The thyroid gland regulates metabolism and problems with the thyroid can cause a wide variety of symptoms, some of which may be vague and easy to miss in the early stages of disease.
Usually, the thyroid gland in the neck and the pituitary gland in the brain work in harmony to effectively regulate your metabolism and keep you feeling well.
The brain produces Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) to prompt the thyroid to produce two hormones, thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). As the levels of these two hormones rise, production of TSH in the brain is down regulated. As the levels of T3 and T4 fall, the brain produces more TSH to stimulate the thyroid gland to work harder. It is a very good idea to combine this panel with the Thyroid Function Blood Test, or the Ultimate Thyroid Function.
Testing these three hormones together tells us how well your thyroid is functioning, helps to check pituitary function, and may even help us detect a problem with your thyroid before you have symptoms.
When the thyroid is underactive, everything essentially slows down. This results in weight gain, feeling cold all the time, dry skin and hair loss, and feeling tired and low.
If the thyroid is overactive, everything speeds up. This causes weight loss, a racing pulse, tremor, feeling jittery and anxious, and the feeling of being too hot all the time.
Red flag symptoms for the Thyroid Antibodies Blood Test
Even if your blood tests are normal, you should see a doctor if you have any of the symptoms below because they may be a sign of serious underlying illness.
- Unexplained weight loss.
- Drenching sweats during the night.
- Persistent fevers.
- Progressively severe symptoms of any kind.
Your Results and Health Dashboard
The results of your Thyroid Antibodies Blood Test will be emailed to you as a secured PDF file, ready for your GP and will also be uploaded to our Health Dashboard area of the website. It’s a unique and powerful tool, powered by our in-house clinical analysis research, to match your biomarkers across test panels and symptoms, as well as provide clinical commentary on all individual biomarkers you tested for.
The health dashboard will also provide "panel level" commentary - a birds eye view of the biomarkers that were tested. This feature allows you to view your test results and clinical commentary, and compare them to previous results, giving you a clear understanding of how your health is progressing.
By using the Health Dashboard, you can identify changes in your biomarkers and make necessary adjustments to your lifestyle. This added value is immense, as it empowers you to monitor your health and make informed decisions about your well-being.
It's free and is available with all of our tests.