Best Thyroid Testing in Greenville SC
If you’re concerned about thyroid function, proper testing is a must. Without comprehensive testing, it’s impossible to know what is causing symptoms or the underlying reason for a thyroid condition. Thyroid symptoms may result from a problem with the thyroid gland itself, such that it’s failing to produce or secrete hormones properly. Sometimes, a problem with the body’s ability to convert or utilize thyroid hormone is the cause of symptoms. It could also be something else entirely causing symptoms that appear to result from a thyroid problem. Until the cause is identified through testing, trying to properly manage thyroid symptoms involves guesswork.
In conventional medicine, thyroid function is evaluated primarily through testing thyroid stimulating hormone, or TSH, and possibly thyroxine, or free T4. Unfortunately, this is inadequate for determining the cause of thyroid symptoms. Testing TSH levels does not reveal the full picture of thyroid health and function. It is in no way able to evaluate overall thyroid function. It simply reveals whether or not TSH is present at a level deemed ‘normal.’
If you suspect or know that you have a thyroid condition, a full thyroid panel can help ensure your condition is properly evaluated. In addition to T4, testing should include FT3, or Free T3, level, which is the form of the thyroid hormone (triiodothyronine) that can be utilized by the body. Comprehensive testing should also include evaluating RT3, or Reverse T3, which blocks thyroid receptors so the body’s cells are unresponsive to available thyroid hormone.
Functional wellness practitioners also test thyroid patients for thyroglobulin antibody (TGAb) and thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb). Positive TGAb or TPOAb indicate Hashimoto’s disease. Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune disease that involves an attack on the thyroid gland by the body’s own immune system. It is the number one cause of low thyroid, and can result in a wide range of symptoms.
As a thyroid patient, comprehensive testing may not be available through conventional medical care, or it may not be ‘routinely’ recommended. However, it is the key to a proper understanding of what exactly is going on with your thyroid and your health. A functional wellness care provider will invest the time it takes to fully evaluate your condition, so a comprehensive plan of therapeutic support can be developed that is custom designed to meet your body’s needs.
In conventional medicine, the standard care option for thyroid symptoms is thyroid replacement medication. Possibly, additional medications may be recommended to attempt to alleviate symptoms that do not respond to thyroid medicine. By contract, a practitioner who is trained in functional wellness will take advantage of in-depth testing to determine exactly what will promote healing, balance and recovery. Instead of medications, functional wellness care relies on therapeutic support that is natural, safe, and side-effect free. Once the underlying cause of your thyroid condition is identified and properly managed, there is no need to try to mask symptoms through medications; they naturally fade as your condition improves.
