Dr. Aaron Hartman explains that a TSH reading between 0.5 and 5.5 is considered normal by labs, but optimal thyroid health sits closer to 1 to 2. Up to 60% of Americans with thyroid disorders go undiagnosed because their numbers fall within the broad normal range, especially women with subclinical hypothyroidism.
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What does this sound like to you? You're exhausted, you've got brain fog, your hair might be falling out, you feel cold all the time, and your TSH is normal, so the doctor says you're fine. But a TSH range is huge. It can be anywhere from 0.5 to 5.5, yet the optimal range is at that 1 to 2 range. And the result is a lot of people, a lot of particularly women with subclinical hypothyroidism or Overlooked, told nothing's wrong with them, and they get undertreated. So how common is this? About 20 million Americans actually have some degree of thyroid disease, but up to 60%, here's the trigger, up to 60% are underdiagnosed because they fail to meet the normal TSH guidelines. Even though the TSH under 2.5, they need that to feel well, they might have a 3 or 4 or 5 and the diagnosis is missed. This is a great example of a blind spot in healthcare system. The nuances of a normal range versus an optimal range. This happens all the time with diseases. You know, a normal blood pressure. Well, a normal blood pressure, you can still have an increased risk for heart disease, right? We miss this stuff all the time in our healthcare system. These are blind spots that we miss that result in us not taking appropriate care of patients. And typically with a lot of these, like with thyroid issues, it's mainly women that suffer. If you're a thyroid sufferer out there right now and your diagnosis was missed and eventually you found out what it was and actually felt great after getting treated, I'd love to hear your story below. This is how we can share with each other and actually Help each other. I'll also be curious if there's something you did that actually worked for you. Sometimes thyroid med— you need more than just thyroid medication. You need to replete certain nutrients, treat other issues like Lyme, mold, et cetera. I'll be curious if something that worked really well for you. So share below. We can learn together.
