how many ways are there to test thyriod?

[patricdemello22]

Hi everybody, I am back with another question?Does every country test thyriod in a different way?Because with lot of information from you all,I made a point of asking different questions to both the laboratry, and the doctor. Now i have found a new twist in the medical examination my friend is from india and her first reports were showing that she was out of range that is   TSH 6.18.The doctor put her on medication thyrioxine25.After 3 months the test was done again TSH 7.64,Now after another 3months medication that is thyroxine 50 the TSH is 2.61. when i was confused with the overall issue.I started questioning on this blog. After getting information from this blog, I happpen to ask doctor whats the normal range, he said anything between 0.35 to 5.50.I had doubts in my mind so i enquired in the lab,  and i was told that there are different kits of testing.Our testing range is this 0.35 to 5.50.Is it true? what? is it true that every country have different ways of testing?  

[Thypatient]

It’s a confusing subject.  Which is a shame given TSH is a major aspect of the thyroid.

Here’s my understanding so far:  The AACE lowered the range recommendation based on studies.  But then those studies were thought to be incomprehensive, hence, controversial.  That’s why many labs stuck with the previously determined range.

I had read (in one place) that the controversy came because some drs felt the said studies relied too much on determining if someone had thyroid disease by how they described themselves.  This especially pertained to persons who had TSH readings between 3-5, the subclinical hypothyroidism area.  In other words, it was too subjective.  Given, you could ask someone how he/she feels and they will always say ‘awful’ but they might be healthy.  Then the reverse could be true, you could ask someone how he/she feels and they will always say ‘great’ yet they could be harboring thyroid disease.

Maybe someone else has more up-to-date information, but the last thing I came across from the AACE is that until more studies are done they are sticking with their current lowered range.  However, they do stress that diagnosis and treatment for readings between 3-5 should be determined by a qualified physician.

Given my personal experience, this seems like sound advice.  I had a TSH range that fell within a healthy range (below 3) but the dr knew to pursue the situation further by doing an ultrasound.  That u/s should quite a different story.

Good luck in the information you come across and in your own personal situation.  But be careful, there is a lot of misleading information out there put together for the purpose of selling something or other.

Take care.

[AR-10]

Test ranges for TSH vary, but the test results are arrived at the same way.

A result of 1.3 means the same thing whether the range is 0.3-3.0 or 0.5-5.0. The doctor should be trying to get the TSH below 2.0, at least.

T4 tests and T3 tests are a different story. Different labs use different ranges on T4/T3 tests because the machines the tests are processed on and the techniques used vary.

But TSH is processed the same everywhere.

[stella5349]

It's not a kit - it is a reference range that labs are basing a TSH on. I can't tell you about other places in the owrld - but here in the states we have established that a TSH range should be .3-3.0 through the AACE.

Even here in the states many labs still use the OLD ranges of .3-5.5. A thyoid patient has to have this information handy and be ready to discuss it with our doctors if the lab they use still refers to the outdated reference ranges.

You can google a ton of information up on this. I belive the reference range changed in November of 2003.