In a message dated 2/23/2004 12:54:59 PM US Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

> I am confused because if my T4 is normal why do I have these symptoms? >>>

To make a long story short, because you are a human, NOT a lab test. The T4,
T3, TSH tests only measure (approximately) the amount of chemicals in your
blood. NOT your state of health or the adequacy of your thyroid function.

For any diagnosis, from pregnancy to gunshot wounds, the History (What has
been happening to your patient before she came to the office?) is 85% of the
information you will need. The Exam (How does she appear to the, hopefully,
trained eye?) is 10%, and the lab work is, on average, worth about 5% of the whole
picture.

Labs are like the shadow of a tree: They will tell you something about the
tree, but if you have any sense, you will turn around and take a good look at
the tree before you will make any judgments about the tree.

"Normal" doesn't necessarily mean "healthy." It is just a statistical term
that indicates that a given score is in the middle 95% of the scores (of mostly
sick people) that lab sees.

The most common complaint I hear from my patients and from patients on the
Net are docs who try treating the lab slips and ignoring the patients. You
really need a doc who will listen to you instead of the lab slips alone.

Remember, Thyroid status is a diagnosis. NOT a lab test. A prayer that you
get what you need to get well.

Doc Don

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