Topic: Feel worse after increasing my armour thyroid
runner21
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1974
posted
Hi,
please anyone who has experience with a thyroid issue.
I have been on armour at 2 grains. my t4 and t3 came back borderline low. (one point under the lowest lab value)
my tsh isnt that bad.. .5
my doctor suggested adding in a bit of t4 which makes me feel horrible. when i add in the t4 i cant think straight, im disoriented , extremely tired and have pressure in my head.
i have tried over the weekend, just increasing the armour and virutally the same symtpoms. i end up taking clay or charcoal just to bind it up. i need an answer on why this happens. my doctor said it could take 7-10 days too start normalizing but something isnt feeling right.
thanks.
Posts: 1118 | From jacksonville,fl usa/santa rosa ca | Registered: Dec 2001
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posted
If your TSH is 5, then that is indeed bad. I believe latest guidelines are for hypothyroid to be defined as a TSH of 3 and above. But I'm not sure if you're saying it's 0.5? Is this when you are on the Amour? If so, then I think it indicates nothing. If your T3 and T4 are borderline low on the Armour(and I can't tell from your post), then why not just add more Armour? Or you may be converting the T4 to reverse T3 instead of T3 which will make the situation worse. The solution for that would be to add some T3(Cytomel)to the Armour, not more T4. Suggest you look at the Stop the Thyroid Madness website. Sue
Posts: 226 | From Princeton | Registered: Oct 2010
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runner21
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1974
posted
hi sue. my tsh is 0.5 with armour thyroid. and yes, the t3 and t4 are borderline low after being on armour for 7 weeks.
thanks.
Posts: 1118 | From jacksonville,fl usa/santa rosa ca | Registered: Dec 2001
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posted
I felt a little racey adding T3 but I didn't feel ill like you. Have you considered changing to a different thyroid medication? I felt lousy on Armour but am doing better on Nature Throid. Still my T3/T4 are too low, but Lyme is an issue so I am not sure I can get my thyroid fixed until some of the other issues are addressed.
I do know that some people do better on synthetic thyroid drugs. I fell better when my tsh is low like yours.
-------------------- Faithful
Just sharing my experience, I am not a doctor. Posts: 2682 | From Colorado | Registered: Oct 2009
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dmc
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5102
posted
I just switched from Amour Thyroid to MNatureThyroid.
According to my hormone MD Amour formula changed and many of her patients having problems...(my hair started falling out & swelling again)
Two weeks on Nature Thyroid & hair not falling out. It was so bad I had to clean shower after I had one & vaccumm bathroom after I dried my hair.
Posts: 2675 | From ct, usa | Registered: Jan 2004
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posted
two things- you should have your reverse T3 checked out, also borderline low T3 for me would not be good, so it is significant.
#2 if you have any adrenal fatigue there is often a rebound effect once thryoid meds are added. Increasing the thryoid in someone who have adrenal fatigue will further tire adrenals, so check that out too.
If thats not an issue I'd add more armour or add cytomel to the mix.
Posts: 844 | From CA | Registered: Apr 2010
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posted
Youll start to feel a little better then get worse
Posts: 844 | From CA | Registered: Apr 2010
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Lymeorsomething
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 16359
posted
Sometimes you get transient sides when increasing the meds. They may go away as your body adjusts to the new levels. For instance, people will often lose hair when starting thyroid meds but that usually subsides as the body adjusts...
So you may want to give the new dose a little more time and see if things settle down...
-------------------- "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong." Posts: 2062 | From CT | Registered: Jul 2008
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posted
Well, my thyroid dose was recently increased and hair started falling out, like it did some years back before I got onto thyroid meds. I assumed this meant the dose was too high, although it gave me a better energy level. So, maybe going back to my previous dose was a mistake? Doc didn't know about this transient side effect, if it was transient. On the lower dose, the hair loss stopped again.
Now I don't know what I should have done.
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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runner21
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1974
posted
thank you very much.
my md says its hard to know with reverse t3. that actually there is reverse t3 in armour thyroid. and also the lab ranges change each time its measured. mine is in the middle but i have definately thought about htis.
thank you.
Posts: 1118 | From jacksonville,fl usa/santa rosa ca | Registered: Dec 2001
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GiGi
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 259
posted
Runner, have you taken this up with Dr. A.D.? Dr.K. talked about the subject on several occasions earlier in the year. But I am not able to repeat it here. All this info is shared in the "DK group" - so AD may be able to help.
Take care.
Posts: 9834 | From Washington State | Registered: Oct 2000
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posted
I was taking dessicated thyroid and I think it was Armour. It made me feel crazy at a quarter tablet. Later I told the LLMD I wouldn't take it so he put me on T3. I had to determine my T3 dose and started at 7.5mg, building up. My next dose level was 15mg and once again I started to feel crazy. After more tweaking, I determined my optimal dose was 10mg, a very low dose.
Make sure you are not overdosing on the Armour.
Posts: 705 | From WA state | Registered: Jul 2011
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