“Normal” lab values may be better referred to as “reference ranges” in many physicians’ minds. If you are feeling sluggish and tired, you may have a thyroid panel checked. Normal values, as stated on the lab results sheet, will vary slightly from lab to lab. Also, there is a wide range of “normal”. For example, the free T3 level, which is an important predictor of proper thyroid function, has a range of 2.0-4.4 in the lab we use. If your level is 2.1 and you are still feeling sluggish despite taking your thyroid supplement daily, you may be told that it can’t be your thyroid because your labs are “normal”. Newer thinking would suggest that increasing your thyroid supplement to achieve a higher level of “normal” may be of benefit. This level would be approximately in the 90th percentile of “normal” and for this lab it would be 4. This is called hormone optimization and is the hallmark of feeling well.

Hormones should be optimized in order to feel well and perform your best as you age. Some of the important ones are thyroid, testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, Vitamin D, and others. Optimizing these levels is clearly a newer way of approaching wellness than just saying “normal”. Numerous medical studies have proven the benefit of hormonal optimization instead of just relying on “normal”. I myself am a living example of how life has changed once I got optimized! I haven’t felt this good in years and am physically fitter now than I was in my twenties. When you are ready to live life as well as you can, come in and let us check your hormone levels. You will be amazed as to what a difference there is between “normal” and optimized!