Help!!! I am now on 60 Armour and I still can't seem to get regulated.
My recent blood test show my TSH really high, any ideas as to what is wrong.
TSH 0.34-4.82 ulu/ml mine is 28.90 High
T3 free 0.76-1.80 Pg/ml Mine is 0.81 seems low
T4 free 0.34-4.82 NG/dl mine is 0.81
Any idea what this means??
Thank you
Jillybean
Hi jilly, are you sure you are taking real Armour from a reputable pharmacy?
Or maybe you are one of those who need to take 4 or 5 grains. There are some people on those high doses. What was your TSH when you were diagnosed? Did it come down at all?
Heloise,
I actually live in the states and I am taking the real Armour. I started out on levo 125,then they dropped me down long story but I was having panic attacks and my TSH was .01 then they lowered my meds to fix my panic attacks but the my TSH went up to 8. Then I switched to 60 mg of Armour thinking it was better then synthetic, and now my new test show my TSH is even higher @ 28.90 I am so confused, I thought for sure I would be doing better on a higher dose and switching to Armour with a T3 in it.
I don't have a Thyroid so I have to take meds but no one can get it regulated for me.
It is mind blowing 
Feeling very frustrated.
I'm in the states, too, jilly. No wonder we are both awake. I have been on the site for a couple of years and been on all forms of thyroid hormone but I have Hashimoto and still have some thyroid of my own.
You haven't said how long you have been on Armour. If it's less than a month, it may just take more time.
I can't relate to "no" thyroid at all so probably won't be much help. I was reading Dr. Lowe's site recently (discovered him 15 years ago). He responded to someone about tissue resistance which might be your problem. He also said that anxiety is related to adrenal fatigue which can also block treatment. I'll post a link and see what you think.
I may have to do this tomorrow. This is all I could find tonight and the search engine isn't working for "tissue resistance".
web.archive.org/web/2010103...
I had my thyroid removed in Oct 2013, I was on Levo for about 13 months and I have been on Armour now for about 2 months. I went from a TSH of 8 to a TSH of 28.90 in two months .....seems kind of crazy!
Thanks for the link
60mcg of Armour is roughly 100mcg of levo so it isn't a very high dose. Some need much higher and you obviously haven't sufficient if your TSH is rising so high.
Some people take the equivalent of 4 grains or more, but whatever you do, do it very gradually. You have to up your dose to bring TSH down.
You are correct in believing that NDT is much better for someone who has no thyroid gland as it gives you all the hormones plus calictonin to protect bones.
The worst thing doctors can do is to try to keep the TSH in range by adjusting patients' medication as it causes far more problems for them.
By the way, Dr Lowe whose link is above took 150mcg of T3 nightly which would be the equivalent roughly of 6 grains of NDT.
If our dose is not sufficient, we get other symptoms because our metabolism is far to low.
This is a conversion chart.
60 is just a started dose..you are severely undermedicated, which is really clear by your test results. Also, if you have Hashi's, it makes treatment more difficult.
I had my thyroid removed about 15 months ago, I was levo for a while but we couldn't regulate my thyroid so Endo suggested I try Armour. 2 months ago my TSH was 8 now after 2 months of being of Armour my TSH is 28.90 not sure what they will prescribe next!
As others have said, 60mg of Armour is only a grain. Most people end up needing between 2-3 grains to feel well, and some need more than that. I wouldn't conclude that Armour's not helping until you've raised your dose.
Hi Jillybean1, when I was on Armour I had to chew it well to get any relief from my symptoms. Also are you taking it on an empty stomach? I used to take mine 2 hours before breakfast, and wouldn't even have a hot drink with milk until then. I was on 4 grains, infact I didn't feel anything at all until I got to 3 grains.
I take it at 7am and don't eat until 10 but usually have coffee around 8-8:30
I take my vitamin about 5 hrs later, so nothing should interfere with my medicine.
What would you suggest my next dosage be if 60 is way to low? I just want to start to feel better, my energy level is so low and the weight gain is frustrating.
I eat a clean diet NO processed foods, no start he's, no sugars and only 20 carbs a day, plus I workout 45 min 6-7 days a week and I am gaining weight
It's sooooo frustrating!!
Hi jillybean, I know it sucks, I can't do much exercise, but I eat a very clean diet and I'm putting weight on with a high dose of T3
I know from experience, I was weaning off 200 MCG of levothroxine, and adding in 1/2 a grain of Armour every 2 weeks. I felt Armour was very gentle, you just have to experiment with upping it until you feel a bit over medicated, then reduce a little to find your ideal dose. Hopefully the weight gain will stabilise as you increase your dose. I ended up adding some T3 with Armour, but then even high doses seem to do very little for me.
Please listen to Helcaster and Shaws, reread their info. Chew the Armour to release the active ingredients, it is full of fillers. Your dose is way to low. You need much more is all. Your dose was lowered, not raised when you switched to Armour. Your labs are very Hypo.
Yes, 60 mg of Armour. I was on levo for over a yr, started at 125 and my TSH was .01 then they lowered me to 100 levo my TSH was .02 then they lowered me to 75 and my TSH went up to 8 then they upped my dosage to 88 and I started having weird panick attacks, racing heart and shakiness so they lowered me back down. TSH went back up to 8 so we decided that Synthetic might not be good and I switched to Armour, two months later which is now....I tested and my TSH is now 28.90
I workout every day could that be my problem?
I was on 100 levo and last week i was on 2 grains of armour endo has just increased this to 2 and a half so I am hoping I will improve more now. It has taken me 6 months to get up to this dose I would have done it quicker but had to follow endos intructions.
Armour is notorious for not absorbing well and most chew it. You need to educated yourself. Stopthethyroidmaddness is a good place to start. Why was your thyroid removed?
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