Armour or Synthroid In The Treatment
of WTS?
Synthroid
contains only T4.
Armour contains T4 and T3.
To review, the purpose
of the WT3 protocol is to clear T4 and RT3 out of the tissues of the body by
reducing T4. T4 is reduced by treating patients with T3.
Some
patients and physicians hear about the need for T3 and wonder if
they can gain the benefits of T3 by using Armour instead of Synthroid
because it contains T3. But Armour thyroid doesn't contain just
T3. It contains a lot of T4 as well! T4 is the very hormone
we're trying to reduce in WTS. That's
apparently why Armour Thyroid is not good for correcting
Wilson's Temperature Syndrome. Please note, however, that just because we want to deplete T4 and RT3 levels does not mean that RT3 levels have to be elevated on a blood test in order for a patient to have, and recover from WTS. Many patients with normal or even low levels of RT3 on the blood tests can still respond well to the WT3 protocol.
Patients often feel better
on Armour than on Synthroid, but that's probably because Synthroid
has nothing but T4.
When
WTS patients are treated with Synthroid their symptoms may improve
for a time, but typically come back after a while (2-3 months).
Seeing that the Synthroid helped at first but isn't helping any
more, doctors often increase the dose. The symptoms may improve
again for a time, and then worsen again. The Synthroid might be
increased with the cycle repeating itself. Until eventually, the
Synthroid might be increased and instead of the patient improving
again at all, the patient may get worse right off the bat. This
is a classic story of patients being pushed too far in the wrong
direction with the wrong medicine.
Even if the symptoms
remain improved while a patient is on the Synthroid, the symptoms
almost always return once the Synthroid is discontinued.
The same things can be
said about Armour Thyroid (which is a T4-containing medicine like
Synthroid), however not quite to the same degree since Armour does
contain some T3.
Since Armour has a lot
of T4 in it, it may carry less risk than straight T3 therapy. But
it also carries less benefit. It does not typically correct Wilson's
Temperature Syndrome and the symptoms tend to return when the treatment
is stopped. And it frequently doesn't address the symptoms as well
as straight T3 even when the patient is taking the Armour.
Armour Thyroid does not constitute T3 therapy as described
in Wilson's T3 therapy or protocol.
Might
WTS Explain Why The Thyroid Treatment I'm Taking Now Isn't Working?
Yes. You can take thyroid medicine and have normal blood tests and
still have a low body temperature and classic symptoms. Body temperature
is what correlates the best with the symptoms. Therefore, thyroid
system evaluation or management that does not take body temperature
patterns into account is misdirected and often ineffective. Chapter
12 of the Doctor's Manual is devoted to explaining the treatment
and management of patients who are not doing well on T4-containing
medicine. As it turns out, patients who have hypothyroidism (low
thyroid gland function) may also be suffering from Wilson's
Temperature Syndrome. And if they do and the WTS is left untreated those patients
will continue to experience troublesome symptoms.
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