# How long to wait between labs



## mombg20062009 (May 4, 2013)

HI! I had a TT to remove thyroid cancer in May. At the end of June the doctor order these labs

TSH 1.449 (0.400-4.200)
FT4 0.8 (0.6-1.5)

She increased my synthroid from 137 to 150 after the lab results.

Because I'm new to this, I think that I'm wanting my TSH a lot lower to suppress it and my FT4 to be in the upper 75% of the range. Does this sound right?

Also, she doesn't want to see me back until December- 6 months. I'm thinking I need more labs before then to make sure everything is at the optimal level. How often did you get your labs done when trying to get the right levels? Thank you so much for your responses! I appreciate it!


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

You should lab every 6 weeks until you are at your set-point dose and lab range.

If you can afford to pay out of pocket you can order the FT-4 and FT-3 along with TSH for around $90


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

mombg20062009 said:


> HI! I had a TT to remove thyroid cancer in May. At the end of June the doctor order these labs
> 
> TSH 1.449 (0.400-4.200)
> FT4 0.8 (0.6-1.5)
> ...


For sure your TSH needs to be suppressed so 6 months is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long to assess that situation for sure.

FREE T3 should be in the 75% of the range. This is your active hormone.

Understanding the Thyroid: Why You Should Check Your Free T3
http://breakingmuscle.com/health-medicine/understanding-thyroid-why-you-should-check-your-free-t3

How are you feeling?


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## bwhughes (Aug 11, 2013)

Lovlkn said:


> You should lab every 6 weeks until you are at your set-point dose and lab range.
> 
> If you can afford to pay out of pocket you can order the FT-4 and FT-3 along with TSH for around $90


I discovered an online source whose regular price for these three tests is only $59, and the panel also includes T3, T4, T3 Uptake, and FTI.

I was shocked when I discovered this source, because I found another source that would have charged me a total of $307 to buy just the TSH, FT4, and FT3. I also discovered through Zoomcare that if I were to get JUST the FT3 through them, it would cost $234!!

So it is really important that thyroid patients who have to pay out of pocket do some research to uncover the best prices. I found the prices from 15 labs, and I'm sure there are many more!

I don't know if I'm allowed to mention the business that offers the $59 panel on this forum. They've been in business since 1980 doing lab work for the government and have recently expanded to the Internet and the general public. In a private email exchange with them, they told me that they offer a "limited" number of tests, so they do a high volume with those tests and get the best price they can negotiate with LabCorp, who handles the blood draw and analysis of ALL the online sources (at least all 15 that I discovered). Only one of the 15 businesses offered an additional lab choice -- Quest Diagnostics I think it was -- but they also offered LabCorp. Quest would have been closer to me, but I would have had to pay around $90, like Lovkin mentioned.

Regarding the duration of time between tests. I've heard that 4 weeks is also OK. Has anyone else heard this?


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

I had labs every four week when I was very unstable (TSH was 121)...but the ideal is every six week until your numbers become stable/consistent.


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

> regular price for these three tests is only $59, and the panel also includes T3, T4, T3 Uptake, and FTI.


These are the wrong tests.

Free T-4 and Free T-3 are what need to be tested.

Try this site http://www.healthcheckusa.com/Thyroid-Panel-II-T4-Free-T3-Free-with-TSH/46938/

$105 for all 3 tests, I have used HealthcheckUSA and have been happy with their turnaround time. Someone recently posted another site - I cannot remeober the name but the same tests were a little less.


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## bwhughes (Aug 11, 2013)

Lovlkn said:


> These are the wrong tests.
> 
> Free T-4 and Free T-3 are what need to be tested.
> 
> ...


Lovlkn, for $59 you DO get the FT4 and FT3. It's there in what I wrote, but I didn't list them all together. You get ALL of these:

TSH
FT4
FT3
T3
T4
T3 Uptake
FTI
ALL of those for just $59! I know, I did it. I got the right tests. Since you mentioned HealthcheckUSA, I will go ahead and mention the service that offers this panel: HealthOneLabs. Here is the link to their "Thyroid Panel Plus": http://www.healthonelabs.com/pub/tests/test/pid/167

Why pay $105 when you can get the exact same thing (plus more) for only $59? ALL these services use LabCorp. The reason their prices are all different is because each service negotiates their own price with LabCorp, which LabCorp agrees to based on the volume of business the service can provide.

I got a copy of my lab request within an hour or two from HealthOneLabs, and then I got my lab results the day after my blood was drawn... on a Saturday! You can't get any better than that for turnaround time.


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