Animated Video: All You Need to Know About Thyroid Hormone Replacement

[Nelson Vergel]

Reverse T3 (rT3): Should it be measured in patients with hypothyroidism?

 

[Nelson Vergel]

Article: Armour, Desiccated, Levothyroxine, & Liothyronine- Any Differences?

 

[Nelson Vergel]

The first signs of thyroid disorder are typically related to symptoms like fatigue, weight gain, cold intolerance, hair loss, sexual dysfunction, etc. and blood screening of Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) with other thyroid hormone biomarkers including free thyroxine (T4, free). Unfortunately, some physicians only measure TSH as a way to diagnose low or high thyroid function. Even though some guidelines suggest a TSG range of 0.4-4.5 micro IU/mL, some patients may be experiencing hypothyroidism symptoms at TSH levels above 3 due to occult Hashimoto’s disease or other issues, so it is always a good idea to perform a thyroid panel that includes not only TSH but also free T3 and free T4. There is ongoing controversy about whether reliance on the TSH test -- to the exclusion of clinical symptoms and other tests such as Free T4, Free T3, and antibodies tests -- is medically sound. That is a controversy that is unlikely to be decided for years. The situation today, however, is that the majority of physicians do rely almost exclusively on the TSH test to detect thyroid disease, and monitor the effectiveness of treatment.