Whats the deal about TSH?
TSH. Try Something Harder. It can feel like you always have to do that when your thyroid isn’t working right, but TSH stands for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. The TSH test is the main one that doctors use to diagnose hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism, so it’s an important test to understand. TSH is a pituitary hormone, not a thyroid hormone. Its job is to stimulate the thyroid to produce more thyroid hormone, so a high TSH level usually indicates that your body isn’t getting enough thyroid hormone. This condition is hypothyroidism. A too-low TSH level usually indicates the opposite, or hyperthyroidism. The main problem with the TSH test is that the reference range for it is too wide at most labs. The upper end of the range at some labs goes as high as 6, but according to the hundreds of references that we’ve compiled, symptoms of hypothyroidism accompanied by a TSH level over 2, sometimes lower, are suspect. Whenever you get lab tests, ask for a copy of the results. Don’t just let someo
