How long does tsh test results take

First Trimester:. Second Trimester:. Third Trimester:. The ATA recommends doctors use these ranges when evaluating the thyroid tests of pregnant people. Certain illnesses can temporarily affect thyroid hormone results. Diarrhea can interfere with your medication absorption and may alter your lab results. Infections or a bout of an inflammatory condition such as lupus can also have an effect. A syndrome called nonthyroidal illness or sick euthyroid syndrome can also affect thyroid function and test results.

This is a serious illness that requires hospitalization. These changes in thyroid levels are thought to be protective. For that reason, people with this condition do not receive treatment to correct thyroid levels. Outside factors may affect the results of your thyroid blood test. This can include whether or not you ate before your test, what time of day you take the test, and things like stress, diet, and sleep. Some medications and supplements may also affect your results.

This may be because they change your thyroid function. It may also be because they reduce your body's ability to absorb thyroid hormone. Other drugs and supplements may just interfere with the test itself. Pregnant people have different normal thyroid levels than those who are not pregnant. Certain illnesses may also interfere with your results.

It is important to be consistent about your thyroid tests. Try to take them under similar conditions each time.

If your thyroid blood tests seem "off" for no good reason, a repeat blood test is a reasonable next step. Losing weight with thyroid disease can be a struggle.

Our thyroid-friendly meal plan can help. Sign up and get yours free! Does fasting or postprandial state affect thyroid function testing? Indian J Endocrinol Metab. Does time of sampling or food intake alter thyroid function test? Pitfalls in the measurement and interpretation of thyroid function tests. Thyroid dysfunction from antineoplastic agents. J Natl Cancer Inst. Ahmadieh H, Salti I.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors induced thyroid dysfunction: a review of its incidence, pathophysiology, clinical relevance, and treatment. Biomed Res Int. Concomitant use of levothyroxine and proton pump inhibitors in patients with primary hypothyroidism: a systematic review. If the provider has a lab on-site, some tests may be run there. Reviewing your test results in MyNortonChart is not a substitute for discussing them with your provider.

Your care team works diligently to evaluate your results as quickly as possible; please allow 24 to 48 hours for your provider to communicate their analysis of your results. Results may be delayed if the sample is inadequate not enough blood or is contaminated, or if the blood cells were destroyed for some reason before reaching the lab. Some tests require you to fast stop eating for a certain period of time, usually eight hours.

If you are not fasting, the test may not be performed since eating affects the outcome of the test. You may need to come back for a blood draw, which will further delay results of some tests. Choose Your Care Option. Toggle navigation. Tests and when to expect results Complete blood count CBC — This test measures components of the blood: white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets. It also checks the hemoglobin in the red blood cells and measures the hematocrit, or the proportion of red cells in the blood.

What happens after the test? Where can you learn more? Top of the page. What is it? This test is done to: Find out if the thyroid gland is working as it should. Find out if a problem with the thyroid is causing symptoms such as growth problems, tiredness, weight gain, or weight loss.

Keep track of how well thyroid treatment is working. Test a newborn to find out if his or her thyroid gland is working as it should. The test will take a few minutes. You will probably be able to go home right away. It hardly ever quickly changes to being overactive or underactive: it usually takes a few weeks at least, or even a few months.

If you have a thyroid function test that shows something is wrong, it's usually worth repeating it in weeks. That is because there's always the chance that your thyroid gland could have gone back to normal by itself. The second thing to bear in mind about thyroid function tests is that medications, and even herbal remedies or vitamin supplements, can affect the accuracy of thyroid results. For these two reasons it's always recommended to have a thyroid function test if it is recommended to you by a doctor, rather than having it done privately or without a doctor suggesting it.

The following are approximate values for what is normal for TSH and thyroxine levels. These are a rough guide only and will vary from hospital to hospital. So in general if your TSH is low and your thyroxine level is high, you may have an overactive thyroid gland. Conversely if your TSH is high and your thyroxine level is low, you may have an underactive thyroid gland. There are other options such as having a high TSH but a normal thyroxine and that can indicate something called subclinical hypothyroidism.

Be aware that there are other conditions that can cause abnormalities with the thyroid function tests such as adrenal insufficiency and so the pointers above are a guide only: you should discuss your thyroid function tests with your doctor before reaching any conclusions. Thyroid function tests are usually done to find out whether the thyroid gland is working properly. This is mainly to diagnose an underactive thyroid gland hypothyroidism and an overactive thyroid gland hyperthyroidism.

People with some conditions have an increased risk of thyroid problems and so are often advised to have thyroid function tests undertaken each year. This conditions include:.