Sometimes doctors prescribe their patients to take a blood test to determine the amount of thyroid-stimulating hormone. But not many people know how to donate blood for TSH and why it is needed, therefore they come to the laboratory unprepared, which is extremely undesirable. Therefore, the article provides information on the rules for passing this analysis and its interpretation.
What is TTG
The first step is to understand what the hormone TSH is responsible for and what it is all about. So, thyroid-stimulating hormone belongs to the category of glycoproteins and is produced by the pituitary gland of the brain in order to neutralize the high content of hormones T3 and T4 in the blood. And since these hormones play an important role in the functioning of the thyroid gland, TSH analysis allows us to evaluate the functioning of the thyroid gland, as well as the entire endocrine system. When the level of thyroid-stimulating hormone in the body is normal, it means that everything is in order with the endocrine system, but if it is greatly reduced or increased, this may indicate the presence of pathological changes in the body. Therefore, doctors prescribe a similar analysis to their patients in time to see this pathology and find out its cause, because if you do not normalize the level of TSH in the blood, this can lead to a deterioration in the performance of the digestive tract, cardiovascular and reproductive systems.
What affects the level of TSH in the blood
Also, before you begin to understand how to properly donate blood for TSH, let's find out what can generally affect the level of thyroid-stimulating hormone in the blood, as this will help to find out what should not be done before the analysis, and which factor can lead to exceeding the norm this hormone or its deficiency. So, the level of TSH can be affected by:
- pregnancy;
- increased physical activity, from which fatigue is felt and pressure rises;
- stress, excitement, depression, or fear;
- any bad habits;
- diet food, which involves the rejection of protein intake;
- lack of iodine in the diet or its lack.
In addition, before donating blood for TSH, it is important to remember that the content of thyroid-stimulating hormone in the body fluctuates throughout the day. Its highest concentration in the blood is observed at 2-3 o’clock in the morning, and then by 6-8 o’clock in the morning it decreases slightly, and this time is ideal for analysis. The lowest concentration of TSH in the blood is observed at 17-19 hours. However, if a person is awake at night, then the rhythm of thyroid stimulating hormone secretion is violated, so you must tell your doctor if you do not sleep at night so that the analysis is not scheduled for the morning or if the data obtained after it was decrypted differently.
Who is assigned the analysis
Now we have figured out what thyroid-stimulating hormone is, however, before we begin to figure out how to take a blood test for TSH, let's figure out who they can prescribe it at all. An endocrinologist can send a patient for analysis if:
- thyroid enlargement;
- displacement to the right or left of the thyroid lobe;
- patient complaints of compression sensation in the neck, inability to swallow food or liquid, and lack of air;
- causeless weight loss with good appetite;
- patient complaints of weakness and persistent swelling;
- prolonged inability to become pregnant;
- persistent depression and palpitations;
- disorders of the thyroid gland in newborns;
- mental and sexual development delays in children.
In addition, this analysis is prescribed for patients suffering from hypertensive crisis, renal failure, cirrhosis, mental pathology, thyroid adenoma, toxic goiter, pituitary tumor, high intracranial pressure, or cervical osteochondrosis.
Preparation for blood donation at TSH
Now that we know who is prescribed a TSH test that allows us to find out its level in the body, let's figure out how to prepare for this test so that it allows the doctor to find out the most complete picture of the patient’s health status.
- One day before the time of blood donation, smoking and drinking alcohol should be abandoned.
- It is advisable to abandon physical activity 24 hours before the analysis, which applies even to athletes who urgently need to stop training.
- A few days before the blood donation, you need to stop eating too oily and spicy foods.
- If the patient was taking hormonal drugs or drugs that suppressed hormones, then 2 weeks before the analysis, their administration should be discontinued.
- The day before the blood donation, vitamins and any drugs that contain iodine should be carefully taken.
- Blood should be given on an empty stomach, that is, without having breakfast before him.
- If it so happened that the blood donates not early in the morning, then you need to do an analysis no earlier than 3 hours after a meal.
The process of donating blood to thyroid-stimulating hormone
Now that we have figured out what should and should not be done before donating blood for TSH, let's see how this process goes. Actually, there is nothing unusual in the analysis itself. You just need to come to a specialized clinic, as it is not in any private or state laboratory that an analysis is performed on TSH, to provide a nurse with a referral for examination, and then sit in a chair. The nurse will wipe the place of blood sampling with alcohol, and then he will take blood from the ulnar vein of the left or right hand with a sterile disposable syringe. After this, a fleece is placed on the wound to stop the blood flow, you will need to bend your arm at the elbow and sit for about 15 minutes, and then you can safely go home.
Assignment of a blood test for TSH to pregnant women
Separately, it is necessary to talk about how to give blood for TSH to pregnant women, because in this case there are some nuances in conducting the study. The fact is that during the bearing of a child, women experience a sharp increase in the level of hormones in the blood, therefore they are strongly recommended to visit an endocrinologist and take an analysis for TSH.
The analysis should be carried out in the first trimester, when the placenta is just beginning to form, and the fetus develops due to the resources of the mother's body. Therefore, it is necessary to find out what level of thyroid-stimulating hormone in the body, because its deficiency can provoke spontaneous abortion or lead to the development of defects in the fetus.
However, there are cases when pregnant women in the second and third trimester also went for analysis in order to detect gestosis in time, which is indicated by a high level of TSH in the blood. The very preparation for the analysis and blood sampling in pregnant women occurs in exactly the same way as in standard cases.
TSH blood test frequency
If you have ever tested for thyroid-stimulating hormone levels in the body, you may have a question about how often you need to donate blood for TSH in order to be sure of your health. Actually, it is impossible to give an unambiguous answer here, since the frequency of passing tests depends only on the severity of the disease and can only be determined by the attending physician.
However, in global medical practice, women over 50 should check the level of the hormone every year, because they are at risk of developing diseases associated with the thyroid gland. Also, once every six months - a year, these tests should be taken to all those who have already been sent to take this analysis to make sure that the level of TSH has returned to normal, which means that the risk of developing diseases associated with its excess or deficiency is minimized .
TSH level norms
And now, when we learned how to donate blood for TSH to women bearing a child, and everyone else, let's figure out what should be the normal level of thyroid-stimulating hormone in the blood. Actually, it depends on several factors at once, but basically the amount of TSH in the body depends on the age of the patient.
- In newborn babies up to 30 days, the TSH level is 0.6-10 units per liter of blood.
- In children aged 2 months to 2 years, the level of TSH is 4-7 units per liter of blood.
- In children aged 2-5 years, the level of TSH is 4-6 units per liter of blood.
- In children over 14 years of age and adults, the level of TSH is 0.4-4.2 units per liter of blood.
- In pregnant women, the optimal level of TSH is 0.2-3.5 units per liter of blood.
Thyroid-stimulating hormone increased - what does it mean
If a blood test for TSH showed that its level in the blood is significantly higher than normal, then this indicates the presence of one of the serious diseases in the patient:
- somatic or mental illness;
- the development of any types of tumors, especially often, pituitary tumors;
- syndrome of lack of regulation of TSH production by the body;
- impaired functioning of the adrenal glands;
- pituitary adenoma;
- late toxicosis in pregnant women;
- primary or secondary hypothyroidism;
- lead poisoning;
- an overdose of drugs like Prednisolone, iodides, antipsychotics, or beta-blockers, which should immediately stop taking.
Decreased TSH
If the transcript of a blood test for TSH hormones showed that the patient has a deficiency of thyroid-stimulating hormone, this may indicate that he has no less serious diseases than with his elevated level:
- Plummer's disease (toxic thyroid adenoma);
- problems with the pituitary gland;
- toxic goiter;
- pituitary injury;
- Sheehan syndrome, which is observed in women who gave birth and signals the death of pituitary cells;
- hyperthyroidism of pregnant women;
- cachexia, that is, complete exhaustion of the body;
- diets and fasting that urgently need to be stopped;
- an excess of thyroid hormones, which is caused by self-medication with hormonal drugs and which should be urgently stopped.
Treatment of a patient with elevated TSH
And now you find out that your thyroid-stimulating hormone is elevated. What does this mean, the doctor will tell you in detail, who will then prescribe the appropriate treatment. First of all, he will check if the patient is taking hormonal medications and, if necessary, will prohibit their use. Instead, at the beginning of treatment, the patient will be prescribed a small amount of Thyroxine. Then, from time to time, it will be necessary to check the level of TSH in the blood, and if it does not normalize, then the dose of the drug will need to be constantly increased until the amount of thyroid-stimulating hormone is normalized.
In addition to "Thyroxine" for these purposes, the doctor may prescribe another drug, focusing on the amount of thyroxine in the body. Also, with an elevated level of TSH in the body, the doctor can prescribe an additional analysis to the patient for the level of T3 and T4 hormones in the body to exclude diseases such as nodular goiter and Graves disease. If the tests show that the patient still has Graves disease, he will be immediately prescribed B-blockers, and in the case of nodular goiter, they can prescribe radioiodine therapy or surgery.
Treatment for a patient with low TSH
And finally, after we learned how to donate blood for TSH and what its deficiency means in the body, let's see how the treatment of such patients will occur. Actually, the algorithm for the most effective treatment of such a pathology has not yet been clearly developed here. There are several methods for increasing the level of thyroid-stimulating hormone in the body, however, most often for this, a full examination of the patient is first carried out, and a disease is detected that provokes a decrease in TSH level, and after that rational treatment is selected for each specific case. Therefore, even if you know what the TSH hormone is responsible for, the appointment of treatment should be performed by an exclusively highly qualified doctor, self-medication in such cases is categorically unacceptable and can only lead to an even worse situation.