Full Thyroid Panel + Graves'
What an advanced thyroid test measures
Your thyroid sets the pace of your metabolism, and the system runs on a feedback loop: the pituitary releases TSH to tell the thyroid to produce more hormone, so TSH rises when the thyroid is underperforming and falls when it's overactive. That inverse relationship makes TSH the most sensitive single marker. Free T4 is the main hormone the thyroid releases, free T3 the active form your tissues use.
The two antibodies answer a different question. TPO and thyroglobulin antibodies indicate the immune system is targeting thyroid tissue — the process behind Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and common in Graves' disease too. Knowing your TSH is drifting upward is useful; knowing it's drifting upward alongside positive antibodies tells you the likely cause, and that it's worth monitoring rather than checking once.
A thyroid antibodies test reveals situations where the immune system mistakenly attacks the thyroid and can lead to chronic inflammation of the thyroid (thyroiditis), tissue damage, and disruption of thyroid function. An underactive or hypothyroid can cause symptoms such as weight gain, fatigue, dry skin, hair loss, intolerance to cold, and constipation. Conversely an overactive or hyperthyroid can cause sweating, rapid heart rate, anxiety, tremors, fatigue, difficulty sleeping and sudden weight loss.
What's included
Your thyroid gland produces hormones that regulate growth and energy expenditure. Thyroid disorders are quite common, and many people don’t have any symptoms at all. This thyroid test screens for the thyroid hormones that play a key role in regulating the body’s metabolism.
Reverse T3 (rT3) is virtually inactive having only 1% the activity of T3 and blocks the action of T3 acting as a metabolic break. Normal metabolism of T4 requires the appropriate balance of T3 to rT3. If the proportion of rT3 dominates then it will antagonise T3 thus producing hypothyroid symptoms despite sufficient circulating levels of T4 and T3.
In addition to screening for the thyroid hormones that play a key role in regulating metabolism, this advanced thyroid function test detects and measures the quantity of specific thyroid autoantibodies to determine whether autoimmune disease may be impacting thyroid function.
Test instructions
Download and print your pathology form from your i-screen dashboard.
Take your form to one of our affiliated collection centres to have your sample taken.
You do not need to fast for this blood test.
Ready. Set. Go!
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