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What’s Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome?

Your “Low Thyroid Symptoms” Might Go Away When You Get Your Body Temperature to Normal (98.6).

Do you feel so bad that you know something’s wrong with your health? Do you feel that you need to fix it so you can live a normal life? Are you fed up with hearing:

  • “Your blood tests are normal.”
  • “It’s all in your head.”
  • “This is just thyroid disease, you’ll have to live with it.”

If blood tests are normal, then why do you feel overwhelmed? There’s nothing normal about problems with energy, stress, weight and mood. And the impact on fitness, family and career can be all too real.

We believe you. We know it may not be “all in your head.”  Your symptoms might be attributed to your low body temperature.  If they are, there’s a good chance that the information on this site will help you get your health and your life back. Welcome to WilsonsTemperatureSyndrome.com.

We have found that a low body temperature can cause life-promoting enzymes to tighten and malfunction – slowing metabolism and triggering a cascade of “low thyroid-like” symptoms. Blood tests come back normal, so treatment stalls out.

We’re here to get your treatment back on track. The medical protocol presented on this website is being used by hundreds doctors and has given thousands of low body temperature patients their lives back. The protocol is Wilson’s T3 Protocol (WT3).

Discovered by Denis Wilson, M.D., this breakthrough sustained-release T3 therapy may optimize body temperature, restore healthy enzyme function, and reverse your elusive low thyroid symptoms. In many cases, the symptoms do not return for many months, if at all, even after the treatment is stopped.


“I have seen some 500+ patients, all self-referred, for this condition in the last 8 years. Around 85 to 90% of the patients that I treat for Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome respond to the treatment, to some degree. Of those about 50 percent seem to recover fully with only one cycle of T3 therapy and are able to wean off and be done.”

– Stephen Leighton, MD, Winston-Salem, NC


Low thyroid symptoms don’t improve until temperatures improve.

Classically, Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome is:

  • a persistent but reversible slowing of the metabolism
  • often brought on by the stress of illness, injury, or emotional trauma.
  • often worsened in stages with subsequent stress.
  • characterized by a low body temperature and classic low-thyroid-like symptoms.
  • often corrected with a special thyroid treatment even though thyroid blood tests are often normal.

In addition, there are people who seem much more prone to developing Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome than others. Their symptoms tend to:

  • Come on earlier in life, so early that some patients may not even know what it feels like to be normal.
  • Worsen more gradually over time.

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


Low Body Temperature and Symptoms

It’s easy to see if your metabolism has slowed down and might be contributing to your health problems. You can simply check your body temperature.

In fact, low body temperature and low-thyroid-like symptoms are so closely related that it appears that the low body temperature is actually what causes the symptoms.

A low body temperature is a very reliable indicator of poor health that can often be corrected with restorative medical techniques.


How Can A Low Body 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.

And just like it can feel really bad (and reason enough to be excused from school or work), it can also feel really bad to have a body temperature that’s a degree, or two, or three BELOW normal. Of course low body temperatures 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.

About the Author:

Denis Wilson, MD described Wilson 's Temperature Syndrome in 1988 after observing people with symptoms of low thyroid and low body temperature, yet who had normal blood tests. He found that by normalizing their temperatures with T3 (without T4) their symptoms often remained improved even after the treatment was discontinued. He was the first doctor to use sustained-release T3.

14 Comments

  1. Willa deFouw April 11, 2013 at 2:25 pm - Reply

    I have read the 4th edition of Wilson’s Thyroid Syndrome cover to cover in 2 days. In the mid 80″s I had Hashimoto’s a couple of years after the birth of my second child. My first child was born with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus, needless to say that there was a lot of stress. I also was going through a divorce, single parenting 2 kids and working fulltime… many changes at that time. I was put on Synthroid and it seemed to help for a while. In 96 I went through a time of having panic attacks, claustrophobia, and these symptoms usually coincided with a high TSH, so then my Syntroid was increased. I have occassionally had times of panic attacks from 96 until now, and was continually trying to figure out why. In January of 2011 once again my TSH was high, so my Doctor increased my Syntroid to .250mg but the pharmacist incorrectly gave me .025mg, which I took for 100 days, and kept on feeling worse. I have many classic hypothyroid symptoms like low Iron levels, high cholestrol, carpal tunnel like pain, fatigue, vitiligo, decreased memory, dry skin, flaky fingernails, weight gain, itchy skin, slow healing, inflamation, muscle and joint aches, When the mistake was discovered I started on a new prescription of .250 Synthroid and within 2 weeks felt a lot better, and have not had a panic attack since. The feeling better only lasted for a few months. In January of 2012 I developed diabetes, which went uncontrolled until September and I lost 40 pounds, then went on insulin and gained the 40 pounds back, which brings me to April of 2013. I don’t feel that great. Had I known about Wilson’s Thyroid Syndrome after the mistake with the Synthroid, I think that it would have been good to have started the T3 therapy then. My current Doctor is willing to work with me to get back on track, but I don’t think that he is totally aware of the WTS protocol. Currently my TSH is very low, my Free T4 is high, and my Free T3 are about middle, and my body temperature varys between 95.5 to 97.4. My iron is at 4 and should be between 70 and 90.The Diabetes specialist would like it if I decreased Synthroid to .175 but when I tried that within 2 weeks I started to have small panic attacks and I don’t like that feeling so went back up to .200 which I have been on since about June of 2011. How can I get this info to my Doctor? I really just want to feel better, free from fatigue, itchyness, aches and pains, etc.

    • Dr. Denis Wilson May 3, 2013 at 7:51 am - Reply

      Your doctor can call 800 420 5801 and we’ll be happy to do everything it takes to help him help you.

  2. karen sweeney March 12, 2015 at 4:13 pm - Reply

    where is their a practitioner in England please. i have a low temp of 35.4..weight gain, poor memory, flaky nails, dry skin..unlike other sufferers .. i am rarely cold, almost always hot..particularly after eating.. endo said all my blood tests are “normal”…he was not interested in helping me.. just said eat less.. exercise more!!! been telling me this since 1990, 2 years after my thyroidectomy, due to nodules.. am at my wits end!!! thanks for help, and all the info. you share with us.. bye for now

  3. penny April 9, 2015 at 5:00 am - Reply

    I am a 35 year ole female I am approx 5’7′ and weigh 180 lbs …I have had some blood work done for a little bit of everything …all I am told is low B12 ..however I feel I have a lot of the symptoms of thyroid issues …First my body temp is between 95 to 97 …I am so tired I have a hard time getting through the day ..my mood is down in the dumps a lot …my hands are cold all the time..Severely constipated ( I have a bowel movement about 1 a week ) …I have been eating super proper like low cal ..extremely high fiber and trying to exercise as much as I can with the low energy yet instead of loosing weight I am actually gaining …I am wondering about iodine and if and how much I should take ,,,and If there is some metabolism boosters available …please help ..P.S. when I was pregnant almost 3 years ago I was told I have Thyroid issues after I gave birth all the sudden the issues went away

  4. Annaliese January 21, 2016 at 2:50 am - Reply

    Would you be anle to recommend a practioner in the Denver Co area famiar with the diagnosis and treatment of Wilson’s syndrome? Thank you

  5. Leah Helton March 3, 2016 at 5:01 am - Reply

    Would you be able to recommend a practioner in the Tacoma, WA area or Seattle WA area? My thyroid blood work has come back normal but I have had the weight gain, some to be expected after back surgery, but even after beginning exercise again the weight continues to come. I have always had low body temp and when I don’t feel good it tends to drop rather than raise. My energy has decreased but I continue to push myself to attempt to lose weight. I am now experiencing what feels like swelling or pressure in my arms.

    • Dr. Denis Wilson April 10, 2016 at 5:29 pm - Reply

      We have a list of treating physicians on our website (see the Patient tab in the menu).

  6. Karen May 9, 2016 at 8:35 am - Reply

    I had ROI performed and have no function of thyroid. I have battled with fluctuating numbers labs for 20 years . since the birth of my son i never feel normal. weight i can lose about 30 and then no more. i am hot inside out. and fatigued now beyond my understanding. i am currently on armour thyroid which worked for about 2 years but now levels all out of whack again. what causes that . Will i ever feel normal again

    • Dr. Denis Wilson May 18, 2016 at 4:02 pm - Reply

      Hi Karen, I wouldn’t expect you to feel normal again until your body temperature is normal, no matter what your lab tests say. Lab tests will never correlate well with how a person feels because lab tests don’t measure the body temperature, or in other words, the metabolic rate.

  7. rosalind June 12, 2016 at 9:28 pm - Reply

    My body temp is 95.5 to 96.5 I am weak panic attacks cold hands tremors severe low back pain tired always can’t sleep I live in NY tell me a specialist for this please

  8. Joyce August 25, 2016 at 6:24 am - Reply

    Do you know of a doctor in the North Little Rock Arkansas area that treats Wilsons syn?

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