At Home Thyroid Health Screening Test

TSH is produced by the pituitary gland. It prompts the thyroid gland to make and release thyroid hormones into the blood. 

The test is used if there are symptoms or signs of an overactive or underactive thyroid gland. It is also used to monitor treatment of these conditions, and if there are plans for pregnancy.

What do I Need to do to Prepare for the Test?

Your health care provider will tell you if you need to stop taking any medicines before you have this test.DO NOT stop or change your medicines without talking to your provider first.

What do the Results Mean?

Normal (Blood Spot): = 0.5 – 4.7 pg/mL

A higher-than-normal TSH level is most often due to an underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism). There are many causes of this problem.

A lower-than-normal level may be due to an overactive thyroid gland, which can be caused by: Graves disease, Toxic nodular goiter, Too much iodine in the body (due to receiving iodine contrast used during imaging tests, such as CT scan), Taking too much thyroid hormone medicine or prescribed natural or over-the- counter supplements that contain thyroid hormone

Use of certain medicines may also cause a lower-than- normal TSH level. 

T3 plays an important role in the body’s control of metabolism. 

This test is done to check your thyroid function. Thyroid function depends on the action of T3 and other hormones, including thyroid- stimulating hormone (TSH) and T4.

This test measures the T3 that is floating free in the blood.

What do I Need to do to Prepare for the Test?

Your health care provider will tell you if you need to stop taking any medicines before you have this test.DO NOT stop or change your medicines without talking to your provider first.

What do the Results Mean?

Normal (Blood Spot): = 2.1 – 4.2 pg/mL

A higher-than-normal level of T3 may be a sign of: Overactive thyroid gland (Graves disease),T3 thyrotoxicosis (rare), Toxic nodular goiter, Taking thyroid medicines or certain supplements (common), and Liver disease. 

A high level of T3 may occur in pregnancy (especially with morning sickness at the end of the first trimester) or with the use of birth control pills or estrogen.

A lower-than-normal level may be due to: severe short-term or long-term illnesses, thyroiditis (swelling or inflammation of the thyroid gland – Hashimoto disease is the most common type), starvation, and an underactive thyroid gland. 

T4 (thyroxine) is the main hormone produced by the thyroid gland. 

This test measures the amount of free T4 in your blood. The tests reveal if you have signs of a thyroid disorder, including: Abnormal findings of other thyroid blood tests, such as TSH or T3, Symptoms of an underactive thyroid, Hypopituitarism (the pituitary gland does not produce enough of its hormones), Lump or nodule in the thyroid, Enlarged or irregular thyroid gland, or Problems becoming pregnant.

What do I Need to do to Prepare for the Test?

Your health care provider will tell you if you need to stop taking any medicines before you have this test.

DO NOT stop or change your medicines without talking to your provider first. 

What do the Results Mean?

Normal (Blood Spot): = 0.8 – 2.0 ng/dL

To fully understand the results of the free T4 test, results of other thyroid blood tests, such as TSH or T3, may be needed.

Test results may also be affected by pregnancy, estrogen level, liver problems, more severe body-wide illnesses, and inherited changes in a protein that binds T4.

A higher than normal level of T4 may be due to conditions that involve an overactive thyroid, including: Graves disease, Taking too much thyroid hormone medicine, Thyroiditis, Toxic goiter or toxic thyroid nodules, Some tumors of the  ovaries (rare), Getting medical imaging tests with contrast dye that contains iodine (rare, and only if there is a problem with the thyroid), and Eating a lot of foods that contain iodine (very rare, and only if there is a problem with the thyroid). 

A lower than normal level of T4 may be due to:Hypothroidism (including Hashimoto disease and other disorders involving an underactive thyroid), Severe acute illness, Malnutrition or fasting, and Use of certain medicines. 

Thyroid peroxidase (TPO), an enzyme normally found in the thyroid gland, and plays an important role in the production of thyroid hormones. A TPO test detects antibodies against TPO in the blood. 

What do I Need to do to Prepare for the Test?

Your health care provider will tell you if you need to stop taking any medicines before you have this test.DO NOT stop or change your medicines without talking to your provider first. 

What do the Results Mean?

Normal (Blood Spot):  <60 IU/mL

The presence of TPO antibodies in your blood suggests that the cause of thyroid disease is an autoimmune disorder, such as Hashimoto’s disease or Graves’ disease. In autoimmune disorders, your immune system makes antibodies that mistakenly attack normal tissue. Antibodies that attack the thyroid gland cause inflammation and impaired function of the thyroid.

Some people with TPO antibodies may not have thyroid disease. However, the presence of TPO antibodies may increase the risk of future thyroid disorders. If you have normal thyroid function with TPO antibodies, your doctor may recommend periodic checkups to watch for future thyroid problems.