Sally’s Comments

“After 30 years my thyroid gland is functioning properly on its own ”- Sally S.

There are no words to describe the relief and difference I have felt since undergoing the treatment for Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome. I not only feel better physically but also mentally.

Where do I begin with my story? When I first read of the treatment, I was more than skeptical, to say the least. When I read the list of symptoms, I thought, “Come on, be real—all these symptoms just from thyroid?” There were so many of my own symptoms listed there. But I had had good medical treatment and had been on Synthroid for years so surely I was just imagining these symptoms, wasn’t I? This was what I had been led to believe for over 30 years.

Now since I feel so much better, I look back on the years when I was so very, very tired while raising my children and waking each morning more tired than when I went to bed; of wanting to just pull the covers over my head and cry; of aching all over and having to concentrate so hard just to remember how to rise from a chair and not wanting anyone to know because you think it must all be in your mind.

You are only 25 years old and look great except your feet and hands swell and you are a little bit overweight since the children were born. No one knows you eat very little and must go on a starvation diet to lose any weight at all. You are able to keep a reasonably clean house and are active with your children’s school, and even take a full-time job so your husband can go back to college. Even though each day you must push yourself physically and just will yourself to keep going.

All the time you keep these things to yourself because you don’t want to complain, and your doctors cannot find anything physically wrong with you other than a low thyroid and you are receiving Synthroid for that, so that ought to fix what ails you. In fact, to go back a little bit, before the doctors gave me Synthroid for my problem, they sent me to the hospital for treatment with radioactive iodine, twice.

I look at many people now and wonder if they could be suffering form the same condition as I had, excusing it as stress, getting old, every day life, and a host of other titles.

I believe my condition was not ordinary, due to the fact that neither Dr. Wilson nor anyone else could determine just how much thyroid tissue had been destroyed because of the radioactive iodine. However, after I finally figured, “What do I have to lose?” I called and made the appointment to see Dr. Wilson. Upon my consultation visit with him, he told me all the symptoms I had felt over the years. I was impressed. Remember now, I was real skeptical, and as I said before, I had had good medical treatment over the years, but simply received either blank stares when I related my problem or the feeling of “Quiet, woman, I’m the doctor, there is nothing wrong with you,” or, “I’ll determine what is wrong with you.” Or as one very kind doctor admitted, he just couldn’t figure women out. So with a shrug of the shoulder, I went on my way and felt, “What’s the use, just live with it. Everyone must feel this way, they just don’t mention it.” And I wouldn’t either.

My grandmother, who was a very intelligent person, but very cranky and at times seemingly uncaring, had her thyroid removed at Ford Hospital in Detroit around the turn of the century. She never received any medication for her condition. Now I can see that perhaps her complaints were not unjustified, and her short temper was perhaps due to her physical condition of low thyroid or no thyroid. She is gone now. I wish I had been more understanding.

My normal body temperature has been 96.0 degrees for as long as I can remember. One doctor told me if my temperature went to 98.6 I should consider this as 2 degrees of fever and treat it that way.

I thought of myself as cool, calm, and collected, although I was on high blood pressure medicine. I guess I wasn’t too cool, calm, and collected. Dr. Wilson took me off Synthroid and started me on T3 medicine for approximately 10 months. After that time, he weaned me off all thyroid medication. I have been off both Synthroid and T3 for six months now, and the thyroid blood test done last week shows that both my T4 and TSH are within normal limits. After 30 years my thyroid gland is functioning properly on its own, and I’m doing much better now than when I was on thyroid medicine. I have lost 40 pounds and reduced my blood pressure medicine by 1/2. I have kept the 40 pounds off for the last six months with little or no effort.

I hold the position of executive secretary for a very busy public figure and pride myself on being a good wife, a very efficient secretary, a great mom and grandmom, and very active in several volunteer organizations. What more can I say, Dr. Wilson, other than I wished you had been around 30 years ago.