Had TFTs and others done to day with a great nurse! Shall i up my dose of Armour now?

[BexyLS]

Hello! I had a brilliant nurse today who took my TFTs (including FT3) Thyroid antibodies (i told her of my last reading and she said yep should be done again), blood glucose and cholesterol, and DHEA as im taking it at 15mg a day. It was a good appointment and she was really understanding which goes a long way!

Anyway, Im on Armour 1 and a 3/4 grains but have definitely felt hypo for the past month so im sure what the blood result will be anyway. Other factors that make me think im not on enough are:

* my weight loss has slowed down (though i have lost a stone in 11 weeks. finally! )

* my temperature in the morning is between 36.1 and 36.3 (tho is digital thermometer)

* If i do a lot one day im flat out the next day unable to do anything and have foggy thinking

* My vertigo has worsened again (but not sure if this is related yet)

* i stayed on a starting dose of 1.5 grains for i think too long and had to push for the raise of a quarter tablet!

my last reads were:

(21/02/2013)

* TSH: 4.73

* FT4: 6.7

* FT3: 5.1

I get the results next week but i think already i know what it will be and i still have room for improvement so shall i put the meds up anyway and see?

My doctor is new to this and has never prescribed armour before so ive been very slow at introducing her to all this which is why i went up a quarter and not a half! From my last reading above she said she wouldnt want to put it up more because i could go hyper! *facepalm* but when i see her next i have info on suppressing TSH and FT3 being in high or above when taking armour, so hopefully that will go well

what do you guys think?

thanks!

[Clarebear]

I have to admit that I have almost always increased by meds as soon as I've had the blood test done as inexperienced doctors don't seem to understand the need to increase NDT at a faster rate than thyroxine (not sure why it needs to be increased more quickly mind you, but Dr P, Dr S and STTM all seem to increase every 2-3 weeks). Also I find it better to increase by 1/4 grains rather than 1/2 grains, as I get horrible side effects. The return of vertigo for me is definitely an indication to increase xx

[BexyLS in reply to Clarebear]

Yeh ive waited a long time for this my initial dose of 1.5 was in november! when i went back after 8 weeks (jan) i was told i didnt need a blood test and was given supplements. My next blood test was in feb with my normal GP who has now prescribed me armour and will help me along the way but shes new to it all and told me to wait another 6weeks for the next test. ive been patient and waited because the last apt she prescribed the armour and agreed to an increase so i thought this is a good place to start. But now its time for change and im sure i will only continue to get better. But the last month has been horrible

how are you Clare? I saw you had problems with raising a dose recently. Are you sorted? Did you get your adrenals checked? My heart rate is lower 70 on waking and my blood pressure is fine! i guess i have white coat syndrome!

[Clarebear in reply to BexyLS]

Yes feeling much better again since last increase from 2.5 to 2.75 grains. I felt well on 2.5 for about 2 months an then a few symptoms started creeping back. I got the usual anxiety/headache when I increased but it only lasted for about 4 days. My adrenals were bad but CT3M seems to have really helped xx

[BexyLS in reply to Clarebear]

im gonna try CT3M. ill look into it and start on monday need to have a proper pattern my sleep is all over the place at the mo and it doesnt help. cant do what i used to be able to do but think thats more age than anything else!

[shaws Administrator]

This is some info from STTM

stopthethyroidmadness.com/m...

[BexyLS]

Thank you! I just got the book and have almost read it in about a week. I never read a book that quickly! So many things i have to sort currently taking my temp to check for adrenal problems. but oops keep forgetting! every 3 hours on waking is quite tough to do though xx