New TSH guidelines on diagnosing thyroid disease

February 14, 2005

Just to let many who may not be aware: the American Association of Clinical

Endocrinologists about a year ago finally acknowledged that hypothyroidism may

be suspected with a TSH as low as 3.03. These new guidelines for diagnosing

hypothyroidism are unknown to many (most???) doctors. Therefore hypothyroid

patients often remain untreated and unwell. Many people cannot feel well using

TCM alone while others seem to do fine just using TCM. Something I believe

Victoria discussed recently. Personally I need thyroid medication and TCM to

feel well. Neither alone does the trick for me--still everyone is different.

Here is a page from Dr. Mercola's site which discusses these new guidelines:

http://www.mercola.com/2003/mar/1/hypothyroidism.htm

<< I've had a blood test for my thyroid but they came

> back fine. Thing

> i want to know is how accurate it is as I am

> suspecting that i could

> have hyperthyroidism. Should i ask my GP for further

> tests? >>

I would say yes, ask for further tests from the doctor, especially if free T4

and free T3 have not been done. Also you might consider taking in the new

guidelines about thyroid disease to your doctor. If hyperthyroid your TSH would

probably be close to 0 and you would probably have a lot of sweating, weight

loss, nervousness, and/or rapid heartbeat. Your symptoms sound more like

hypothyroid than hyperthyroid (some hypothyroid symptoms include fatigue, hair

loss which in TCM might indicate kidney yang deficiency, weight gain, slow

pulse,

dry skin hair--keep in mind patients will not have every symptom and in both

cases, hypo and hyper thyroid, there are many other symptoms I have not

mentioned which some people also have).

You may not have thyroid disease at all, but reading about it in greater

depth might be helpful to you. Mercola's site is one place to continue this

research. Also http://thyroid.about.com and www. thyroid-info.com have a lot of

up

to date info on thyroid disease.

Interestingly hypothyroid patients sometimes have deficiency heat--which

makes them feel hot. During TCM treatment this often changes to internal cold

which can then be addressed. It may take some time to bring out the true cold

and often many formula/acupuncture treatment changes will ensue before this

point is reached. In the clinic where I used to observe patients being treated

this sort of pattern was called fake heat. It is important in such cases to

have a good practitioner to follow symptom changes and to bring about true body

balance.

February 15, 2005

Hi,

I hope I can add my words to this.

There is a thyroid test no doctor orders which I got and that is a

reverse T3

test! My results will be in tomorrow.

Thanks,

Tedd

tguenzel

bonmotSarah wrote:

>

> Just to let many who may not be aware: the American Association of

> Clinical

> Endocrinologists about a year ago finally acknowledged that

> hypothyroidism may

> be suspected with a TSH as low as 3.03. These new guidelines for

> diagnosing

> hypothyroidism are unknown to many (most???) doctors. Therefore

> hypothyroid

> patients often remain untreated and unwell. Many people cannot feel

> well using

> TCM alone while others seem to do fine just using TCM. Something I

> believe

> Victoria discussed recently. Personally I need thyroid medication and

> TCM to

> feel well. Neither alone does the trick for me--still everyone is

> different.

>

> Here is a page from Dr. Mercola's site which discusses these new

> guidelines:

>

> http://www.mercola.com/2003/mar/1/hypothyroidism.htm

>

> << I've had a blood test for my thyroid but they came

> > back fine. Thing

> > i want to know is how accurate it is as I am

> > suspecting that i could

> > have hyperthyroidism. Should i ask my GP for further

> > tests? >>

>

> I would say yes, ask for further tests from the doctor, especially if

> free T4

> and free T3 have not been done. Also you might consider taking in the

> new

> guidelines about thyroid disease to your doctor. If hyperthyroid your

> TSH would

> probably be close to 0 and you would probably have a lot of sweating,

> weight

> loss, nervousness, and/or rapid heartbeat. Your symptoms sound more like

> hypothyroid than hyperthyroid (some hypothyroid symptoms include

> fatigue, hair

> loss which in TCM might indicate kidney yang deficiency, weight gain,

> slow pulse,

> dry skin hair--keep in mind patients will not have every symptom and

> in both

> cases, hypo and hyper thyroid, there are many other symptoms I have not

> mentioned which some people also have).

>

> You may not have thyroid disease at all, but reading about it in greater

> depth might be helpful to you. Mercola's site is one place to continue

> this

> research. Also http://thyroid.about.com and www. thyroid-info.com

> have a lot of up

> to date info on thyroid disease.

>

> Interestingly hypothyroid patients sometimes have deficiency heat--which

> makes them feel hot. During TCM treatment this often changes to

> internal cold

> which can then be addressed. It may take some time to bring out the

> true cold

> and often many formula/acupuncture treatment changes will ensue before

> this

> point is reached. In the clinic where I used to observe patients

> being treated

> this sort of pattern was called fake heat. It is important in such

> cases to

> have a good practitioner to follow symptom changes and to bring about

> true body

> balance.

>

> Post message: Chinese Traditional Medicine

> Subscribe: Chinese Traditional Medicine-

> Un: Chinese Traditional Medicine-

> List owner: Chinese Traditional Medicine-owner

>

> Shortcut URL to this page:

> /community/Chinese Traditional Medicine

>

February 15, 2005

Hi tedd,

Actually the reverse T3 test was the first test which allowed me to be

treated for hypothyroidism. I saw the originator of the RT3 protocol,

now called Wilson's thyroid syndrome, at the time. No other doctor

would give me medication and I was desperate. The problem I had

(still have) with the medication prescribed (SRT3) was that it was the

only one I could get any doctor to give me, and the slow release T3

used by Dr. E. Denis Wilson was very hard on the body (mine anyway),

at least if used long term which is what I wound up doing for a few

years. Also Wilson expected most patients would get reset to a normal

body temperature and normal thyroid function after using the SRT3

protocol, thereby not needing any further thyroid medication. This

proved untrue in my case (though he never got to finish with me, as I

was one of his more difficult cases and he was gone before through)

and then when Wilson was ousted from practice by conservative

endocrinologists who got to the state medical board and saw to it he

was gone (as a thyroid patient endocrinologists tend to be my least

favored doctor type, and this is why I was stunned when the AACE

finally acknowledged that hypothyroidsim can exist when the TSH is as

low as 3.04)

After Wilson was ousted I was left with no medication, a still very

low body temperature and a host of hypothyroid symptoms after

treatment by him. When I found other alternative doctors (the only

ones who could see I had hypothyroidism, my TSH being a 3.5 I was

considered normal and well by endos) to treat me for hypothyoidism all

they would look at and use was the SRT3 treatment from Wilson, and as

I say it is hard on the body, and the protocol was extremely demanding

(twice a day dosage which had to be taken to the minute to at least

have a chance of not getting out of balance). This medication pushed

my body too far. I am now on natural thyroid hormone (thanks to truly

kind and concerned doctor) and it is much better for me, though I

realize that would not be true for everyone.

Wilson used the RT3 test, but unfortunately it does not appear

generally accepted except by alternative practitioners (bless their

hearts, there seem to be too few), mainly because the results of the

RT3 test can vary from day to day and hour to hour. So most docs are

not happy with it, but used as an indicator I think it can be

valuable. Better than ignoring overt symptoms of hypothyroidsim. I

admire those docs brave enough to put thyroid symptoms on an equal

footing with thyroid tests and trial thyroid medication despite

" normal " tests to see if patients get better. If thyroid disease is

not the problem it will soon become obvious and the medication can be

dropped. Still Western medicine seems obsessed with tests--tests

should be viewed as an indicator not a gold standard but unfortunately

it seems most doctors do not see it this way.

Chinese Traditional Medicine , tedd <tguenzel@c...> wrote:

>

> Hi,

> I hope I can add my words to this.

> There is a thyroid test no doctor orders which I got and that is a

> reverse T3

> test! My results will be in tomorrow.

> Thanks,

> Tedd

> tguenzel@c...

>

> bonmotSarah@a... wrote:

>

> >

> > Just to let many who may not be aware: the American Association of

> > Clinical

> > Endocrinologists about a year ago finally acknowledged that

> > hypothyroidism may

> > be suspected with a TSH as low as 3.03. These new guidelines for

> > diagnosing

> > hypothyroidism are unknown to many (most???) doctors. Therefore

> > hypothyroid

> > patients often remain untreated and unwell. Many people cannot

feel

> > well using

> > TCM alone while others seem to do fine just using TCM. Something

I

> > believe

> > Victoria discussed recently. Personally I need thyroid medication

and

> > TCM to

> > feel well. Neither alone does the trick for me--still everyone is

> > different.

> >

> > Here is a page from Dr. Mercola's site which discusses these new

> > guidelines:

> >

> > http://www.mercola.com/2003/mar/1/hypothyroidism.htm

> >

> > << I've had a blood test for my thyroid but they came

> > > back fine. Thing

> > > i want to know is how accurate it is as I am

> > > suspecting that i could

> > > have hyperthyroidism. Should i ask my GP for further

> > > tests? >>

> >

> > I would say yes, ask for further tests from the doctor, especially

if

> > free T4

> > and free T3 have not been done. Also you might consider taking in

the

> > new

> > guidelines about thyroid disease to your doctor. If hyperthyroid

your

> > TSH would

> > probably be close to 0 and you would probably have a lot of

sweating,

> > weight

> > loss, nervousness, and/or rapid heartbeat. Your symptoms sound

more like

> > hypothyroid than hyperthyroid (some hypothyroid symptoms include

> > fatigue, hair

> > loss which in TCM might indicate kidney yang deficiency, weight

gain,

> > slow pulse,

> > dry skin hair--keep in mind patients will not have every symptom

and

> > in both

> > cases, hypo and hyper thyroid, there are many other symptoms I

have not

> > mentioned which some people also have).

> >

> > You may not have thyroid disease at all, but reading about it in

greater

> > depth might be helpful to you. Mercola's site is one place to

continue

> > this

> > research. Also http://thyroid.about.com and www. thyroid-info.com

> > have a lot of up

> > to date info on thyroid disease.

> >

> > Interestingly hypothyroid patients sometimes have deficiency

heat--which

> > makes them feel hot. During TCM treatment this often changes to

> > internal cold

> > which can then be addressed. It may take some time to bring out

the

> > true cold

> > and often many formula/acupuncture treatment changes will ensue

before

> > this

> > point is reached. In the clinic where I used to observe patients

> > being treated

> > this sort of pattern was called fake heat. It is important in

such

> > cases to

> > have a good practitioner to follow symptom changes and to bring

about

> > true body

> > balance.

> >

> > Post message: Chinese Traditional Medicine

> > Subscribe: Chinese Traditional Medicine-

> > Un: Chinese Traditional Medicine-

> > List owner: Chinese Traditional Medicine-owner

> >

> > Shortcut URL to this page:

> > /community/Chinese Traditional Medicine

> >

February 16, 2005

Hi what is SRT3?

Thanks for all you said

Tedd

baidanwu34 wrote:

>

> Hi tedd,

>

> Actually the reverse T3 test was the first test which allowed me to be

> treated for hypothyroidism. I saw the originator of the RT3 protocol,

> now called Wilson's thyroid syndrome, at the time. No other doctor

> would give me medication and I was desperate. The problem I had

> (still have) with the medication prescribed (SRT3) was that it was the

> only one I could get any doctor to give me, and the slow release T3

> used by Dr. E. Denis Wilson was very hard on the body (mine anyway),

> at least if used long term which is what I wound up doing for a few

> years. Also Wilson expected most patients would get reset to a normal

> body temperature and normal thyroid function after using the SRT3

> protocol, thereby not needing any further thyroid medication. This

> proved untrue in my case (though he never got to finish with me, as I

> was one of his more difficult cases and he was gone before through)

> and then when Wilson was ousted from practice by conservative

> endocrinologists who got to the state medical board and saw to it he

> was gone (as a thyroid patient endocrinologists tend to be my least

> favored doctor type, and this is why I was stunned when the AACE

> finally acknowledged that hypothyroidsim can exist when the TSH is as

> low as 3.04)

>

> After Wilson was ousted I was left with no medication, a still very

> low body temperature and a host of hypothyroid symptoms after

> treatment by him. When I found other alternative doctors (the only

> ones who could see I had hypothyroidism, my TSH being a 3.5 I was

> considered normal and well by endos) to treat me for hypothyoidism all

> they would look at and use was the SRT3 treatment from Wilson, and as

> I say it is hard on the body, and the protocol was extremely demanding

> (twice a day dosage which had to be taken to the minute to at least

> have a chance of not getting out of balance). This medication pushed

> my body too far. I am now on natural thyroid hormone (thanks to truly

> kind and concerned doctor) and it is much better for me, though I

> realize that would not be true for everyone.

>

> Wilson used the RT3 test, but unfortunately it does not appear

> generally accepted except by alternative practitioners (bless their

> hearts, there seem to be too few), mainly because the results of the

> RT3 test can vary from day to day and hour to hour. So most docs are

> not happy with it, but used as an indicator I think it can be

> valuable. Better than ignoring overt symptoms of hypothyroidsim. I

> admire those docs brave enough to put thyroid symptoms on an equal

> footing with thyroid tests and trial thyroid medication despite

> " normal " tests to see if patients get better. If thyroid disease is

> not the problem it will soon become obvious and the medication can be

> dropped. Still Western medicine seems obsessed with tests--tests

> should be viewed as an indicator not a gold standard but unfortunately

> it seems most doctors do not see it this way.

>

> Chinese Traditional Medicine , tedd <tguenzel@c...> wrote:

> >

> > Hi,

> > I hope I can add my words to this.

> > There is a thyroid test no doctor orders which I got and that is a

> > reverse T3

> > test! My results will be in tomorrow.

> > Thanks,

> > Tedd

> > tguenzel@c...

> >

> > bonmotSarah@a... wrote:

> >

> > >

> > > Just to let many who may not be aware: the American Association of

> > > Clinical

> > > Endocrinologists about a year ago finally acknowledged that

> > > hypothyroidism may

> > > be suspected with a TSH as low as 3.03. These new guidelines for

> > > diagnosing

> > > hypothyroidism are unknown to many (most???) doctors. Therefore

> > > hypothyroid

> > > patients often remain untreated and unwell. Many people cannot

> feel

> > > well using

> > > TCM alone while others seem to do fine just using TCM. Something

> I

> > > believe

> > > Victoria discussed recently. Personally I need thyroid medication

> and

> > > TCM to

> > > feel well. Neither alone does the trick for me--still everyone is

> > > different.

> > >

> > > Here is a page from Dr. Mercola's site which discusses these new

> > > guidelines:

> > >

> > > http://www.mercola.com/2003/mar/1/hypothyroidism.htm

> > >

> > > << I've had a blood test for my thyroid but they came

> > > > back fine. Thing

> > > > i want to know is how accurate it is as I am

> > > > suspecting that i could

> > > > have hyperthyroidism. Should i ask my GP for further

> > > > tests? >>

> > >

> > > I would say yes, ask for further tests from the doctor, especially

> if

> > > free T4

> > > and free T3 have not been done. Also you might consider taking in

> the

> > > new

> > > guidelines about thyroid disease to your doctor. If hyperthyroid

> your

> > > TSH would

> > > probably be close to 0 and you would probably have a lot of

> sweating,

> > > weight

> > > loss, nervousness, and/or rapid heartbeat. Your symptoms sound

> more like

> > > hypothyroid than hyperthyroid (some hypothyroid symptoms include

> > > fatigue, hair

> > > loss which in TCM might indicate kidney yang deficiency, weight

> gain,

> > > slow pulse,

> > > dry skin hair--keep in mind patients will not have every symptom

> and

> > > in both

> > > cases, hypo and hyper thyroid, there are many other symptoms I

> have not

> > > mentioned which some people also have).

> > >

> > > You may not have thyroid disease at all, but reading about it in

> greater

> > > depth might be helpful to you. Mercola's site is one place to

> continue

> > > this

> > > research. Also http://thyroid.about.com and www. thyroid-info.com

> > > have a lot of up

> > > to date info on thyroid disease.

> > >

> > > Interestingly hypothyroid patients sometimes have deficiency

> heat--which

> > > makes them feel hot. During TCM treatment this often changes to

> > > internal cold

> > > which can then be addressed. It may take some time to bring out

> the

> > > true cold

> > > and often many formula/acupuncture treatment changes will ensue

> before

> > > this

> > > point is reached. In the clinic where I used to observe patients

> > > being treated

> > > this sort of pattern was called fake heat. It is important in

> such

> > > cases to

> > > have a good practitioner to follow symptom changes and to bring

> about

> > > true body

> > > balance.

> > >

> > > Post message: Chinese Traditional Medicine

> > > Subscribe: Chinese Traditional Medicine-

> > > Un: Chinese Traditional Medicine-

> > > List owner: Chinese Traditional Medicine-owner

> > >

> > > Shortcut URL to this page:

> > > /community/Chinese Traditional Medicine

> > >

February 16, 2005

Chinese Traditional Medicine , tedd <tguenzel@c...> wrote:

>

> Hi what is SRT3?

> Thanks for all you said

> Tedd

>

SRT3 (i.e slow release T3) is a compounded medicine from the drug

cytomel. It is made by compounding pharmacists at varying dosage

levels, usually starting at 7.5mcgs. The starting dose in Wilson's

protocol was generally 7.5 mcgs, twice a day taken too the minute

twice a day (for example, 7am and 7pm). The point was to keep

increasing until normal body temperature averaged over a three times a

day temperature taking, in this example the dose times would require

taking the temperature at 10am, 1pm, and then again at 4pm. If the

average was lower than 98.6 then the next day the dose was increased

to 15mcgs twice a day. This keeps up until a max dose of 90mcg is

reached (and not all will get this high as their temperatures would

normalize at lower levels).

This protocol is extremely hard to follow (the rigid scheduled times

for medication and temperature taking) and some people (like me) are

extremely variable in reacting to the medication. So I was often out

of balance with headaches, edema and feeling unwell. Also it could

sometimes hype me up till I felt like I was bouncing off

walls--probably the medication was not evenly released in my system.

Some days I felt that my body would either retain more or release more

medication, thus creating a host of symptoms. Yet I did this for

years because this was the only medication I could get and overall I

felt better with it than off it. At least I was warm most of the

time. And could think better most of the time too. Still I was far

from well. Things changed when I added TCM to my protocol and I felt

better dropping SRT3 for natural thyroid hormone whe

February 23, 2005

Hi baidanwu34,

I was wondering what your reverse T3 level was?

Mine is .20 the scale is .19 to .49 and my dr. said I was fine.

I don't fell fine.

let me know please,