Understand this Crucial Hormone
Your endocrine system generates a multitude of hormones that serve crucial functions in your body. One of the most important is the thyroid stimulating hormone imbalance. Created in the pituitary gland, TSH is a precursor hormone. This means TSH is essential for the thyroid gland to release its hormones thyroxin (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3).
If you’d like to know more about TSH, please call (832) 532-0050 or contact us online.
Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone Levels
Having balanced TSH levels is crucial for your thyroid health and overall wellness. For adults, the normal TSH range is anywhere from .4 – 4.2 milliunits per liter. Both high TSH levels and low TSH levels can cause serious health problems.
High TSH can be caused by:
- Hypothyroidism
- Hashimoto’s disease
Low TSH can be caused by:
- Hyperthyroidism
- Secondary hypothyroidism
- Thyroid goiters
TSH imbalance can cause serious health problems and numerous symptoms. Most of these symptoms are signs of hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism:
- Weight gain
- Fatigue
- Hair loss
- Insomnia
- Depression
- Constipation
- Memory loss
- Rapid heart beat
- Weakness
- Swelling
Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone Testing
TSH levels serve as a strong indicator of your overall health, along with hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. Because of this, getting your TSH levels checked is a good idea. TSH levels are measured with a blood test.
Just like a standard blood draw, this test is virtually painless. Before the test, it’s important to let your doctor know about any medications you’re taking or treatments you’ve recently undergone. These can both interfere with the TSH screen.
A blood test gives your doctor the opportunity to analyze your TSH levels and recommend treatment.
Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone Treatment
Correcting your TSH levels revolves around supplementing your natural thyroid production. This is done with bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, or BHRT. BHRT uses TSH that’s chemically identical to what your body produces to naturally rejuvenate your thyroid.
Your thyroid can be restored via a number of delivery methods:
- Injected pellets
- Pills / Tablets
- Creams / Gels
- Patches
These are all equally valid ways of correcting your TSH levels. It’s best to talk with a doctor and find out which method is right for you.
Get Tested Now
If you’re experiencing a number of seemingly unrelated symptoms you may be suffering from TSH imbalance. Hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism can make life extremely difficult, so it’s of the utmost importance to you have TSH levels checked.
If you’re interested in a TSH and BHRT consultation, please call (832) 532-0050 or contact us online.
