Thyroid laboratory tests: TSH testing in Warsaw, Krakow, Wrocław, Gliwice, Kołobrzeg, Szczecin, Łódź, Lublin, Bydgoszcz, Gorzów, Ostrołęka

TSH blood test

Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) is a hormone produced by the pituitary gland that influences thyroid function. The thyroid gland affects many bodily functions, setting the metabolic rate through two other hormones. TSH levels are therefore extremely important for our overall health. If you experience symptoms such as weakness/sluggishness, dry skin, hair loss, or a frequent sensation of a racing heart (known as “palpitations”), hair that quickly becomes greasy or frequent muscle tremors, might it be worth having a simple blood test to measure your thyroid-stimulating hormone level?

The normal TSH range is 0.2-4.2 µU/ml

Too little thyroid-stimulating hormone (below 0.2 µU/ml) can cause symptoms such as:

• a fast heart rate (a sensation of “palpitations”),
• raised blood pressure,
• heat intolerance,
• weight loss,
• insomnia,
• agitation,
• increased sweating,
• weakness,
• hand tremor

An excess (above 4.2 µU/ml), on the other hand, is associated with symptoms such as:

• weight gain (without a significant change in diet),
• low mood,
• weakness, excessive sleepiness
• feeling cold easily,
• constipation,
• a slow heart rate.

Contrary to what you might expect, these symptoms are often masked, even though a disease process is already taking place in the body. We put insomnia or agitation down to excessive stress, weakness to the weather, and low mood to too much mental strain. Yet testing your TSH level is incredibly easy and involves taking a small sample of venous blood (around 4 ml) in the morning on an empty stomach. It is worth checking before conditions such as hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Graves’ disease or others develop.

Excessively high thyroid-stimulating hormone levels are increasingly affecting young people. It is generally accepted that, for people of reproductive age, the level should not exceed 2.5µU/ml (despite the normal range being between 0.2 and 4.2 µU/ml), particularly when considering TSH levels in a young woman planning a pregnancy. Before becoming pregnant, the aim is to achieve a TSH level below 2.5 µU/m. Higher values make it harder to become pregnant and carry a high risk of serious complications for the baby, as well as the development of overt hypothyroidism or even Hashimoto’s thyroiditis in the mother-to-be. Thyroid hormone levels change during pregnancy, and as many as 2-3% of women have raised TSH in the first trimester. This is why it is so important to have routine blood tests to check TSH levels.

So, if you feel weak, tire excessively easily, sweat excessively, experience palpitations or notice a change in your weight without a significant change in diet, it may be worth considering a blood test to check your TSH level. This is particularly relevant if you are a young woman planning a pregnancy. Thyroid-stimulating hormone is usually the first sign that thyroid disease is developing, and because it affects so many functions in the body, a change in its level is not always noticeable. As well as testing your TSH level, it is also worth checking free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4) and the thyroid antibodies anti-TPO and anti-TG.

* If your results fall outside the normal range, we recommend consulting a doctor. The result report is issued in Polish.

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