Thyroid Test for Lyme Patients

Ask your doctor to test your TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) when including thyroid tests in your blood work. The T3 and T4 tests measure the blood levels of two different thyroid hormones. If these are low, it indicates an underactive thyroid.

The TSH test measures the concentration of the pituitary hormone. The pituitary hormone stimulates the thyroid to produce hormones. Therefore, your T3 and T4 may be within normal range, but the pituitary hormone may register high. This could mean that it is producing higher levels of TSH to stimulate your sluggish thyroid.

Symptoms of an underactive thyroid may include fatigue; feeling chilly when others are comfortably warm; slight weight gain; dry, brittle hair and nails; depression; decreased ability to think, and memory loss. It is not uncommon for someone with Lyme disease to suffer from hypothyroidism.