“But My Thyroid Bloodwork is Normal!”

Have you ever felt like something was off, so you went to the doctor, only to leave with a perfectly clean bill of health?

Often times people who suspect they have a thyroid issue have “normal” (i.e., “healthy”) bloodwork. This can be confusing and frustrating! If you suspect you have a thyroid issue, but the standard bloodwork comes back normal, it’s worth asking more questions.

Your thyroid controls so many functions in your body, so when it’s not working as it should, symptoms can pop up anywhere. Though there are many symptoms associated with hypothyroidism, two big indicators are weight gain and extreme fatigue. (Check out these blog posts for other reasons why you might be experiencing weight gain and fatigue.) Other symptoms of an underactive thyroid include hair loss, irregular periods, brain fog, constipation, cold hands or feet, low sex drive, and depression. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms consistently, it’s important not to let a potential thyroid issue slip under the radar.

Why do thyroid problems slip under the radar?

Doctors rely on various tests and assessments to determine our state of health. Unfortunately, medical testing has more than one blind spot. For one, the determined “normal” and “abnormal” ranges for thyroid biomarkers are not the same as “optimal” ranges.

When doctors want to check your thyroid, they typically test your TSH levels (thyroid stimulating hormone). Many doctors and labs consider a healthy TSH range to be between 0.5 and 5.0. The normal range is still debatable, however, and most integrative and functional doctors consider 0.3 – 3.0 (or even 0.3 - 2.5 in many cases) to be the optimal range.  

The second problem is that many doctors ONLY test your TSH and no other levels. This only provides a small view of a much larger picture. This is why it’s so important to ask your doctor to do a FULL thyroid panel, which includes TSH, of course, but also includes many other thyroid markers. A full thyroid panel should include as many of these indicators as you can get them to test:

• TSH

• Free T3

• Free T4

• Reverse T3

• TPOab

• TgAb

Additionally, ask your doctor to check both your vitamin D and iron, as low levels of these key nutrients can contribute to hypothyroidism. Low iron levels can also cause similar symptoms to hypothyroidism, including hair loss and fatigue.

Once your doctor has all this information, they can begin to see the full picture about your thyroid health. Diet and lifestyle changes can boost thyroid function and help to optimize your thyroid levels, especially if you make these shifts before your thyroid concerns become serious enough to warrant medication. As a health coach, that’s exactly what I help my clients with – diet and lifestyle changes that can help them balance their hormones naturally. In doing so, those unpleasant symptoms that are keeping you from a fulfilling life can significantly improve, giving you vitality, energy, and abundant health. Then you can really feel like you’re getting back to “normal”.