AVENTURA, Fla. – It’s estimated that one in five women age 60 and older have some form of thyroid dysfunction, yet a huge number will go undiagnosed.
For years, Bonnie Reiter Lehrer wondered if she was suffering from some underlying, undiagnosed health issue.
“It could be that I felt very tired, or some hair loss, or problems with weight,” she said.
Her symptoms were typical of hypothyroidism or low thyroid.
But experts have suggested that the standard range for a thyroid-stimulating hormone or T.S.H. Test, which checks for gland function, could be missing as many as 75 percent of people with a low thyroid.
“This is actually the master gland. It coordinates other endocrine glands, and it is the conductor of the orchestra if you will. It controls the entire metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins,” said Dr. Seza Gulec, an oncologist with HCA Florida Aventura Hospital.
He said the key to testing is how the results are interpreted and understanding that the acceptable range isn’t necessarily acceptable for everyone.
“Your thyroid hormone measurement may be normal. That means 90 percent of the society, 90 percent of your friends, have their thyroid hormone level within that range, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that is what is the number to keep you healthy and feeling well,” Gulec said.
Further testing ultimately showed Reiter-Lehrer had serious thyroid issues which she said were finally recognized when she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
“The thing about thyroid symptoms is that they can be very subtle and it’s easy to miss them or overlook them or excuse them for what might just be other normal feelings,” she said.
According to some experts, if your T.S.H. test is 2.5 or higher and you’re experiencing symptoms of low thyroid, ask your doctor for additional tests.