Free T4 is 9.4 (normal range 7 to 21) and T3 is 4.2 (normal range 3.5 to 5.7) aren’t uncommon. Unfortunately, because there are so many factors influencing the production of thyroid hormone and activity of thyroid hormone in the body, it can be quite common to experience symptoms of hypothyroidism even with normal blood findings. Ultimately this means it is imperative for your doctor to treat you, versus simply your blood tests. ~ drnatashaturner.com

The bottom line, as a very wise endocrinologist I was fortunate enough to be treated by many years ago used to say, doctors must “treat the patient, not the lab results”.  Unfortunately, many fail to practice this approach.

 

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