posted
Ahhh... thanks. I knew about that site but couldn't remember the where I hid the link.
-------------------- ~Ro~
Don't wait for someone to take you under their wing. Find a good wing and climb up underneath it~ Frank C. Bucaro Posts: 80 | From Desert Southwest | Registered: Nov 2006
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Thanks so much for posting this. I will use it as my compass to regain optimum thyroid health. Awesome site!
Posts: 173 | From Lakeland, FL 33813 | Registered: Aug 2003
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Perfect timing. My LLMD changed me to Amour Thursday. This answers all my questions. Even answers questions I hadn't thought of yet. Posts: 4638 | From South Carolina | Registered: Mar 2001
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posted
Thank you for the credit but I learned it from Dr. C" who referred me to www.wilsonssyndrome.com.
Dr. Wilson's had quite a battle with the AMA in about 1990 and, I read, even lost his license to practice medicine for a short while. He must be a forgiving man as he has presented papers at AMA associated medical conferences at their invitation since then.
Wilson's Syndrome is now accepted as real by Main Stream Medicine (MSM). Be careful! Armour thyroid cannot be tolerated by some people. (Just a guess) but it may be their bodies are already producing a maximum amount of T4 trying in vain to produce the T3 their body is calling for. Armour thyroid is both T3 and T4 thus the extra T4 may overload the body with T4 even though it is finally receiveing the needed T3. I've heard the reaction is much the same as hyperthyroidism. Perhaps it is. hyperthyroidism.
To most people with Wilson's Syndrome, their body is not producing too great of a quantity of T4 and the extra T4 just harmlessly passes through their system. T3 protocol (pure T3) is sold by numerous pharmacies including one listed on the WS Web site. Having had several people write me who had hyperthyroid reactions from taking armour thyroid, it may be wise to be tested for both T3 and T4. Not just the pretty much worthless TSH (my opinion) and definitely do not let a doctor tell you "Synthroid works better as it is more measured and the body automatically converts it into T3 anyway".
Yes, in bodies that have not forgotten how to convert T4 into T3! I had no trouble tolerating armour thyroid. BUt, as I say, to some people, the extra T4 affects them just as Synthroid would. So testing might be wise but be careful of thyroid doctors who don't understand this illness. A phone call to Dr. Wilson's office can get you names of such doctors nearer to you than he is. Some are listed on the Web site.
IF your body is maxxed out on T4 but producing little, or no, T3 then you will probably have to pay for pure T3 and follow the fairly complicated dossage instructions. I hope you're in the majority who tolerates armour thyroid! It is cheap and any doctor can prescribe it.
Remember - this concern begins only IF your average body temperature is low. Even an average of 98.3 can be low and cause fatigue. If your body temperature averages 98.6, you don't have a T3 problem at least by this means of measurement. But, if your body temperature had dropped below 95 degrees as mine had, my metabolism had dropped to a sluggish pace and my body had built up toxicity (my pH was very low -- very acidic).
After two months of armour thyroid, my body temperature slowly climbed to 98.6. My body pH changed from acidic to normal. My metabolism returned to nomral and my body again began to detox normally. The fatigue I attributed to Lyme left my body. I wish I could say it helped the pain and other problems of Lyme but it did not. But I do have MUCH more energy than I've had in ten years.
Body temperature and body pH are logrithmic scale functions. If your pH drops below six, it is 100 times more acidic than being at "neutral" (which is seven). A body temperature of 97.6 can drop your metabolism by a factor of ten. Think "logrithmic". Slight changes can be major. It's like the Richter earthquake scale. NOT linear.
I know discovering I was suffering from Wilson's Syndrome and treating myself for it with a box of pH Stix from Alkalive (my favorite but there are many brands), a good quality glass thermometer (i.e. Geratherm, also my favorite) and a $10 bottle of armour thyroid did it for me.
Some people need to take armour thyroid forever, others only for a few months and a third group (me) every so often when my immune system (again) forgets how to make T3 from T4.
The immune system "forgets" many things when it is under constant stress from a chronic illness (i.e. Lyme). If I can get my Lyme suppressed, perhaps my immune system will never again forget how to produce T3 from T4. I'm on IV Ceftin now with fingers crossed that I've finally found the answer to the Lyme that has affected me for many years.
Feel free to PM me if anyone needs further information (just my own experiences - I am not a doctor) on WS or low thyroid/toxicity/etc. due to a suspected lack of T3.
All the best,
Posts: 133 | From Shawnee, KS | Registered: Sep 2007
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I used to take Armour before going to Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers (FFC) but switched to compounded T3 in a slow release base. My dose was titrated upwards until I found the right dose for me.
T3 was like the elixer of life for me in the beginning. I had no muscle pain, no fatigue, and needed no pain meds. I'm up to 150 mcg. Every time I try adding back T4 I get hyperthyroid. Now I'm working to find the correct dose of HGH.
I buy my compounded T3 and other hormones from Bellevue Pharmacy Associates in St. Louis, MO. They have a hormone consultation program and have reviewed my labs and made some excellent suggestions. Getting a doctor to sign off on the RXs has been the biggest problem.
The FFC and I parted ways over Lyme dx & tx. The doctor I saw was a stubborn and misinformed duck.
They also insisted on me getting my T3 from their pharmacy in Colorado which charged double the going price for "bio-identical T3." I refused to pay $44 for something I can get for $18.
There are 14 Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Centers in the USA. The cornerstone of their treatment is compounded T3. Here is a link to their position paper:
IMHO, the FFC stinks at diagnosing and treating Lyme but it's a good place to go if you want to figure out what some of the other pathogens are in your brand of infectious soup and check your hormone status. This is their standard battery of Quest Diagnostics tests:
Hormones: estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA, pregnenelone, T3, T4, Reverse T3, (IMHO the worthless) TSH Both types of thryoid ABs, ACTH, Cortisol, FSH, LH, IGF-1, Aldosterone, Sex Hormone Binding Globulin. Angiotension II, Vitamin D panel, Natural Killer cell function, Lipid panel, Heavy metals panel, CMP & CBC, IGG & subclasses, Immunoglobulins (A,G,M), Fibrinogen, Sed Rate, Vitamin B12, Hemoglobin A1c, ANA screen, Rheumatoid factor, ACE, Magnesium, Iron Study w Ferritin, NP Nasal culture,
Infections: candida, EBV, chlamydia pneumonia, HHV6, Babesia, Ehrlichia Chaffeensis, Mycoplasma Pneumoniae, Homocysteine, CMV, Quest Western Blot followed by Igenex WB LEAP Food allergy test.
Even though they do the Igenex WB some of the doctors don't know how to intrepret the results. I won't name any names but I saw one of the Detroit doctors.
I felt great for the first 4 months but crashed. When I did some research into my IGX WB results I figured out I had Lyme but was mis dx'd. I sent the doctor an email outlining the reasons why I think it was Bb.
I received a two page reply to my email stating that I'm misinformed. The letter says band 30 is a nothing band. So is band 58. IND results are meaningless too.
When my IGX lab was drawn I was on the Doxy the doctor prescribed after seeing a positive on the Quest test. She never bothered to find out if I herxed on Doxy.
The FFC treatment protocol was created by Dr Kent Holtorf of the Hormone and Longevity Center to cure his own case of CFIDS. The current medical director is Dr Jacob Titelbaum. The emphasis they may have had on Lyme is gone.
According to the revised WB criteria listed on Dr Holtorf's Lyme page I'm POSITIVE. It's too bad the FFC doctor I saw didn't even follow their own protocol.
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