Hypothyroidism Self-Testing

Feeling regularly tired or cold? Dry skin? Brittle hair?

Your thyroid is a small gland at the front of your neck. It produces hormones — thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) — that help control your metabolism (how your body uses energy).

Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) is made by your brain and tells your thyroid to produce these hormones.

If your thyroid doesn’t make enough, TSH levels rise as your body tries to compensate. A TSH level of 5 μIU/ml or higher usually means your thyroid is underactive (hypothyroidism). If your results suggest hypothyroidism, contact your GP for further support.

Sample type: 

Blood sample. The box will include two lancets for finger prick.

How long for results:
10 minutes. Do not interpret results after 20 minutes.

Suitable for patients experiencing symptoms including:

Feeling tired, feeling depressed or cold regularly, weight gain, dry skin, brittle hair, ongoing constipation, and/or menstrual cycle irregularities.

Directions for Use and More Information

1. Pull off and dispose of the cap of the lancet.
2. Clean your fingertip with the alcohol swab.
3. Press lancet against your fingertip.
4. Massage the pricked fingertip to obtain a blood sample. Try not to massage/ put pressure directly on or very close to the pricked site.
5. Put the dropper in contact with the blood and draw it to the fill line.
6. Drop the collected blood into the sample well of test cassette.
7. Add 2 drops of buffer solution.
8. Wait 10 minutes for the coloured line to appear and read your results.
9. Take a photo of your test results to share with a healthcare professional.

For more information please refer to the patient information leaflet.