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Video Transcript I’d like to talk to you today about the problems with thyroid blood tests, and how they affect you from solving the underlying problem. Do you ever feel fatigue, get cold easily or have chilly hands and feet? Do feel that you have extra weight that you just can’t get off? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you may have a problem with your thyroid system. Now, you may have already thought of this and have gone to see your medical doctor about it. Then, perhaps, your doctor ordered some thyroid blood tests. If so, what may have happened next is that your doctor came back to you with the results and said “Everything’s fine. Your thyroid is "normal.” Then, they may have said “There’s nothing I can do for you.” or “Would you like an anti-depressant?” Sadly, this is an extremely common scene. The problem with it is that, in many of these cases, there IS a problem with the thyroid or what we call the “Thyroid System”, which includes your thyroid gland, your adrenal glands, and the other tissues of the body. The issue is NOT that you have some rare thyroid issue that the doctors can’t detect. The issue is with the tools that the doctors are using. They are relying mostly on one particular blood test, called TSH, which is short for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. If TSH is found to be “within normal range”, then they usually rule out that your thyroid is the cause of your symptoms. To understand why this doesn't make sense, it’s important to understand what TSH does. Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) TSH is made in your brain. It travels to your thyroid and tells it to make hormones. These “thyroid hormones” then travel to the other parts of your body, get inside the tissues,and set your “Metabolic Rate”. “Metabolic Rate” simply means how fast or slow your body will run. If you don’t get enough thyroid hormones into the body’s tissues, your metabolism will slow down and you might start to feel the symptoms that I mentioned earlier, and possibly other symptoms. TSH, even if it’s normal, doesn't tell you if the thyroid hormones are doing the job that they need to do in your body’s tissues. How to Know If the Thyroid Hormones Are Working or Not? Beside paying attention to your symptoms, one of the best ways to assess your thyroid system is by tracking your body temperature. For thyroid health, oral temperature needs to be taken three times a day, starting at 3 hours after you wake up and at 3 hour intervals. If, after a few weeks, your average daily temperatures are below 98.6°F or 37°C, then there may be a problem with your thyroid system. In summary, the thyroid blood test that most medical doctors use will not give you the whole picture. If you suspect that your thyroid system is out of balance, make sure to see a practitioner who is willing to use multiple tools to determine if it is. Thanks for listening. For ongoing information and tips about your health, tune into my YouTube channel and read some more of my Articles of Health. They just may save your life! Until next time, this is Dr. Pat Nardini, ND, putting “Your Wellness First!”