Thyroid Health Site
	Colleen Forgus BellaOnline's Thyroid Health Editor

Thyroid Medications
Finding the correct thyroid medication and dosage is crucial to eliminating troubling symptoms of hypothyroidism. Each patient must be treated as an individual - there is not a universal approach to treating thyroid disorders. What choices are available?

Basics about FNA Thyroid Tissue Biopsy
"Fine Needle Aspiration" (FNA) is a proceedure for extracting thyroid tissue or thyroid nodule tissue, to be sent for lab analysis. It is a non-evasive, out-patient proceedure that evaluates nodules suspicious of containing cancer and is also a definitive test for Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Basics about Thyroid Function Tests
In this article, I discuss tests that are commonly ordered by Doctors, to evaluate thyroid function in their patients. I also go over the basics in regard to tests that further evaluate patients who are found to have thyroid hormone imbalances.

Beyond TSH, T4 and T3 Blood Tests
What do you do if your standard thyroid blood tests come back in the normal range, but you don't feel normal? What tests should you ask for? What if your doctor won't conduct the tests? What can you do to help yourself?

Blood Test Primer
There are a variety of blood tests that can be taken to diagnose thyroid disorders. This article summarizes the major thyroid blood tests, indicates the normal ranges and provides information to analyze the test results.

Can Temporary Thyroiditis become Permanent?
Some patients who experience a bout of a temporary type of thyroiditis are found afterward to be experiencing temporary autoimmune thyroiditis. Was the short-term type a forerunner to the temporary type? I also talk about the "antibodies tests" that determine the autoimmune type of thyroiditis.

Differences Between Diagnostic & Treatment TSH
Diagnostic TSH and Treatment TSH are not the same. The diagnostic range is broader, for detecting two spectrums of thyroid hormone imbalance (hypothyroid and hyperthyroid). The treatment range would be narrower, in order to adequately treat hypothyroidism.

Hereditary Thyroid Disease
If you are the child of a parent or parents who have thyroid disease, what are your chances of inheriting the disease? Unfortunately your chances are about 50%! It is important that offspring of thyroid disease parents monitor their selves for symptoms and request blood testing when needed.

Is TSH Always Accurate?
While TSH is a highly diagnostic test and detects thyroid disorders earlier than any other blood test there are cases in which it will miss some cases of thyroid hormone imbalance. When diagnosing and treating hypothyroid patients the T-4 and T-3 levels should also be tested initially.

TSH Only Testing in Treated Hypothyroid Patients
When newly diagnosed hypothyroid patients are treated with hormone therapy, the first retests of their thyroid hormone levels should include the Free T-4 and Free T-3 levels, in addition to the TSH level. Find out why.

TSH the World's Most Sensitive Thyroid Test
In this article we look at basics in regard to the TSH hormone and its invaluable place in thyroid function testing.

Understanding Thyroid Hormones and Blood Tests
In this article, I look at the thyroid hormones and how they function in the body. I also look at blood testing used to diagnose thyroid hormone imbalance and testing used to monitor patients on thyroid hormone replacement therapy.