Does the patient’s story sound typical of Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome?
Is there any other great explanation for the patient’s complaints?
Is there any reason the patient shouldn’t try the treatment for Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome?
Try the T3 therapy protocol for Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome and see how well it works.

Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome is largely a diagnosis of exclusion and is best identified with a therapeutic trial. What does that mean? It means that there are several identifiable medical conditions that can cause symptoms similar to Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome that can be easily ruled out or excluded by a qualified medical professional through tests. A “therapeutic trial” is a medical phrase that means “trying a treatment on a patient to see how well it works.” Therapeutic trials are especially helpful in establishing the diagnosis of conditions that are not easily identified with tests. The thinking is that if a patient responds to the treatment, there’s a good chance s/he has the condition. Sometimes doctors need to try treatments for different problems to see what works. Doctors recognize and are comfortable with these terms, and the treatment of Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome is “standard of care” medicine.

What’s considered a low temperature?

Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome is characterized by body temperatures that average below 98.6 measured orally, typically below 97.8.

How is the body temperature measured, and why?

Since Dr. Wilson believes that low body temperatures cause the symptoms and since most patients complain of symptoms they are having during the day, Dr. Wilson recommends that the temperatures be measured during the day.

Body temperatures are normally lower in the morning, higher in the afternoon, and lower again in the evening. So if the temperatures are low during the day when they’re supposed to be at their highest, that’s better evidence that there’s a problem.

Temperature patterns are also important and illuminating. How patients feel can be affected not only by how high or low their temperatures are but also on how steady their temps are. This is especially important during T3 therapy. One temperature reading a day is not enough to see how widely the temperature is fluctuating, but more than three a day can be too time consuming.

For these reasons Dr. Wilson recommends measuring the temperatures

By mouth with a thermometer
Every 3 hours
3 times a day, starting 3 hours after waking
For several days (not the 3 days prior to the period in women since its higher then) for diagnosis.
Every day during treatment.

Here is a convenient temperature log you can print out and use to record your temperatures.

For each day, add the 3 temperatures together and divide by 3 to get the average.

If your temperature consistently averages below 98.6 then you may be suffering from Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome.

Note: Some people believe that moving the thermometer around in the mouth very much can increase blood flow to the area and affect the temperature reading. It seems prudent to be mindful not to move the thermometer unnecessarily much.

Go to How are Body Temperatures Measured? for more information.

How can a low temperature cause so many symptoms?

Virtually all of the chemical reactions that take place in our bodies are catalyzed by enzymes. Enzymes are proteins that are dependent upon their shape, or conformation, for their activity. When enzymes are too hot they are too loose, when they are too cold they are too tight, and in either extreme the enzymes are not the right shape and cannot function optimally. When the body temperature is too low, nearly all of the enzymes in the body function less effectively. This can cause a very wide variety of complaints.

It’s well known that high fevers (107 degrees F) can cause brain damage and even death, and that very low body temperatures (< 90 degrees F) can also be life-threatening.

Likewise, a temperature a little above normal (say 100 degrees) is plenty of reason to feel badly and be excused from school or work. Clearly, temperatures that are just as low as 100 degrees is high can easily explain a classic set of symptoms. It is obvious that we are looking at a continuum, and in order to function optimally, the body must be at the optimal temperature.

What Causes A Low Temperature?

Under conditions of severe physical or emotional stress,

The body can slow down as a coping mechanism
The temperature can go down to conserve energy

That’s normal. But sometimes,

The temperature can remain persistently low even after the stress has passed.

What people are most susceptible to getting Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome?

Those who seem most prone to developing Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome are those whose ancestors survived famine, such as Irish, Scot, Welsh, American Indian, Russian, etc.. Most susceptible of all seem to be those who are part Irish, and part American Indian. But under severe circumstances people of any nationality can develop Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome.

Is Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome more common in men or women?

About 80% of Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome sufferers are women.

Might Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome 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 the Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome is left untreated those patients will continue to experience troublesome symptoms.

Myth 1Once a person needs thyroid medicine to improve symptoms of decreased thyroid system function, or low thyroid blood tests for that matter, s/he will always need thyroid medicine for the rest of her/his life.

FALSE. Even glandular insufficiencies of the thyroid system can be temporary, making it possible for people to be weaned off thyroid medicine sometimes, with their glandular function coming back up to normal. And people without glandular insufficiencies are particularly easy to wean off T3 therapy successfully after their symptoms have resolved.

Myth 2 If a person is given thyroid medicine when the thyroid blood tests are normal, or when the thyroid gland is normal, it will damage the thyroid gland.

FALSE. Whereas thyroid medicine can rest a person’s thyroid system for a time no studies have ever shown that it can damage a previously healthy gland, preventing it from functioning normally again after the medicine is discontinued. Actually, resting the thyroid system in the right way can often reset it, much like birth control pills can suppress a woman’s own female hormone system for a time to restore a normal menstrual cycle. For example, the thyroid gland function of patients who come in with their thyroid glands suppressed with thyroid medicine for the past 20 years routinely have their own thyroid gland function come back up again when they’re weaned off.

Myth 3Thyroxine or T4 is the most important thyroid hormone, and everything depends on its blood test levels being within a certain range.

FALSE. Actually, there was once a boy who was born without any thyroid function, and he was started on T3 instead of T4. He grew and developed normally and passed easily into adulthood without ever having a molecule of T4 in his body.

Myth 4Thyroid medicine (T4 or T3) is absolutely necessary and something “you’ll probably need for life” one minute if your blood tests are low. Then, the medicine automatically becomes very bad for you the next if your tests are normal.

Wait a minute. Thyroid hormones (T4 or T3) have been floating around in our bodies since birth, and they are absolutely necessary for good health. There is nothing inherently bad about the molecules; they can’t and haven’t directly damaged the tissue of your heart, brain, or other tissues. There is no evidence that suggests that thyroid hormones, when used properly, can damage the body in any way. But of course, thyroid hormones are medicine, and as with all medicines, should be used only under the thoughtful supervision of a doctor. Taking thyroid medicine is not completely without risk, as nothing is.

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