How Will Testing Affect Me?

Sometimes thyroid tests can throw you off balance. But when you achieve Continual Balance you can live your Life Uninterrupted.

In the past, whenever people were tested for the return or spread of thyroid cancer (especially if they had a whole body scan), they had to stop taking their thyroid medication T4 for 4 to 6 weeks and T3 for 2 to 3 weeks before the test. This is called the "withdrawal method."

This method allowed their body to produce enough TSH to make the tests as accurate as possible. TSH creates the optimal condition for the remaining thyroid cancer cells to absorb the radioactive iodine (131I) therefore allowing tests to be as accurate as possible. Unfortunately, this period of withdrawal also causes patients to become hypothyroid. Plus, even when the testing was done and they started taking their thyroid medication again, many people continued to feel hypothyroid until the level of thyroid hormone in their bloodstream returned to normal. All in all, some people felt the symptoms of hypothyroidism for up to 10 to 12 weeks.

Fortunately, now you have options. You can get tested for the spread or reoccurrence of thyroid cancer without suffering the negative effects of hypothyroidism.

Talk to your doctor about these options.

Find out how to prepare for thyroid tests.