What Do Your Thyroid Test Results Mean? With Mary Shomon

There is so much confusion about thyroid test results. Your doctors may tell you that all you need to do is test your TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone), but then you hear another thyroid expert recommend a complete thyroid panel. The vast majority of us with hypothyroidism have Hashimoto’s, and yet many of us have never been tested. Even if you are an informed patient who knows what the needed thyroid tests are, and gets them regularly, what do those test results actually mean?

If you want to put the information provided by your thyroid labs to good use so that you can optimize your treatment and feel your best, this episode of Thyroid-healthy Bites is a do-not-miss! I interviewed NYT bestselling author, thyroid expert, and patient advocate Mary Shomon, to help you learn all about your thyroid test results and what they mean. 

We'll Discuss:

• Essential thyroid tests  
• Why TSH testing is NOT enough
• Normal vs optimal thyroid levels
• Why is antibody testing so important?
• What to do if your doctor refuses to run a complete thyroid panel 
• Using thyroid labs to optimize our medication
• What is Reverse T3 and what can it tell us?
• How often should you get tested?

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Show Notes:

• The Thyroid Tuneup Bonus Bundle
• Paloma's Complete At-home Thyroid Test Kit (30% OFF CODE: HYPOCHEF)
• Ep. 26: Why You Should Get Tested for Hashimoto's
• Visit Mary Shomon's Website
• Follow Mary Shomon on Facebook

Podcast Links:

• Listen on the podcast page
• Subscribe on iTunes
• Follow on Spotify
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Subscribe on Google Podcasts
• Subscribe on Amazon Music
• Listen on Stitcher

About Mary Shomon

Mary Shomon is an internationally known thyroid patient advocate, writer, and health coach. She's a New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen books on thyroid health and host of the PBS Healthy Hormones television specials.

If you’ve been diagnosed with hypothyroidism and have taken to the interwebs to learn more about your thyroid, Mary is often the first expert you come across on places like Verywell Health and Health Central. Mary has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the LA Times, Time Magazine, and hundreds of other television, radio, and print media outlets. 

Does Your Thyroid Need a Tuneup?

The thyroid is the metabolic engine of the body. When it's out of whack, everything is out of whack. Even if you’re properly diagnosed and on medication with a "normal" TSH, you can be plagued by hypothyroid symptoms like fatigue, excess weight, hair loss, joint pain, brain fog, dry skin, constipation, and low libido.

In the words of author and autoimmune advocate Eileen Laird, “We treat our bodies like a car that’s supposed to run perfectly, last a lifetime, and never need any repairs!”

The reality is that sometimes, we do need a "tuneup." Just like you would take your car to the mechanic if it weren’t running well, you need to do the same for your thyroid health and treatment from time to time. 

My guest, Mary Shomon, is also the creator of The Thyroid Tuneup Course. This is one of my most popular and beloved offerings. The Tuneup is the ultimate crash course for anyone who has been diagnosed with hypothyroidism or is taking supplemental thyroid hormone.  

Mary created this high-impact, no-nonsense course, which covers everything you need to know to get empowered and informed as a patient, including a lot of information your doctor may not have told you. 

In the Thyroid Tuneup Mary explains:

• Thyroid labs and what they mean
• The full menu of treatment options (not just levothyroxine)
• How to optimize your treatment 
• How to lower your thyroid antibodies
• How to reduce your symptoms
• How to harness the power of Thyroid-specific diet and lifestyle changes
• What Thyroid Thrivers need to know about our adrenals and other hormones
• PLUS, She created a troubleshooting guide for when symptoms pop up, or your treatment doesn’t seem to be working. 

This really is a life-changing, jam-packed course, and the best part is that you could do the whole thing in a single afternoon. The Thyroid Tuneup includes 2 (1-hour) videos and an accompanying “Thyroid Owner’s Manual” so that you don’t have to take notes or remember everything. It’s all there at your fingertips, and you can come back and reference it again and again. 

To celebrate having Mary on this Season 1 finale episode of Thyroid-healthy Bites and to get this essential course into as many hands as we can, we’ve put together a special offer for Thyroid-healthy Bites viewers and listeners. 

The Tuneup Bonus Bundle includes:

• The Thyroid Tuneup Course
• The Thyroid-healthy Everyday Cookbook
• The Calm Kit

All the resources in this special 3-for-1 bundle are designed to help you address the Thyroid Trifecta: treatment, diet, and lifestyle so that you can feel optimal. 

The retail value of those three offerings (The Tuneup, the Cookbook, and The Calm Kit) together is $141, but with the Tuneup Bonus Bundle, you get them for just $67. 

It’s a great deal, it’s a gift to yourself, and it can be an absolute game-changer. If you're ready for a specially discounted 'Thyroid Tuneup,' check out The Tuneup Bonus Bundle! 

See You Next Season! 

Like our special Thyroid Tuneup offering, Mary and I hope that this special episode of Thyroid-health Bites has helped inform and empower you to make the best choices for your health. This high-impact episode feels like a fitting finale for Season 1 of the Thyroid-Healthy Bites Podcast. 

My goal with Thyroid-healthy Bites is to offer you inspiration and information to support your healing journey. We've talked about food and recipes, exercise, lifestyle topics, nutrition, and so many ways you can live well, eat well, and ultimately FEEL WELL as a Thyroid Thriver. We've covered a lot of ground together this season, and there's more to come! 

Your feedback, reviews, comments, and support are so welcome and appreciated. I love hearing from you, so don't hesitate to reach out with questions or topics you'd like to see covered. Together, we thrive! 

If you're a Thyroid-healthy Bites subscriber, thank you so much for your support and for an awesome Season 1!! If you're new here, Welcome! Enjoy the episodes, and be sure to join my mailing list to stay in the loop about upcoming episodes (and to get free recipes and lifestyle tips delivered weekly to your inbox)!

I’m Ginny Mahar, wishing you happy cooking, happy thriving, and the best of health. See ya next season!