Sometimes my eyes cross while I'm researching medical information on my thyroid. It's like that little butterfly-shaped organ in my throat does this constant 20-ball juggling act. It's gotten itself off balance and I'm struggling to get it back. Thankfully, I have a master juggler throwing the balls back into balance.
When I met my doctor this past week, he confirmed my reverse T3 (rT3) ratio is 0.308. A range under 0.2 is preferred (there can be issues if you're under 0.1, but that's another thyroid story). Now, I've taught math to young persons and looking at those numbers probably mean nothing to most people. My immediately makes the numbers into hundreds for a comparison.
Reverse T3 Number Crunching:
0.308 is my reading.
0.200 and under is a target range my doc looked for
0.100 and under is another area that needs attention
My math shows that my body is producing 150 to 200% of what it should be (for my math geeks, I got 150% by dividing 308 by 200 and 200% by dividing 308 by 150 because 0.150 would be a middle-ground area between 0.2 and 0.1 optimal reading).
Thus the question is...why is my body doing that!? Oh my heavens, that's way too much rT3 production!! The Holistic Thyroid Solution website explained the role of T3, T4, rT3, T2, adrenal, cortisol, an host of other issues that connect to rT3. I liked this site the most because my eyes were crossing with my other research material. I need someone to speak English, please, not medical jargon. I have an Education degree and I only speak education jargon with fellow educators and my family (because they're stuck with me). With that, let me give a breakdown of what I understand has been happening with my body and how it can help you and perhaps someone you know.
Reverse T3 is often not the go-to blood test that doctors opt for when diagnosing thyroid health issues, but that's a huge mistake. Even the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism states that most useful marker for tissue hypothyroidism is the T3/rT3 ratio because it's showing the "diminished cellular functioning" at the tissue level.
The most useful image I can give is a Stargate docking station...and rT3 is refusing to open the docking station. Well, when you can't get supplies delivered or ready to be shipped off to the areas that need them, emergency situations happen.
When a doctor chooses to run tests for T3 and T4 only, the problem is that T3 tests measure both active T3 and reverse T3 because they're biologically the same. So, a doctor will review T3 results and say, "Oh, you're body is making enough T3." The ratio is the only method that accurately shows if your body has the correct balance of thyroid hormones being produced. In fact, excess rT3 will make T4 labs show that a patient has enough or too high levels of T4. That's because the body's making more T4 because the thyroid knows things aren't working right, so it's overcompensating.
Let's add those doctors who rely only on TSH (a pituitary gland test). The above description of how rT3 makes T3 and T4 lab tests "normal" or "high" levels also make TSH appear like it's normal, too. This is how people continue to have NO treatment for hypothyroidism. That would explain why I've been told repeatedly, "Your lab results are normal," and sent on my miserable way.
To make it even more confusing, rT3 affects T2 production. T2!? That's a movie! Where did that futuristic Arnold come from in my system? I haven't read about T2 before, but apparently, there's many docking stations and supply management our thyroid is in charge of. If T2 gets out of balance, it causes less T3 production too (and that is just a horrid domino effect).
Fixing rT3
After awhile, it makes you feel like you can't win. I'm thankful for my doctor because he is knowledgeable about thyroid health, even the most obscure pieces of information that many doctors are unaware of. This is why I always promote the sentiment that if you're doctor is not healing you, fire him/her. Find someone who will keep searching for the answers for you. I told my doctor this past week, "As soon as I think we have this thyroid in balance, it pulls a fast one and goes 'na-na-na-na-boo-boo.'" We've worked so hard and we're still tweaking my health regimen? I see this gentlemen on a monthly basis still. I don't mind the copay (though the rT3 was a $94 copay and one site I reviewed mentioned that most have a $60 fee, it just depends on your insurance). The point is, even when things aren't working the way I'd like them to...I can look back about 20 months ago and see a huge difference in my health. I've lost 45 pounds. I never thought that possible. I've always been overweight and it doesn't matter how many salads I eat or how often I exercise.
Stress
One of the biggest issues I personally face is that stress is a culprit. It affects your thyroid's health more than you know. Adrenal fatigue is real (that's when your body produces too much cortisol and over time, your adrenal glands just start petering out). Some of the symptoms of adrenal fatigue is waking up at 3am (mine is more like 1:30-2:30am) and your mind is racing. You're starving. It doesn't matter that you're tired and all you want is to go back to bed. Your body feels it's resources are tanking, even having your blood sugar plummet and it's screaming for help. I didn't really put two and two together whenever doc asks me if I sleep well. I don't think I've ever slept through the night since having children. I wake at many little noises in the night, but it didn't hit me those times I wake up and my mind is racing and I struggle to go back to sleep was something more. I now have another item of discussion to talk to my doctor with at my next visit. It's less than a month away.
I know I've been in some pretty stressful situations. I haven't always had a healthy work environment. This past school year, I lost someone close to me who was also my work partner. I've been grieving as well as adjusting lessons. I don't feel the coworkers in my wing do their part. They only do things if it's a directive from our principal. So, I'm the only schmuck who's doing more because I see the need. My moral compass will not let me do otherwise.
This past week, these lovely coworkers decide to have a last-minute meeting and didn't inform me what it's about. For some random reason, they decide to start questioning discipline measures in our wing. I assume this is because a matriarch of our school passed away, the one I shared a daily class schedule with. Often, I find myself the only one putting a hallway of 70 or so students in check (especially after recess) without adult backup...and they're starting a conversation about "I don't see how it's fair for an entire class to loose recess..."
Oh I lost my temper. I don't like doing that at work because I don't feel it's professional, but my meeting notebook got slammed down on a desk and I started talking. When others aren't available to help supervise and manage 70 students, you as the sole disciplinarian have to be stricter. No other teacher was present when my classroom management tactics couldn't be heard and my only helper is a new assistant who is learning, but no where near as loud as me. I can tell you honestly that lines gets quieter when I walk into the hallway (and most mornings, I'm the only adult i the hallway as students approach) because I nag about it daily. If you're quiet, you can hear directions. I hate time being wasted because of excessive talking. I have too much to teach and I don't want my throat to hurt all the time. My classroom management skills work, but 70 students? That's pushing it.
The way they approached it wasn't right. If you have a grievance, don't surprise your grieving coworker with a last-minute meeting. I felt attacked. I had no idea that was coming. I think it would have been wiser for those individuals to meet with our boss on their own to air their grievances because I even point-blankly stated, "This should be a conversation between me and you only" as I point to myself and my principal. My boss is the only person who can tell me my discipline measures need work. Another person's complaints should not decide it right then and there and it comes back to that phrase, "Be ye without sin the first to cast a stone." If you're not present to help with discipline, then you can't be upset with how I discipline.
Stress is always my beast of burden. I'm still slugging through backlogged papers and journals to grade because a funeral and rosary and candelight vigil takes a lot out of you. Emotionally, I've been wiped out. I'm struggling with teaching concepts alone and having to reinvent my teaching wheel mid-stride. I often wake up at 2am with a grand idea for teaching...and then struggle to fall back asleep so I can have the energy to start the idea in the morning.
I'm a stubborn individual. I feel so strongly about quality education that I don't let myself off the hook. I have met parents that grow angry with us teachers when we don't do things exactly so, but we're not infallible. Life hits us below the waist just like it does anyone else and the workload doesn't lessen. My standards certainly don't. I know stress-management is key for my thyroid's health. I just seem to be batting a thousand when it comes to stressors in life. Thing is, I see my principal, also a friend, and how she wears herself out because she's taking care of us teachers, our school, our students. I know our matriarch was the same way. Many times we don't push ourselves because of our personal sense of standards but because there are people we love and we help them carry the burden. We love education. We love children. And now we're walking with one less person. Do you think I'm going to give myself a break when there's even more to carry? That's where my stubbornness causes my own stress levels.
Maybe all it comes down to, folks, is that your health is valuable. Fight for it. Life is stressful in general. You learn to do certain things that improve your life. You either let people treat you a certain way - from your spouse, coworkers, boss, doctor, tax assessor, family, or friends - or you stand your ground and set boundaries. After awhile, things get better. I'm getting better at being mouthy and setting boundaries. Now if I could just get Hermoine's necklace where you can repeat the last hour so I could get more done...well, that'd be nice. Until then, I have to continually find balance in each day and continue doing those things that give me fulfillment and teaching gives me that feeling. I love it when I signal to students it's the end of class and they go, "Noooo!" or state, "Wow, this class always goes by so quickly." That means they're having fun and they have no clue how much I made them work. It shows me I'm doing more than alright.
Take care, readers!
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