Does any of this sound familiar to you?
- You’re constantly tired
- You struggle with weight gain
- You’re always feeling cold or sensitive to the cold
- You’re constipated and/or have less than 1 bowel movement per day
- Your skin is dry
- Your hair is falling out or is just brittle
- You have muscle weakness/aches
- You’re depressed
- Your memory is not great
- Your voice is hoarse
- Your face and/or your extremities are puffy
- And finally……Your Doctor says your thyroid numbers look fine. Your thyroid is fine.
You’re not fine (and you know it).
Well guess what? - There is an answer for this and it’s likely in the form of something called Reverse T3
Ever heard of it? Most people haven’t. Read on….
Reverse T3 (rT3) is an inactive thyroid hormone that acts as a "brake" on metabolism, often elevated in Hashimoto's when stress, infection, inflammation, or T4-only medication (such as levothyroxine or synthroid) prevents proper conversion of T4 into active T3.
When you are diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, your Doctor likely just focuses on your TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) and your T4 (the storage hormone). However, your body’s ability to use that hormone depends on a delicate conversion process. Under normal conditions, your body converts T4 into Free T3, which is the active "gasoline" that fuels your cells, heart, and brain.
But your body has an alternative pathway: it can convert T4 into Reverse T3. You can think of it as a "metabolic brake." While it looks nearly identical to active T3, it is biologically inactive. Its primary job is to slow you down to conserve energy. In a healthy system, this is a useful survival mechanism during periods of starvation or acute injury, but in your experience with Hashimoto’s, this brake can become stuck in the "on" position.
The relationship between Hashimoto’s and Reverse T3 is primarily driven by inflammation. Because Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune condition, your immune system is in a state of chronic activation, releasing inflammatory markers called cytokines. These cytokines interfere with the enzymes (deiodinases) responsible for thyroid conversion. Specifically, inflammation inhibits the enzyme that creates active T3 and stimulates the enzyme that creates Reverse T3.
This means that even if your thyroid is producing enough T4 (which means your TSH levels and T4 levels on bloodwork will look normal), or if you are taking a T4 medication like Levothyroxine, your body may be redirecting that hormone into the "brake" pathway. You might find yourself in a frustrating loop where your lab tests look "perfect" to a standard doctor, yet you feel profoundly hypothyroid because your receptors are being blocked.
By measuring your Reverse T3 alongside your Free T3, you can determine your Free T3/rT3 ratio, which provides a much clearer picture of whether your "metabolic engine" is actually getting the fuel it needs to run.
And if I were a betting a man, I’d bet the house that your Doctor has never even run that Reverse T3 marker to test your thyroid function.
See, to reclaim your thyroid gland and your overall health, understanding all of these mechanisms and getting tested to see which of them are involved with your Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, are critical.
- This requires comprehensive testing which your insurance doesn’t want to pay for.
- This requires an understanding of the testing and how to address these imbalances from a natural, diet & lifestyle perspective
- And finally, and this is important, this requires working with a Doctor who is not interested in masking the problem with a drug (levothyroxine, synthroid, armour thyroid, NP thyroid) because that’s what the insurance company says or what they’ll pay for.
Then for years, you might be on this medication that is “masking” the problem but not addressing the real cause(s).
And that’s where I come in.
I offer a free, 15-30 minute phone call consultation (a Discovery Call) to determine if you're a good fit for my office and to have any of your questions answered. From there we can discuss what tests you need (that your Doctor has ignored) and get some answers. Click here to take advantage of this offer - schedule that free call and start your journey to finally fixing your issue.
Don't suffer with thyroid problems / Hashimoto’s any longer. Let's find out what’s causing your hypothyroidism, and stop masking the problem - let's finally solve it!
