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How often does one order the thyroid blood tests?

How often does one order the thyroid blood tests?

The thyroid blood tests are not so much to diagnose Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome as they are to rule out thyroid gland dysfunction before treatment. Also, they provide a baseline against which to compare future thyroid blood tests. It is reassuring to have this baseline, because with it and post-treatment blood tests it can be demonstrated that the T3 therapy has not adversely affected endogenous thyroid gland function. Once T3 therapy is initiated, the thyroid blood tests do not significantly affect management decisions. They more reflect the changes that are occurring in the thyroid system than they are useful in directing the therapy that brings about those changes. Therefore, it is not necessary to get the thyroid tests often, if at all. But that’s not to say that they are completely without value, since it is sometimes helpful to see how the blood tests reflect the effects and progress of the therapy. The thyroid tests do sometimes show some interesting trends. For example, a symptomatic patient may have a temperature of 97.8 before treatment with a T4 of 7.2 mcg/dl, a TSH of 4.1 mIU/ml, and a RT3 of 247 pg/ml. And that same patient may feel very well with a temperature of 98.6 after treatment with a T4 of 7.1 mcg/dl, a TSH of 4.2 mIU/ml, and a RT3 of 85 pg/ml. Granted RT3 levels can change quickly and readily under various circumstances, but that doesn’t mean the averages can’t be lower. Such interesting trends are what have led to the paradigm upon which the T3 therapy has been designed.