7 Things You Probably Don't Know About Your Thyroid Condition

2. Normal Blood Tests Don't Mean Your Thyroid is Normal

According to internationally known practitioner and researcher Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum, it's a misconception that "if you have normal thyroid blood tests, your symptoms cannot be coming from low thyroid." Dr. Teitelbaum walks you though the rationale behind the increasingly common perspective that tests are not the end-all and be-all, but rather just one part of a good doctor's overall diagnostic evaluation, in this fascinating article.

You can also read How to Find Out if Your Thyroid Is Causing Your Symptoms. This is a detailed, step-by-step instructional article that helps you and your doctor determine if your thyroid could be the cause of your symptoms. Dr. Ken Woliner walks you through the symptoms you should be looking for, how to measure your basal temperature -- including excellent instructions on how to monitor your basal body temperature! -- what your doctor should be looking for in a physical exam, and the various blood tests you can request. And Dr. Woliner answers the essential question: If you have normal laboratory tests, could your thyroid still be causing your symptoms?

1. Your Doctor Probably Still Doesn't Know About the New TSH Normal Range

A year has passed by, and still, many doctors are not aware that the recommended normal ranges for TSH tests have changed. Even though these changes were announced last year, and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists has suggested a change to diagnosis and treatment approaches, your doctor probably is still unaware of the changes to the Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) test normal range. Yet this is the primary blood test used by conventional doctors to diagnose thyroid disorders. Find out now about the new range and how it affects you.