Tests For Your Thyroid
There are many issues that can arise with your thyroid and ensuring that you get the appropriate testing done is as much your responsibility as it is your medical practitioner's. While your doctor can suggest a variety of tests, you will need to ensure that you ask a lot of questions in order to get the answers you seek.
The type of tests conducted will be determined by what your condition is, specifically. There are a variety of issues that can affect your thyroid. We will go over the conditions and the tests normally conducted for those conditions.
Of course, your doctor will conduct a routine examination of you, physically, first before ordering any testing. You will be asked a series of questions about a variety of things, so answer as honestly and as up front as you can, because your health is on the table here.
Hashimoto's Disease is an autoimmune disease and is also commonly called hypothyroidism. This is where the body wrongly attacks its own tissue treating it like a foreign body. Some of the symptoms include fatigue, inability to warm the core temperature, weight gain, depression, elevated cholesterol levels, dry skin, hair loss and decreased ability to concentrate. The tests that are conducted to identify this disease include a simple blood test to measure the TSH levels - also known as the thyroid stimulating hormone. Depending on the results of that test, your doctor may wish to conduct a brain scan or an ultrasound.
Hyperthyroidism and Graves' Disease can also be diagnosed with blood test for TSH levels. Other tests include the T3, T4 and Radioactive Iodine update tests.
Often, a thyroid condition is caused by other underlying conditions or deficiencies and it may take some investigative work to determine what those are. You might want to see other professionals, such as a naturopath who can examine your dietary needs and deficiencies, as well as suggest some supplements or natural treatments that can put you on the road to recovery. Doctors are generally quick to prescribe medications that are not always helpful in the long run, and this is not their fault, they are trained in western medicine, which is largely ruled by the concept of throwing medications at a problem, rather than finding underlying causes.
It is, of course, always advisable to get testing conducted by your medical professional so that you can be sure of your exact condition, and then decide what course of treatment you would like to follow after the initial diagnosis.
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