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Thyroid Not The Only System Of The Body

Thyroid Not The Only System Of The Body

The adrenal, female and thyroid hormones can all affect body temperature patterns. the most common cause of Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome (a thyroid system problem) is childbirth, which involves the female hormone system; and that proper thyroid hormone treatment can frequently correct the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome which is also female hormone related. We have also seen that cortisol in the adrenal hormone system is known to directly inhibit T4 to T3 conversion which is the most critical step in the thyroid system because it is the step in which there is most often a problem.

I have treated more than 5,000 patients with Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome to date. The more I work with these patients, the more apparent it becomes to me that the human body is a highly integrated system. One part of the system may affect another, which may affect others, and so on. So a change in one part of the system may start a chain reaction of events that can affect the whole system. For example, it is well know that proper exercise can help one’s whole system to function better. Likewise, lack of sleep can adversely affect a person’s muscle strength, digestion, resistance to infections, mental function, and many other functions. In that way, sleep deprivation can help tear down one’s whole system. The same can be said for one’s nutrition and stress levels.

The system is influenced by sex hormones, adrenal hormones, stress, thyroid hormones, medicines, blood pressure, sleep, nutrition, exercise, infections, digestion, respiration, blood circulation, and many other influences.

One way to visualize this is by picturing many ropes tied to a single ring. The ropes represent the influences and the ring represents the system. Picture the ropes all pulling in different directions. The position of the ring depends on the amount of tension in each of the different ropes. If one is able to increase the tension in one rope enough, one can affect the position of the ring and therefore the position of the other ropes as well. I often see evidence that when more pressure is exerted on any one of the adrenal, female, or thyroid systems the position of the metabolism, in general, and the remaining two hormone systems can be affected. The same can be observed with positive changes in diet, exercise, sleep habits, stress management, etc. When one effects a correction or normalization in one part of the system, the remaining parts tend to follow suit and settle in behind the changes made in the first. So if one’s whole system is out of position, then one’s whole system may have to change, to an extent, to make things right.

The ideal whole body system position depends on a proper balance of tension in all the various “ropes” or influences affecting the system. Interestingly, different combinations of tensions may result in the same overall effect. Thus, when trying to improve the body’s “position”, one should strive to affect favorably as many influences as possible.

For example, if the thyroid system malfunctions, it pulls the entire body system into a new position of functioning which is determined by the new balance of influences involved. If the changes in “rope tension” are mild or short-lived, they may be insufficient to cause a persistent change in the system. However, if the changes are severe or long-lasting, the entire system may settle into a new balance that persists long after the precipitating changes in “rope tensions” resolve.

This analogy can explain a number of situations that are common in, and even characterize Wilson ’s Temperature Syndrome. First, the whole body system or metabolism can settle into positions of functioning that have a great deal of inertia. Second, the body’s functioning can change for a time (because of external factors like staying up for 72 hours, or by drinking too much caffeine for two weeks) and return to normal once conditions return to normal (plenty of rest, stopping caffeine). Third, the body’s functioning can go down and stay down even after the change (divorce, job stress, death of a loved one) has passed. Fourth, the body’s functioning can get progressively worse in stages, and also how it can improve in stages. Fifth, the body’s system can be returned to “normal” and how it can stay normal even after the correcting influences (treatment) have been discontinued.

This illustration also explains how symptoms similar to the symptoms of MED can accompany many different influences; depression, female hormones (PMS), adrenal hormone conditions, dietary habits (hypoglycemia), and others. It can explain how some physicians do have some success in treating the symptoms of Multiple Enzyme Dysfunction with female and/or adrenal hormones. For example, progesterone for PMS is sometimes useful if one can find a dosage regimen that works for the patient.

Many things (diet, activity, stress, hormones, illness, sleep deprivation) can knock your whole system out of whack. As a result, you can suffer from MED due to aberrant body temperature patterns. Likewise, these same things (diet, activity, sleep), can improve the function of your system. However, these influences are often insufficient to correct the whole problem. In such cases, the WT3 protocol can often be used to predictably, effectively, reproducibly, and quickly influence the system to return to a normal pattern of function.

T3 is a Temperature Tool
There are other possible approaches to the symptoms discussed in this book but the appeal of T3 therapy for Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome is its simplicity. You get the temperature up and you either feel better or you don’t. With many approaches there is no way of knowing if one is headed in the right direction, but with T3 therapy there is a guide. The body temperature! It’s so nice to have a guide. Usually the temperature comes up in a couple of weeks to help patients see if they are on the right track. And when patients do respond, they often remain improved even after the treatment has been discontinued. the WT3 protocol is deliberate and direct.

To illustrate, let us suppose that you bought a computer. The owner’s manual states that the computer has a special safety feature that causes its function to slow down when under too much strain. This is to avoid costly damage to the machine. It also states that the computer should only be connected to a certain number of devices, run certain types of programs, be run for only a certain number of hours per day, and be kept in a room at a certain temperature and humidity. During a particularly busy period of time, long after the owner’s manual has been stuffed in a closet and you’ve forgotten many of the do’s and don’ts, you notice that the machine’s function is beginning to slow down. The screens are becoming dim, the printer is barely working. You retrieve the owner’s manual and correct all of the abuses. Although there is some improvement, the computer’s function still does not return to normal. Puzzled, you take the printer apart, clean it, inspect it, and reassemble it with no resulting improvement. You replace the software, dismantle the computer itself, and after several weeks you still cannot find the answer to your problem. Being very concerned about your costly equipment and the work you still need to accomplish, you finally break down and call the manufacturer to send a service man. He recognizes immediately that the system has slowed itself down to protect itself. You are very relieved to hear that your $25,000 computer is not ruined. The service man points out that the system will sometimes stay a little slow after it has saved itself from destruction. He also points out that it was for this reason that the manufacturer installed a little green reset button on the bottom of the machine, described on page 127 of the owner’s manual. Within one second of pressing the tiny button, the function of the machine “miraculously” surges back to normal. Stunned, you realize at once how much more effective, quick and simple it can be when one directly addresses the fundamental underlying problem.

Similarly, I think many people respond almost miraculously well to proper T3 therapy because we are, in a sense, pushing the “temperature button” on the body and getting all the other functions to respond, or come back.

Other Temperature Tools
In 2001, I met Dr. Michaël Friedman, ND who was then an Endocrinology Professor at the University of Bridgeport Naturopathic Medical School. While we collaborated on a chapter on Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome in a textbook that he was writing. I learned from him that herbs can be very useful in helping the body maintain normal body temperatures.