My Doctor Took Blood Today to See if Somethings Wrong With My Thyroid. Do They Test It for Drugs Too?
Question by Marcus Giles: My doctor took blood today to see if somethings wrong with my thyroid. Do they test it for drugs too?
She didn’t say anything about checking for drugs. All she said is “I’m going to need to take some blood to see if there’s anything wrong with your thyroid.” She asked me what all I was taking and I neglected to say weed, hydrocodone, oxycodone, amphetamine and cocaine. I wouldn’t be worried but my doc is like BFFs with my mom so I’m pretty sure she could care less about confidentiality or HIPAA if she sees that stuff in my system…
Best answer:
Answer by Aspasia
The doctor will always ask what medications you are taking, so that in case they prescribe any new medications or you start any over the counter medications, the drugs won’t have any adverse reactions with each other. Not all medications can be taken together safely.
What this particular test looks for: the amount of TSH, also known as thyroid stimulating hormone, in your bloodstream. This is is a hormone, produced by your pituitary gland, that stimulates your thyroid to make it work properly. If your thyroid is producing too much hormones (known as hyperthyroidism), the TSH will be lower, as the pituitary gland tries to get the thyroid to produce less hormones. If your thyroid doesn’t produce enough hormones(hypothyroidism), the TSH level will be higher, as the pituitary gland tries to get the thyroid to produce more hormones. The doctor will also test for T4, a thyroid hormone, to see how much of it is in your bloodstream. The doctor is trying to see if your thyroid is under or over active. The thyroid main function is to regulate your body’s metabolism. Untreated thyroid problems can lead to a variety of medical problems down the road, such as heart problems, obesity, and more. That, and hypothyroidism can cause you to gain weight easily, and hyperthyroidism can cause unexpected weight loss, (not always though) cardiac complications and more.
As far as the drugs in your system, it is probably unlikely that they are giving you a drug test. However, these drugs can affect how your organs and glands function, so it is a good idea to be honest with your doctor. You never know how these drugs affect your thyroids function.
If you are over 18, the doctor cannot discuss results of any tests with your parents without your consent. If you are a minor, then the results may be discussed with your parents. Again, this doesn’t sound like a drug test, they are testing the hormones that regulate your thyroid, and they are looking to see what your thyroid hormone levels are.
If you do have thyroid problems, once the hormone levels get regulated, you will feel MUCH better. Things will start out by taking a simple pill every morning, depending on diagnosis. It takes time to get things right on target, though.
Please look into help with the drugs. They are horrible for your body’s organs. Remember, your doctor is there to help, and these are very addictive drugs. Even if your mom found out, she would likely rather find you some help instead of seeing the long-term effects of these drugs on you down the road when it is too late. I do not know your age, but life is better without the burden of addictions like these, and you will be much healthier and happier in the long run. Think of all of the things you can do without the burden of addiction. This does not make you a bad person; you just need a little help.
Take care.
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