TSH: What Your Doctor Should Know

Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) is the hormone produced by your pituitary gland to control the function of your thyroid gland. A high TSH means your pituitary senses that your thyroid is underactive.

 

Many labs are misleading physicians by using outdated ranges of normal for TSH, thus preventing doctors from giving their patients the most effective thyroid treatment they need. 

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III)  demonstrated that the mean TSH in apparently normal, healthy participants is 1.4 uIU/mL.

Based upon the results of NHANES III, The National Academy for Clinical Biochemistry has recommended since 2002 that a serum TSH level between 0.5-2.0 uIU/mL be considered the optimal therapeutic target for replacement treatment of hypothyroidism. 

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Topics: Hypothyroidism, Hashimoto's, hypothyroid, Hashimoto's Thyroiditis

Most of the patients I consult with have a few things in common:

1. They were diagnosed with hypothyroidism at some point in their lives.
2. They take some form of thyroid hormone replacement.
3. They continue to experience some degree of thyroid symptoms despite conventional treatment.

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Topics: TSH, T3, hypothyroid, gut, hypothyroid symptoms, Reverse T3

A research study published in December 2012 sheds some light on a phenomenon we see quite often …

A patient has elevated TSH but normal T4 and T3.

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Topics: TSH, insulin resistance, T4, T3, hypothyroid, pre-diabetes