Dear Lisa,

It's clear that the adrenal and thyroid systems very much affect one another, sometimes positively, sometimes adversely. Sometimes T3 therapy, like other thyroid hormone treatments can exacerbate adrenal fatigue especially in patients with adrenal fatigue. On the other hand, sometimes thyroid treatment can help alleviate adrenal fatigue. When the thyroid system isn't functioning well, the adrenal system often has to work harder to make up the difference and can become fatigued. Stressing the body with thyroid treatment can put more strain on the adrenals. On the other hand, helping the thyroid system back up to normal so it can pull its own weight can take a lot of strain off the adrenals. Many physicians feel strongly about supporting the adrenal glands during T3 therapy.

Best,
Denis Wilson, MD  

Dear Mike,

Armour Thyroid has T3 in it as well as T4. T3 is the active hormone. It is 4 times stronger than T4 and is 3 times shorter acting. Further, the T3 in Armour is instant release T3. Having a powerful and short acting hormone instandly released into one's system once a day can be very destabilizing and can account for a lot of unpleasant symptoms typical of unsteady T3 levels.

Some people might describe the feeling of unsteady T3 levels as nervous exhaustion, while others might describe the feeling of adrenal fatigue as nervous exhaustion.

The Doctor's Manual could be aptly titled, "How to Manage T3 Therapy in Such a Way As to Minimize Unsteady T3 Levels, Striving to Maximize Benefits while Minimizing Side Effects."

T3 Therapy, by virtue of the nature of T3 itself, tends to destabilize T3 levels. That's why great care is needed to minimize the chances of it. You can read Chapters 7 and 10 (see T4 test dose) of the Doctor's Manual for more information.

Some patients that don't tolerate the WT3 Therapy well without adrenal support do tolerate it well with adrenal support.

Your supervising physician can discuss with you the risks and potential benefits of T3 therapy and how it should be managed. And if he has any questions about it he can call 800-420-5801 to make an appointment to discuss your case with a doctor for free.

Warmly,
Denis Wilson, MD  

Chapter 12 is titled: T3 Therapy In Hypothyroid Patients. This chapter gives some important principles to understand in hypothyroid patients. Module 6 about weaning is also informative. But perhaps most to the point for you will be Caveat 11 referenced in Module 6.

Hope that helps,
Denis Wilson, MD