Diagnosis of Hypothyroidism
The history of the patient and certain clinical signs seen in the patient can give the treating physician clues regarding the disease. Some of the common findings are:
Poor muscle tone
Sluggish reflexes
Signs of anemia
Visible skin changes - dry coarse rough skin
Goiter - Abnormally enlarged thyroid gland
Basal body temperature
The patient's symptoms and the physician's clinical findings can be confirmed with the following investigations:
Serum T3
Serum T4
Serum TSH
24 hour urine free T3
Antithyroid antibodies (for evidence of autoimmune disease)
Anti-TPO antibodies in the blood (for Hashimoto's thyroiditis)
Thyroid scan
Chest x-ray (may show an enlarged heart)
Serum cholesterol
Testing for anemia (including ferritin)
Prolactin level
If a pituitary or hypothalamic cause is suspected, an MRI of the brain