Update 3/2023: Since the publication of this post, Valeo has added another, more thorough, blood panel for our patients. Please discuss with your Valeo practitioner which blood lab would be most beneficial for you.
If you’re looking for a well-rounded view of your current health, the OptiThyroPlex lab panel provides valuable information you likely won’t get from your primary care provider. We have been using this blood test with our patients for years to help them uncover health issues and risks and work toward a healthier life. (We know OptiThyroPlex is a mouthful, so let’s abbreviate it to OTP panel going forward.)
There are tons of reasons we recommend the OTP panel. It covers so many aspects of your health in one lab. In fact, this test covers so much, it could cost a few thousand dollars in a traditional medical setting. — and due to the insurance protocols, many of the more detailed tests wouldn’t even be run! Through Valeo, the cost is a fraction of that price. Ultimately, running the OptiThyroPlex lab through Valeo gives you much more information for much less cost.
Here’s just a glimpse of what the results of your OTP panel can tell us. Keep in mind that should you choose to have our doctors interpret these labs, we interpret them based on functional ranges (not just what’s “normal” but what’s optimal). We review the values both individually and as a whole, enabling us to see patterns that would otherwise go unnoticed. These patterns can help us catch health issues like pancreatic dysfunction, secondary hypothyroidism, and many more chronic conditions that are often overlooked by traditional medicine.
Inflammation
The OTP panel can tell us if you’re dealing with inflammation. This lab tests your CRP, homocysteine, and ferritin; all of which tell us a lot about your inflammation levels.
- CRP (C-Reactive Protein) is produced by the liver and rises when there is inflammation in your body. Increased CRP is linked to chronic inflammatory health problems.
- Homocysteine is an amino acid your body uses to make proteins. Elevated homocysteine is common in those with autoimmune disease and is linked to heart disease and dementia, since it can contribute to arterial damage.
- Ferritin is a blood protein that contains iron. However, it is also considered an “acute phase reactant,” which means it is an inflammation marker. So elevated ferritin is another red flag for inflammation.
Of course, knowing whether there is inflammation in your body is the first step to empowered health. We use this information to make decisions that can support your health both now and down the road to minimize your risk of illness and disease.
Thyroid Function
Something we LOVE about the OTP panel is that it contains a full thyroid panel. One of the big issues we have with a lot of conventional thyroid panels is that they don’t check all aspects of your thyroid. With this panel, we can see what is happening with your TSH, T4, T3, FT4, FT3, FTI, T3 uptake, Thyroid Binding Globulin, TPO antibodies, and TGB antibodies.
We’ve had patients who have had regular thyroid panels come back “normal” who have gotten the answers they were desperately searching for with the OTP panel. All aspects of your thyroid work together, and only looking at a handful of them won’t give you the full picture.
Vitamin D Status
We can’t stress how important a good Vitamin D status is. Especially as Minnesotans, we run the risk of low Vitamin D levels due to our latitude. From about mid-October to March, the sun isn’t strong enough for our bodies to produce Vitamin D, which is an immune system modulator.
Insufficient Vitamin D is related with increased autoimmunity and increased risk of infection, so an OTP panel can help you determine where your levels are, and we can recommend the correct supplement dosage to get them to where they ideally should be.
Liver Function
Your liver is your body’s main detoxification organ. Suboptimal liver function can be incredibly hard on your body. When it’s not able to clean out all the toxins we’re exposed to (which in today’s world is a lot), those toxins stay in our system and wreak havoc on our health.
But again, knowledge is partial power (and acting on that knowledge is what really brings you to empowered health). The OTP panel can help indicate how your liver is functioning and give us direction in what steps to take to improve that function.
Take Back Your Health Today
These are just FOUR of the panels that are included in the OTP lab. As you can see, they are powerful indicators of health that can help to catch small issues before they grow into something bigger.
We encourage all of our patients (and staff) to get an OTP panel done yearly as a way to gain knowledge on how their body is functioning, and to use that information to empower their health and live their healthiest life possible. You can learn more about the other panels in this Facebook video with Dr. Aaron.
To obtain an OptiThyroPlex panel requisition and schedule your interpretation appointment, call our office at 952-949-0676.
