Hi again,
I've been away for a while, but now I'm back. It's really good to see these thyroid threads here. Everyone here is knowledgeable and helpful!

I just recently found out from a blood test that my rT3 has more than doubled in the past year. I joined a Yahoo rT3 group and with that info, I was able to figure out what caused the spike in my rT3 levels.

I'm also recovering from long term adrenal super-burnout. Apparently it will take several years of using hydrocortisone to support my adrenals---while I take T3meds---and once the excess rT3 is flushed out---eventually go onto natural dessicated thyroid meds.

I'm kind of in limbo on no meds (except OTC HC cream) until my hydrocortisone meds arrive in the mail. (I had a 24 hour saliva test a while back that showed seriously low levels of cortisol in the morning and mid-day, lowish/normal in the afternoon, and normal at night.)

I just wanted to check in and say hi! And hoping to eventually transform from my current tired, chubby, balding, cold self into something healthier.

I would love to hear about your successes---what you have found that works for you re thyroid, weight, AF, etc.

FroheFrau

Hi Frohefrau,

your story sounds very similar to mine, dealing with hypo, adrenal and suspected rt3. at this point I just want to get rid of the fatigue and then be able to lose the weight.

the yahoo rt3 group is extremely helpful! I'm waiting for my t3 meds to come to see if I can clear out the rt3 but I suspect it will be a slow journey as my salivary cortisol numbers are very low in the morning and then drop off the charts by late afternoon.

Hi maile1
Good to hear from you,
I'm sorry to hear about your adrenal fatigue/burnout...as well as the rT3 and hypo. Yes, it will take time to recover, but there are encouraging success stories. I like to think that we will eventually be among those success stories.

Hi there,

I don't know whether it is appropriate for me to chime in as I don't have any thyroid issues (at least, none that I know of), but I am pretty sure that I have adrenal problems, which I feel I have now partly cured!!!

I followed the advice of Schwarzbein and Wilson and now feel that I have recovered about 60% of my old energy levels. I am still working on getting back to 100%, and occasionally have setbacks, but the general path is upwards.

I swear by the following recipes:

- getting enough magnesium in your system, whether by food, water or supplements
- getting a good night's sleep
- reducing caffeine
- minimizing stress and prioritizing tasks, rather than trying to multitask
- B-50 complex, vitamin D3, ashwagandha
- staying away from alcohol
- getting a small amount of carbs with each meal to avoid blood sugar issues.

Have either of you tried any of the above and, if so, what kind of results did you get so far?

All the best with your recovery programmes,

amanda

For awhile, Lisa (user name: awriter) was frequent poster pursuing a very specific approach to dealing with rT3 problems. She stopped posting abruptly, but I think she was continuing her online entries in some other forum. Has anyone kept track of her? I would be really interested to see how she is doing with her protocols.

She runs the leptin resistance group on yahoo I believe. I haven't really been following the group that much but she was writing about her various experiments on herself.

Thanks. I assume I can just search leptin resistance in the Yahoo engine and go from there?

Yes, I don't have a link handy so that's probably the best way.

Hi Nelson,

Here's the link:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Leptin_Resistance/

amanda

Thanks! I've bookmarked it so I can spend some time there.

Warning: TMI but do need some insight so here it all is.

I am right there with the OP with a definite RT3 problem in addition to being hypo. The problem is that I know I am suffering from adrenal issues but haven't really formulated a plan to fix the issue since my endo disagrees that this is even a real issue. I have very low ferritin (storage form of iron) so I can't tolerate more than 20MCG daily of Cytomel (T3.) However, switching from Synthroid to Cytomel did wonders to help me with my weight. Now I am taking an iron supplement with one Senecot S daily and hopefully, this will rebuild my iron over time. I have also not had a period in over 3 months (yay!) I believe, as does my OB/GYN, that the extremely heavy periods were contributing to my low ferritin. Also, just read here about using HC cream for adrenal support. I have to use topicort anyway for atopic dermatitis though I try to use it sparingly. I am wondering if I should use regular strength OTC HC daily along with the iron and see if slowly over time my RT3 problem is reversed? I am wondering how often I should check my levels with this approach?

I am also a member of both yahoo groups but mostly lurk. When I mention adrenal fatigue to my endocrinologist, she rolls her eyes and says she isn't into all the "naturopathic" kind of stuff but at least she did prescribe the T3 (for my Hashi's and hypo symptoms.) However, she also said that a ferritin of 20 was actually "within range" but knows I disagree with her on that issue. So, I am self treating with the iron now and hoping the periods will stay stopped!

Does anyone think my slow approach to this situation may work? It scares me to think about taking high doses of T3 as I tried it once and had really horrible symptoms, no doubt due to the low ferritin. I also had trouble with the iron due to IBS-C so this won't be easy. I worry about taking one Sennacot-S every day, and becoming reliant on those.

So, to me, this is actually a complicated problem that most doctors here aren't willing to delve into. My OB/GYN is into the naturopathic medicine also and he put me on the ashwanganda and theonine. I think I will ask him about adrenal testing at my next appt. and let that be the sole reason for the appt. and see what he says.

the yahoo rt3 group has a protocol outlined for getting rid of Rt3 BUT they do stress the adrenals AND ferritin need to be in good shape to support the increases in cytomel

on the natural thyroid adrenals group there is a faq for using hydrocortisone cream to supplement, have you had a look at that?
I'm doing the Rt3 protocol but have reached the limit of the T3 I can take without adrenal support. I'm seeing a doctor who apparently does adrenals and thyroid, but if this doc doesn't help I'm going to do the cream supplement (at least we can get HC cream otc here)

as for the adrenal testing you can go through ZRT labs and get it done yourself.

Oh good! Thanks for the info! I will try to find that other group's FAQ. Anyone have a link?