Thyroid test - how often?

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-14-2003
Thyroid test - how often?
1
Mon, 09-13-2004 - 10:19am
I've been on Synthroid for longer than I can remember and have had tests done anywhere from once a year to every six months, always within normal limits. I'm beginning to question the frequency of any of my blood work -- glucose, cholesterol, thyroid have always been done every six months and I was looking at changing that to once a year -- now the nurse in my drs office told me this morning that thryoid and cholesterol should be checked every THREE months. Come on! I'm cynical about the whole healthcare industry anyway, and now this just seems like overkill. My cholesterol is usually borderline high (230) -- I had a cardiac cath that showed no blockages whatsoever early this year. OK, I know this is a thyroid board so maybe you can't address that, but what about the thyroid? Every three months? Why?

Thanks, all.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2001
Mon, 09-13-2004 - 11:17am
Hi and welcome - I'll give you my opinion on what you're asking. Others may have a different opinion, which I hope they'll share. I think being tested every 3 months is a great idea. I understand your skepticism and I totally agree with you on that in other areas and for other tests, but thyroid function is so senstive to so many changing factors in our lives that waiting every 6 months to a year for a test may cause symptoms to develop that could have been caught and treated in time. What factors influence our thyroid? Our daily stress level; changing stress in our lives or sudden stressful events; any hormonal upheavals like puberty, pregnancy, childbirth, premenopause and menopause; any changes in diet, positive or negative; any changes in weight, up or down; taking on any intensive exercise program; our environment in the way of pollution, foods that can hurt, the air we breathe and the water we drink; any changes in habits like smoking, drinking and sleep.

Not having any symptoms but having an elevated TSH level can cause high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and can lead to the start of other autoimmune conditions. Without your TSH in the normal range of 1 to 2, it's almost impossible for some people to lose weight, have energy to make it through their day and just deal successfully with life!! :)

From my experience on this board and with others, I think some people can have an easy time being hypothyroid. They take medication and they're fine. No complications or problems. But then others, myself included, have found it to be a very difficult experience to navigate myself back to good health. It's not been a matter of take this pill and be done with it. So if I didn't know where I stood with my TSH level, I might not have been able to attribute my symptoms to my thyroid but may have looked elsewhere or thought it was all in my head and just wasted time. So for me, at least until I feel confident that I've stabilized, every 3 months is good.

But perhaps you're one of the lucky ones that feels great. If you don't have any of the factors in your life like the ones I mentioned earlier, than 6 months to a year will probably work for you. I'm not in any way a health care provider, just the board cl, so this is just my considered opinion!! Cathy :)