Those of you that know anything about me will know that I regularly rant about cellular T3.
Over 7 years with invaluable support from a small group of well informed and experienced members here ( thank you...you know who you are!) I have been able to research my challenging thyroid condition and discover that I have a form of thyroid hormone resistance which resulted in cellular rather than glandular hypothyroidism. Well, that's the précis!!
In traditional medical circles we struggle to have this diagnosed and treated when TSH (and perhaps FT4) is/are considered " gold standart diagnostic tests. This is not enough!
It is essential that FT3 is also included as it was ( in my area) until 2001 some time after I was diagnosed as hypothyroid. I had to ask to be tested! The inclusion of that FT3 lab in my diagnostic test - which an endo said he could not interpret! - later helped me join up the dots.
I'm no expert but I have learned enough to allow me to function again....it gets complicated. I'm not medically qualified so not in a position to give advice, I only have experience of my personal journey based on extensive reading, which I've shared in my bio.
Increasingly I read posts here which suggest this may a problem for other members...but symptoms are being dismissed on the basis of inadequate testing
This paper may help explain the difference between glandular and cellular hypothyroidism, and the importance of T3, and allow anyone struggling with debilitating symptoms to find the answers that have so far evaded them.
I'm absolutely not promoting the " sales pitch" at the end....just offering the text as information
Interesting read. Thankyou DippyDame And really helpful. Tissue level poor uptake conversion is precisely what Amiodarone did to me and is still doing. I know it's not the same thing at all because it's chemically induced but the effects are the same. 80 days since I came off it and I have been able to slowly increase my NDT to 66% of my normal dose - still has a hold but it's lessening.
I do hope more science research will one day be done to explore this most important aspect of the thyroid process. It's largely ignore in the formal medical world.
Interesting article DippyDame . I worked briefly with a functional medical guy last year who told me about cellular hypothyroidism which I intuitively understood. Sadly I don’t think he quite understood how to pinpoint it or indeed treat it, hence the “briefly”. Nevertheless I got the point that blood test results don’t always tell the whole picture.
I have always thought this to be me. Afterall it would make sense. There is something in certain peoples biology that causes their tissue cells to not be be able to uptake the hormones and nutrients they need. I am now on T3/T4 combo and feeling some benefits. T4 just felt like it was just poisoning me. I had this with B12, B12 showing high in blood 600 but was just pooling not getting into cells. I ended up with severe nerve damage, white brain matter disease and ataxia. I had to be on high dosage B12 injections every day to start to get benefits. Folic acid did nothing I had to go on to folate to start getting that into my cells, same with electrolytes and magnesium especially. Even water I now take a couple of grey grains of sea salt every time I drink a glass of water. This appears to get the salts and replenish the water content into my cells. Same with Thiamine B1 and B2 I am having to build up to large quantities to flood my cells, to overcome resistance.
My blood sugars the same. They have since discovered insulin resistance, so there is plenty of insulin but it is not getting to cells. People have started to reverse this by going on a low carb diet. Sadly I think they will forever have to do this as their cellular level uptake is not working. I wish there was more research done on cell resistance. I did discover that seed oils, corn oils, soy and the likes could be one of culprits. It turns the outer cell lipid layer to a plastic casing not letting nutrients, minerals and hormones in and out. Which is what our cells should be doing. Any form of processed food is a no, no for some people. I have a very go slow, low energy mitochondria that regular medicine wants to just label as ME/CFS and do nothing about it. Metabolism is going to be the key word.
Interesting to read about high inflammation, I have high iron saturation and high ferritin although typically showing some sorts of anemia, especially megaloblastic anemia. I am not a huge meat eater and in fact have had some sort of meat aversion going on for the last 3/4 years, yet I show high iron. My blood cells are over enlarged. I show oxygen levels ok, top of the range on an oximeter, but I feel like I am oxygen hypoxia at cell level. Lets hope we get more research.
Thank you for this DippyDame a very interesting read.
I've had the usual bucket diagnoses of FMS, ME/CFS, IBS,Bladder pain etc.......syndromes/ groups of unresolved symptoms, all of them.
I lost count of the times I repeated " metabolism"...it fell on deaf ears!
I pointed out " low cellular T3" with a similar response.
I gave up and now self medicate....I suspect my medics (lovely people but....) think I travel by broomstick!
Human beings have achieved incredible things so I do not understand why they cannot accept that, " this little white pill" is not the answer for a cohort of thyroid patients. Instead of "making you well again" it nearly killed me because it was not what my failing body needed. None of them understood this....or were willing to discuss T3.
Medics had a better grasp of this over a hundred years ago....they have lost that grip!
To go back to basics, what are we?
A large bundle of cells....If they fail we suffer.
Type 'cellular hypothyroidism' into your search engine...it's there!
In basic terms it means the cells are not receiving adequate T3, either because serum level is too low or because a form of cellular resistance exists, preventing (some) T3 from reaching the cells from the serum.
To become active the T3 must reach the nuclei of the cells and attach to the T3 receptors
The only way to measure cellular T3 is post mortem so, signs and symptoms are significant!
Adjusting thyroid replacement dose is the main solution but in rare cases a supraphysiological dose of T3 may be required
I'm sorry I don't know what happened to the Thyroid Doctor link.
I'm not a thyroid expert but maybe this will help.
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Glandular meds for cortisol anybody?
Thyroid Glandular not helping T3 levels
Strange results when adding NDT to Thyroid glandular
Is this hypothyroidism?
