reverse T3?

[Thyroiditis86]

I have heard people mentioning this needs to be tested too.

Does anyone know if the online tests do this?

[Clutter]

Thyroiditis86,

I don't think there's much point in having a rT3 test if you are not taking Levothyroxine or NDT as it is unlikely your rT3 will be elevated unless you have some significant non-thyroidal illness. If you do decide to have the rT3 test you will need to use a phlebotomist to draw blood from a vein as this is not available as a finger prick test.

[shaws Administrator]

There is some misconceptions regarding T3. The following is a quote from a doctor/scientist:-

A popular belief nowadays (proposed by Dr. Dennis Wilson) has not been proven to be true, and much scientific evidence tips the scales in the "false" direction with regard to this idea. The belief is that the process involving impaired T4 to T3 conversion�with increases in reverse-T3�becomes stuck. The "stuck" conversion is supposed to cause chronic low T3 levels and chronically slowed metabolism. Some have speculated that the elevated reverse-T3 is the culprit, continually blocking the conversion of T4 to T3 as a competitive substrate for the 5’-deiodinase enzyme. However, this belief is contradicted by studies of the dynamics of T4 to T3 conversion and T4 to reverse-T3 conversion. Laboratory studies have shown that when factors such as increased cortisol levels cause a decrease in T4 to T3 conversion and an increase in T4 to reverse-T3 conversion, the shift in the percentages of T3 and reverse-T3 produced is only temporary.

Go to the date March 24, 1999 on the following link. It is archived as Dr Lowe died:-

web.archive.org/web/2010103...