Determining your hormone levels through a blood test is the precise way to find out if there is an issue.
By doing a Thyroid Function Test, it examines your levels of Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) and Thyroxine (T4) in the blood.
Underactive thyroid
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- An underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) is the point at which your thyroid organs don’t produce enough of the hormone thyroxine (additionally called T4).
- Most of the time Hypothyroidism is caused due to the Thyroid being affected or damaged by the immune system or if any damage is caused due to treatments for thyroid cancer or an overactive thyroid.Â
- If you have an elevated level of TSH and a low level of T4 in your blood, this could mean you have Hypothyroidism.
- It is recommended that you have a repeated blood test every now and then to check if you eventually develop an underactive thyroid.
- Also, blood tests are used to get other estimations, for example, to check your hormone level which is known as Triiodothyronine (T3). However, this is not in the normal routine.
- It’s important that an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) is analyzed as soon as possible.
- Low degrees of thyroid-producing hormones, for example, Triiodothyronine (T3) and Thyroxine (T4), can change the manner in which the body develops itâs fat.
- This can cause an elevation in Cholesterol and Atherosclerosis (blockage of Arteries), which can possibly bring about severe heart-related issues, such as angina or a coronary failure.
Treatment for underactive thyroid
An underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) is generally treated by taking a day-to-day synthetic hormone tablet called levothyroxine.
Levothyroxine replaces the thyroxine hormone, which your thyroid doesn’t make enough of.
At first you will have regular blood tests until the right amount of levothyroxine is reached. This can take a while to get right.
Gogodoc also provides an educational series of information on various blood tests (*intended for educational purposes only. If you are experiencing symptoms, please reach out to book an online GP consultation with a Gogodoc GP.) Talk to a doctor online at a time that suits you from home with a phone or video appointment. You can easily book an appointment with GP.
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