Are Thyroid Blood Tests Really Necessary?
Some hard-line conventional practitioners believe that blood tests are the sole means of diagnosis and treatment. Others have abandoned thyroid blood tests completely, in favor of basal body temperature testing and symptomatic diagnosis and treatment only. What are Dr. Langer’s thoughts on blood tests? “No matter who you’re seeing and no matter what your approach is, they should do blood tests periodically. Some doctors feel they can go by basal body temperate, or heart rate, and they don’t do blood tests. But this is dangerous, because you can end up hypo or hyperthyroid for long periods of time, and not know what’s going on.” Dr. Langer also believes that testing should be done more frequently than is currently done by most physicians. He believes that you should be tested every 45 to 90 days at minimum while your doctor is getting you on the right dose. Says Dr. Langer, “Then you should be tested every three months the first year, every six months during your second year, and every
