
Your personal preference also should be considered as you and your health care provider decide on a treatment plan. The underlying cause of hyperthyroidism and how severe it is make a difference too. The best approach for you depends on your age and health. There are several treatments available for hyperthyroidism. There's no exposure to radiation with this test, so it can be used for people who are pregnant or breastfeeding, or others who can't take radioiodine. Ultrasound may be better at finding thyroid nodules than are other tests. This test uses high-frequency sound waves to make images of the thyroid. In that case, it's likely that you have thyroiditis.

If your thyroid gland takes in a low amount of radioiodine, that means hormones stored in the thyroid gland are leaking into the bloodstream. The most likely cause is either Graves' disease or overactive thyroid nodules. If your thyroid gland takes in a high amount of radioiodine, that means your thyroid gland is making too much thyroid hormone. For this test, you take a small, dose of radioactive iodine, called radioiodine, to see how much of it collects in your thyroid gland and where it collects in the gland. They can help find out why your thyroid is overactive. If blood test results show hyperthyroidism, your health care provider may suggest one of the following tests. To make sure your blood test is accurate, your health care provider may ask you to stop taking biotin 3 to 5 days before the test. Tell your health care provider if you are taking biotin or a multivitamin with biotin. Biotin is a B vitamin supplement that also may be found in multivitamins.

Thyroid blood tests may give false results if you take biotin.

A high level of T-4 and a low level of TSH is common in people with hyperthyroidism.īlood tests are particularly important for older adults because they may not have classic symptoms of hyperthyroidism. Blood tests that measure the hormones T-4 and T-3 and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) can confirm a diagnosis of hyperthyroidism. Your provider also examines your thyroid gland as you swallow to see if it's larger than usual, bumpy or tender.īlood tests.
