Restoring patient wellness. Building physician practices.

Measuring WT3 Effectiveness

• It takes about 4 to 6 weeks to completely suppress TSH with Synthroid; however, T3 can do that in about a week. There’s really no reason to order thyroid tests while patients are on the treatment because the tests do not change management. However, if you do, you may find that the TSH will likely be suppressed, and the T3 count will be high and the T4 will be low. These findings are not problematic and are to be expected.

  Thyroid Tests: The whole purpose of T3 treatment is to decrease the T4 level. Having low T4 is not a problem as long as patients are being supported directly with T3. It is important to remember that T4 is merely a prohormone for the active hormone T3, 80% of which is made from T4 in the peripheral tissues of the body.
  Patients with primary hypothyroidism have high TSH levels and almost always have elevated thyroid antibodies, such as thyroglobulin and thyroid peroxidase (antimicrosomal) antibodies. Patients with antibody levels of 50 IU/mL can often come down to about 15 IU/mL after about 4 months of taking ThyroCare.
  Low TSH levels and high T4 levels indicate hyperthyroidism if the patient is not taking exogenous thyroid hormones. The presence of thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulin generally indicates Graves’ disease.
  Benign thyroid nodules can often be decreased in size with the combined use of suppressive doses of T3 or T4 and ThyroCare, or with ThyroCare alone.
  The thyroid gland is essential for maintaining blood sugar and getting insulin to the receptor sites. WT3 therapy can often bring high blood sugar and insulin levels down comparably to Glucophage. WT3 and or DiabetiCare alone can often decrease insulin levels significantly in cases of hyperinsulinemia.

  Salivary Cortisol: Ordering salivary cortisol levels can be helpful but is not always necessary. Adrenal symptoms, such as low blood pressure and orthostatic lightheadedness, often improve with thyroid treatment alone. One can often start the WT3 therapy and then see if any adrenal symptoms remain. Many patients with Wilsons Temperature Syndromewill have low DHEA levels. Adaptogen can increase cortisol and DHEA levels within 3 to 4 weeks.

  DHEA: If symptoms are severe, DHEA levels should be tested. If the levels are very low, supplementing DHEA can often help patients feel better. It is important to remember that excess levels of DHEA can cause masculinizing side effects. However if DHEA levels are low, then fairly large doses of DHEA may serve to fill the deficit rather than to create excess. Thus, when patients have low DHEA levels and there is little concern for masculinization, their DHEA levels can often be brought up to normal within about 6 weeks on 50 to 100 mg/day of DHEA.
  This will often help patients feel better, and once the levels are back to normal, supplementation with Adaptogen can help the levels stay normal. The Adaptogen may have to be continued for 6 to 9 months. About 20% of patients given Adaptogen might need DHEA supplementation as well.

  AST: Interestingly, AST levels may be low in some candidates for WT3 therapy. Patients with low AST levels often complain of carpal tunnel syndrome. Low AST levels can be caused by pyridoxine deficiency. Many holistic and naturopathic doctors treat CTS with pyridoxine (vitamin B6). It appears that pyridoxine metabolism may be affected by thyroid physiology, which might be why a lot of thyroid patients have carpal tunnel syndrome and why CTS often resolves with WT3 therapy.

  WTS Symptom Checklist
  It’s very helpful to have the patients fill out the WTS symptom checklist and put a numerical score for every symptom they have. That way they’ll be able to evaluate the progress they’re making, as their symptoms resolve.

  WT3 Therapy Side Effects
  T3 is four times stronger and breaks down three times faster than T4. The short half-life of T3 can contribute to unsteady T3 levels. Side effects of unsteady T3 levels include: fluid retention, muscle aches, anxiety, irritability, increased heart rate, and increased awareness of heartbeat.
  People who are not taking thyroid medicine can easily have pulse rates over 140 when they exercise. If a patient has a resting pulse of over 100, it is not an emergency, but it is important to start trying to bring the pulse rate down with T4 and CardiaCare. If the resting pulse rate rises above 150 consistently (though we haven’t ever heard of this occurring with doctors using the protocol) you should consider sending the patient to the emergency room. Patients may exercise as long as their hearts don’t pound very hard.
  Patients should avoid stimulants, such as caffeine, nicotine, and decongestants, during the protocol.

  Management of Side Effects
  T4 or Synthroid: Being weaker and longer-lived than T3, T4 can act as an antidote to unsteady T3 levels. When released into the bloodstream, T4 occupies some of the thyroid hormone receptors and provides a predictable dampening effect within 45 minutes.
  A dose of .0125 mg of T4 can be an effective treatment for side effects of T3 therapy, and that the dose can be repeated after 45 minutes if necessary. Usually, the dose of T4 needed is proportional to the dose of T3 a patient is taking. Therefore, if the patients need to repeat the .0125 mg test dose of T4, then they can take .025 mg every time they need a dose of T4 for side effects in the future when they are on the same or higher dose of T3.

  CardiaCare Formulas: There are two CardiaCare Formulas (CCF) — CardiaCare (CC) and CardiaCare Plus (CC+) — that can greatly reduce the chances of cardiac side effects. It is recommended that all patients who are started on the WT3 therapy also be started on a CardiaCare Formula to be taken daily. CardiaCare liquid is preferable for patients who are sensitive to herbs as it can be titrated by drop dosages if needed. It is also well suited to help with tachycardia, and rarely causes side effects even at high doses (60 drops). CardiaCare Plus is a more concentrated version that is available in capsules. The recommended dose should not be exceeded unless in extreme cases, and then only under your close supervision. The main advantage of the CardiaCare Plus is that it offers fast relief from functional cardiac problems, such as arrhythmias, and offers relief from stubborn cardiac complaints that on rare occasion cannot be helped with the liquid CardiaCare.
  There are two advantages to giving patients either version of CardiaCare at the beginning of the treatment. One is that it prevents cardiac side effects, and the other is that it gives patients access to the medicine in case cardiac side effects develop. If side effects do develop and patients call after hours, they will have the medicine on hand. All the doctor has to do then is recommend the appropriate dose. A dose of T4 and an extra dose of CardiaCare or CardiaCare Plus are almost always enough to bring the heart rate back to normal.
  Patients who go a month without side effects can stop taking the CCF.

  WT3 Therapy and Primary Hypothyroidism
  Patients can be suffering from primary hypothyroidism and Wilsons Temperature Syndrome simultaneously. Treating hypothyroidism with WT3 therapy can accomplish two things. First, it can clear up the patient’s WTS, presumably by clearing up the peripheral pathways of thyroid metabolism. Second, it can give the thyroid gland a rest.
  This is an excellent time to treat the patient with ThyroCare. ThyroCare seems to help restore thyroid gland function. Primary hypothyroidism can often be reversed to a degree, maybe even completely, with WT3 therapy and ThyroCare. This approach can often bring down antithyroid antibody titers dramatically in 3 months. The patient’s need for thyroid hormone replacement can be diminished, even to the point of no longer needing any thyroid medicine in order to maintain a normal TSH level.
  We have found that patients who have normal TSH and thyroid antibodies can often feel better and decrease their thyroid antibodies just on ThyroCare alone. With proper use of the protocol, not only is WTS reversible, but mild cases of primary hypothyroidism can be, too.
  Hypothyroid patients can be shifted off of medicines containing T4 and started on T3 therapy. If necessary, patients can be transferred back onto small doses of T4 while weaning off of T3 in preparation for the next cycle. There are different ways in which this weaning can be accomplished. The Doctor’s Manual describes the process of weaning the patient completely off the T4 in 10 days. In this case, T3 should only be taken when necessary to prevent worsening of symptoms.
  Another option is to cycle the hypothyroid patient up on the T3 at the same time as they wean off the T4. This method is easier to explain to the patient and often provides satisfactory results. For example, patients can wean off their T4 doses over 3 or 4 days while starting up on the T3 therapy. A patient on 0.15 mg of T4 might take 0.1 mg of T4 and 7.5 mcg BID of T3 on the 1st day, 0.05 mg T4 and 15 mcg BID of T3 the second day, and 0 T4 and 22.5mcg BID of T3 the third day.
  When hypothyroid patients are weaning off T3 therapy, they may find that they can’t go below a certain dose of T3 without their temperature dropping. At that point they can add .025mg/day of T4 and increase it as necessary to support them while they are weaning off the T3. Once they are off the T3 for a few days, the patients can then consider transitioning off the T4 support they’re taking and back onto another cycle of T3 as they did on the first cycle.
  The goal is to find a maintenance dose of T3 the patients feel good on. Usually this dose will keep their temperature close to normal. Continuing the ThyroCare can be a great help in healing the autoimmune condition of Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. You can order antithyroid antibody tests approximately every 3 months. At a certain point the antibody levels may start decreasing. The TSH may also tend to stay normal even while the patient is weaning off the T3.

  WT3 Therapy and Thyroidectomy
  Patients who have had a thyroidectomy are excellent candidates for WT3 Therapy. In some ways they are easier to treat than other patients because they’re not producing any T4.
  The treatment approach can be similar to the one described above for primary hypothyroidism, but the goal is simply to help the patient feel better on the thyroid medicine they must take for life. Patients who have had partial thyroidectomies might be able to restore some thyroid function with ThyroCare. In most cases though, the patient will require daily thyroid hormone replacement.
  All total thyroidectomy patients and many hypothyroid patients will need to take some form of thyroid medicine for life. Once it seems the full benefits of WT3 therapy have been obtained, patients can be transferred back from T3- to a T4-containing medicine, such as Synthroid or Armour. These medicines are once a day, ubiquitous, and less expensive. However, some patients don’t feel as well on these medicines as they do on the T3 therapy, and some doctors don’t mind leaving hypothyroid patients and thyroidectomy patients on T3 alone indefinitely. This is usually tolerated well — especially if patients continue taking their CardiaCare.
  In fact, patients tend to tolerate T3 replacement better and better over time, as their bodies become more accustomed to it. Some patients who don’t tolerate T3 well the first month usually tolerate it much better the next. This effect is improved when they take CardiaCare. In fact, some people even get to the point of being able to tolerate a once a day schedule so that it becomes a lot like taking T4 (most patients feel better on a BID schedule). Over time, some patients may also find that they don’t have to be as strict about taking their T3 on time.
  Patient selection criteria are important when considering patients for long-term T3 maintenance. They should be able to take the medicine reliably and correctly. They should be monitored for any cardiac complaints and osteoporosis while on indefinite use of SR- T3. They should make sure they exercise regularly to diminish the chances of developing osteoporosis. Taking 1000mg of calcium daily is a good preventive measure as well.
  Patients’ cholesterol levels may run lower on T3 than on T4. And as long as patients are feeling well, and there are no indications of any problems, some doctors may be comfortable leaving certain patients on T3 for 20 or 30 years, considering how much better their lives can be on T3 than on Synthroid. The case of a boy born without any thyroid function provides an interesting point of reference. His case was reported in the Lancet when he was in his twenties. He was started on T3 at birth instead of T4. He developed completely normally without any endogenous or exogenous T4 in his body.

  Prognosis

• Wilsons Temperature Syndrome, low body temperature, fatigue, arthritis, mild hypercholesterolemia, and chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis (Hashimoto’s disease) can often be corrected to the point that patients no longer need treatment.
• Up to 20% of patients may find the regimen too demanding and give up. Of those who are willing to do the work and stick with the treatment you can expect the following results:
• Within 3 months, about 70% of patients will have successfully finished the treatment, and within six months, 90%. About 10% of patients will need more time, maybe even a year, or simply might not be good candidates for WT3 therapy.
• About 20% of patients will feel worse before they’ll feel better.
• About 90% of patients will be cured of the majority of their complaints, as long as any other imbalances were also treated.
• Due to its ability to increase both metabolism and body temperature, thyroid support can also decrease mild hypercholesterolemia by itself.
• In patients with moderate fatigue, lowering thyroid antibodies with thyroid support of Thyrocare which contain Iodine, and Selenium usually takes three months. The most common use of thyroid support is for fatigue, even in patients with normal body temperatures.
• With some combination of these approaches, we believe a significant number of people with mild or recent onset Hashimoto’s can sometimes decrease antibody levels, even if they are eventually weaned off thyroid hormones.
• Anecdotal response has been found in decreasing nodule size with the use if blue flag and guggul in some patients.

  Remember: People typically feel the best when their temperature is steady at 98.6° and they’re off the medicine. Only some people will feel extremely well while they’re at 98.6° and on the medicine.