What's the go with TSH + your thyroid?
Have you ever been told your thyroid and your health is “just fine”, even though you know something is amiss?
Here’s the thing, if you go to the doctor or health practitioner, complaining of weight gain, fatigue and/or feeling cold, they may send you off for a blood test and include a thyroid marker - TSH. But getting your TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) checked without any other thyroid markers is NOT a way to fully understand if you have overactive or underactive thyroid. Infact, TSH is not actually a thyroid hormone.
Let’s talk about understanding your TSH, thyroid and health a little more…
Case Study:
A patient, Laura, came into the practice in January, complaining of feeling ‘off’. She said her latest blood tests and doctor said everything was “all good”. Laura has two small children but felt she was more tired than she felt she should be. She rated her energy level as 3 out of 10. She also had bloating upon waking, constipation and unexplained weight gain of 3 kg over the previous 3 months.
Laura said her thyroid tests showed her thyroid was fine. When we looked more closely at her recent blood test results, we saw that only her TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) had been tested.
Now your TSH is infact a pituitary hormone, not a thyroid hormone.
Your TSH is released by the pituitary gland, which tells the thyroid how much thyroid hormone to produce, specifically T4.
For this reason, I sent Laura off to do a FULL thyroid panel so we could get a better understanding of potential nutritional deficiencies, imbalances and thyroid dysfunction.
Within a week Laura’s new blood tests confirmed her TSH level was ‘fine’ according to the medical reference range. However, the medical reference range and optimal health range are quite different. Laura’s TSH level was slightly elevated - her TSH was 3 mIU/L (the optimal health range is 1-2 mIU/L), which means Laura’s TSH level pointed to subclinical underactive thyroid.
Laura was also deficient in iodine and zinc; both are needed to produce thyroid hormones and support energy. She had elevated TPO, a thyroid antibody, that indicates thyroid dysfunction relating to autoimmunity.
Unfortunately this isn’t uncommon - I see ‘normal’ TSH results while antibodies are present, and the person is experiencing full-blown autoimmunity that has been going undiagnosed, sometimes for years.
After 5 months…
The great news is that after 5 months of nutritional changes, lifestyle changes and using 3 key supplements + a homeopathic remedy, Laura had addressed her deficiencies and both her TSH and thyroid antibody levels had significantly improved!
Now there wasn’t a magic wand (I wish) for her nutritional changes. But we know that nutrition has a significant impact on thyroid function, so it’d be crazy not to use food as medicine.
Tyrosine, an amino acid, in protein is required for the production of thyroid hormones, so eating protein at every meal and snack is a must. There’s a few other key nutrients for healthy thyroid function including iodine, selenium, zinc, iron and Vitamin D. Laura also stuck to a gluten-free diet for that time period that was rich in wholefoods. and fibre. You see, ditching gluten (alongside the recommendation and supervision of your health practitioner) when you have autoimmune thyroid issues has been clinically shown to be beneficial for most women. Here’s an example of a study from PubMed, the largest peer reviewed medical online journal - read here
After 5 months, Laura had the following results:
Anti-TPO (thyroid antibody) had improved, it dropped from 200 to 70 IU/mL
TSH had improved, it dropped from 3 to 2 mIU/L
Zinc had improved from 9 to 14 umol/L
Iodine had improved from 45 to 140 ug/L
Laura’s energy had improved, she rated it as an 8 out of 10 (instead of 3 out of 10)
Laura’s digestion and elimination improved, she was doing daily bowel motions (instead of once a week)
Laura had less puffiness and bloating
Laura lost 2kg in the first 5 weeks working together, which said made her feel like “me”!
Laura has made significant progress and is now getting a full thyroid panel every 4 months so we can mark and monitor any changes.
What’s the takeaway here?
You can absolutely have a ‘normal’ or even optimal TSH but you may have had thyroid dysfunction symptoms + undiagnosed autoimmune issues.
You should get a full blood test done yearly.
To look at your thyroid, it’s beneficial to include a full thyroid panel including TSH, FT3, FT4, and thyroid antibodies, as well as thyroid hormone cofactors and nutrients, including zinc, Vitamin D and also urinary iodine.
Follow your gut and get to the bottom of your signs and symptoms by working with a practitioner to get to the root cause.
You can book a 1:1 consultation with me via Telehealth or at the clinic here