TSH trend tracker — see the pattern, not just the number
What is TSH?
TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) is produced by the pituitary gland in inverse proportion to thyroid hormone levels. Normal range for most adults: 0.4–4.0 mIU/L. High TSH suggests an underactive thyroid; low TSH suggests an overactive one. Because TSH fluctuates with illness and time of day, the American Thyroid Association recommends interpreting it in the context of trend data.
A single TSH can land outside the reference range for a dozen benign reasons. What tells you whether the thyroid is genuinely changing is a series of consistent readings plotted over time — which is exactly what Kinmetry builds from your lab reports.
No credit card required · Free plan · GDPR compliant
1 in 8
women will develop a thyroid disorder at some point in their lifetime (American Thyroid Association)
4.6%
of US adults have hypothyroidism — with millions more undiagnosed subclinical cases (NIDDK)
6–8 weeks
for a levothyroxine dose change to fully register in TSH — which is why trends matter more than snapshots
One TSH result rarely tells the whole story
Natural fluctuation makes a single reading hard to interpret — the trend over multiple tests is what matters
On levothyroxine — is the dose right?
Dose adjustments take 6–8 weeks to fully register in TSH. Tracking the arc from first diagnosis through dose titration — even when it spans several years — shows whether the treatment trajectory is heading in the right direction.
Subclinical hypothyroidism — is the TSH creeping up?
A TSH of 4.5 mIU/L sits just above the reference range. Is it stable, or has it gone from 3.8 to 4.5 to 5.2 over the past two years? The trend is the only thing that answers that question.
Thyroid cancer follow-up — serial monitoring is the standard
Post-treatment TSH suppression requires precise monitoring over years. Having every result plotted in one place makes pattern recognition straightforward and every oncology consultation more productive.
How Kinmetry tracks TSH
Upload reports from any lab
PDF or photo, from any clinic or hospital — including reports from overseas. Kinmetry reads them all.
TSH and thyroid markers extracted
TSH, T3, T4, and antibodies identified automatically from each report. No manual entry required.
Your trend builds over every test
Each new report adds another data point. Upload old reports too — the full picture is more useful than the last two.
TSH alongside T3, T4, and thyroid antibodies
TSH is the primary screening marker, but it doesn't stand alone. Free T4, free T3, TPO antibodies — Kinmetry tracks the full thyroid panel across every report.
Full thyroid panel tracked
TSH, free T4, free T3, total T4, total T3, TPO-Ab, TgAb — all on one timeline.
Out-of-range flags
Values outside the reference range on your report are highlighted in every chart view.
Any language, any lab
Chinese (促甲状腺激素), Japanese, Korean, English — all extracted and normalized.
GDPR-compliant privacy
Health data treated as Article 9 special category. Never sold. Delete everything anytime.
Your thyroid data stays private
Kinmetry treats all health data as GDPR Article 9 special category data. AI processing uses providers with Data Processing Agreements. We never sell data, never train AI on your records, and you can export or permanently delete everything at any time.
Common questions about TSH tracking
What is a normal TSH level?
For most adults, a TSH between 0.4 and 4.0 mIU/L is considered within the normal range, though this widens somewhat for adults over 60 — some laboratory guidelines allow up to 6.0 mIU/L in older patients. TSH above 4.0 mIU/L suggests an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism); TSH below 0.4 mIU/L suggests an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism). During pregnancy, the reference range narrows significantly: the American Thyroid Association recommends a first-trimester upper limit of 2.5 mIU/L.
How often should TSH be tested?
For people on levothyroxine therapy, the American Thyroid Association recommends testing TSH 4–8 weeks after any dose change, then every 6 months once stable. For people with subclinical hypothyroidism being monitored without treatment, testing once or twice a year is typical. People with thyroid cancer on TSH-suppressive therapy may need more frequent monitoring per their oncology team.
Why does my TSH level change even when I'm on medication?
TSH can fluctuate for several reasons unrelated to thyroid disease: time of day (TSH peaks between midnight and 4am and is lowest in the afternoon), recent illness, stress, medication interactions (especially calcium, iron, or certain antacids within four hours of levothyroxine), seasonal variation, and laboratory assay differences between clinics. This natural variability is one reason why a single out-of-range TSH rarely changes treatment — the trend over multiple consistent readings matters more.
Can Kinmetry track TSH alongside T3 and T4?
Yes. Kinmetry extracts TSH, free T4 (fT4), free T3 (fT3), total T4, total T3, and thyroid antibodies (TPO-Ab, TgAb) from your lab reports — each gets its own trend chart. You can view them alongside each other, which is useful for monitoring the full thyroid picture, especially for people on combination T4/T3 therapy or with autoimmune thyroid conditions.
What time of day should I get my TSH test?
TSH levels are highest between midnight and early morning and lowest in the afternoon. To get the most consistent and comparable readings over time, most clinicians recommend testing TSH in the morning, ideally fasting, and before taking any thyroid medication that day. Consistency in timing matters more than the specific hour — if all your tests are taken at 9am, comparing them is valid even if the absolute values are slightly higher than afternoon draws.
References
- 1.American Thyroid Association — Hypothyroidism Booklet
- 2.American Thyroid Association — Thyroid Function Tests
- 3.NIDDK — Hypothyroidism (Underactive Thyroid)
- 4.NIH MedlinePlus — TSH (Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone) Test
- 5.Endocrine Society — Hypothyroidism Clinical Practice Guideline 2014
This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional regarding your individual health situation.
Related: Blood Test Trend Tracker · Track HbA1c Over Time · Cholesterol Trend Tracker
Start tracking your TSH trend today
Free plan · Upload your first report now · Works with reports from any lab, any country
Create free account