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Short Thyroid Panel
An athlete without symptoms.
This woman was a very athletic runner who, during routine blood work, appeared to be "hyperthyroid." That is, her TSH was very low. So, the doctor assumed the low TSH meant that her T4 was high (without measuring it). It did not seem to matter that she had no symptoms of hyperthyroidism.
She went to see her other doctor who viewed things from a more holistic point of view. He ordered the Short Thyroid Panel (STP) which measures the free fraction of TSH, T4, and T3. It was this doctor who called me to talk about the patient's test results.
The test showed normal TSH, T4, and T3, agreeing with her symptoms. I should add here that the saliva test (STP) agrees with patient symptoms at least twice as often as the more indirect serum tests commonly used by the vast majority of doctors.
So was the STP just money wasted? No. It told us her brain and thyroid were working well together and that her liver was converting the T4 to T3 quite well. However, we found out something else we really needed to know: her body was starting to attack her thyroid tissue! That is, her thyroid microsomal antibody level was positive. That means, left untreated, she eventually would be likely to have some thyroid problems. Many people who attack their own thyroid tissue (Hashimoto's Thyroiditis) end up with hypothyroid problems.
Many practitioners use PABA (para-aminobenzoic acid) to help reduce this autoimmune response. We have found that a significant portion of patients with positive thyroid microsomal antibodies also have gut problems, so the doctor may order the Expanded Gastrointestinal Health Panel (GI2).
Warm regards,
Dr. Mark Rhodes, Ph.D.
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