Hypothyroid

[J89]

The latest on me is that I got a message from my naturapath saying that my Reverse T-3 is high. This is what I was hoping to find.

So now I will most likely go on T-3.

[J89]

@J89

@m_81

J89, can you please say where you read this? As far as I know, it’s exactly the opposite: low cortisol causes high RT3. Also, having a too high cortisol in the morning usually implies too low cortisol sometime else. The only way to know how cortisol changes throughout the day is with a 4x saliva test.

custommedicine.com.au/health-articles/reverse-t3-dominance/

“Periods of prolonged stress may cause an increase in cortisol levels as the adrenal glands respond to the stress. The high cortisol levels inhibit the 5-deiodinase enzyme and thus the conversion of T4 into T3 thus reducing active T3 levels. The conversion of T4 is then shunted towards the production of the inactive rT3 via the 5′-deiodinase enzyme. This rT3 dominance may persist even after the stress passes and cortisol levels have returned to normal as the rT3:T3 imbalance itself may also inhibit the 5-deiodinase enzyme thus perpetuating the production of the inactive rT3 isomer.”

[bryce54]

@m_81

Apparently reverse T-3 can be caused by high cortisol and mine is high in the morning

J89, can you please say where you read this? As far as I know, it’s exactly the opposite: low cortisol causes high RT3. Also, having a too high cortisol in the morning usually implies too low cortisol sometime else. The only way to know how cortisol changes throughout the day is with a 4x saliva test.

@ChrisC

Low cortisol - I think I have this, need to convince the doctor to check me for this. I’m exhausted, have very dry skin, diarrhea like symptoms, peeing a lot.

If you are exhausted, then you most likely have low cortisol. You may want to check it through a saliva 4x test, which is the best way to test your cortisol.

@ChrisC

LDoes this need looking at first before moving onto the thyroid?

Yes

@ChrisC

If cortisol levels can be returned to normal does this have any effect on your actual T numbers?

In normal people, yes. In PFS people, it has a mild effect that does not cure your sex issues at all. Cortisol is a strong downregulator of testosterone, meaning that it opposes it. Males have a few ways to downregulate testosterone: 1) increasing estradiol, 2) increasing SHBG, 3) increasing cortisol 4) decrease testosterone. Estradiol will male you grow tits, SHBG will make your testosterone unavailable, cortisol will give you energy. Therefore, what you want is to downregulate your testosterone with cortisol. Young males have high cortisol, which forces their systems to keep low estradiol and low SHBG because their T is already being downregulated. Aging males, and most of us, are experiencing a severe drop in cortisol, which causes your body to 1) decrease T production, or 2) raise estradiol, or 3) raise SHBG, in order to downregulate T.

So, in theory (ie, in normal aging males), increasing cortisol will lower estradiol and SHBG and may potentially raise T. For PFS people, though, an increase in cortisol usually has a very limited effect on the sex hormones and almost never fixes sex problems. That’s confirmed by the fact that there are plenty of people on this board that have excellent levels of energy but no libido. They all have healthy levels of cortisol (= high cortisol), but bad sex hormones. Nobody really knows why this happens is unknown.

hi just saw this. yes you are correct sir in saying that there is no way to know your level without doing the test. however, in a normal person with regular cortisol levels, their eyes will constrict down to normal size and stay that way. if you have messed up adrenal glands, your eyes will spasm and go wide and down.

here’s the info on it:

TEST TWO:
This is called the Pupil test and primarily tests your levels of aldosterone, another adrenal hormone. You need to be in a darkened room with a mirror. From the side (not the front), shine a bright light like a flashlight or penlight towards your pupils and hold it for about a minute. Carefully observe the pupil. With healthy adrenals (and specifically, healthy levels of aldosterone), your pupils will constrict, and will stay small the entire time you shine the light from the side. In adrenal fatigue, the pupil will get small, but within 30 seconds, it will soon enlarge again or obviously flutter in it’s attempt to stay constricted. Why does this occur? Because adrenal insufficiency can also result in low aldosterone, which causes a lack of proper amounts of sodium and an abundance of potassium. This imbalance causes the sphincter muscles of your eye to be weak and to dilate in response to light. Click here to see a video of fluctuating pupils, and thanks to Lydia for providing this.

from: stopthethyroidmadness.com/adrenal-info/