Well, since my first post, I've been spending my life doctor hunting and dealing with all that goes with this nonsense, plus my EMF sensitivity got so severe, trying to deal with that took over my life for months now.
Anyway, I found a good doctor (she costs a fortune and Medicare only pays about 3/5) and two weeks ago, after blood work came back, she prescribed Synthroid and Cytomel. I was on Armour for maybe 20 years, but as I mentioned in my original post, my T3 was always VERY high, T4 very low and TSH extremely low. She told me my TSH came back "OK" somehow. Anyway, the plan was to start slow with the synthetics so we could adjust the T3.
First night trouble sleeping again (removing the wireless router had me finally sleeping well again) and it's been an issue ever since for these two weeks. My muscle weakness and pain seemed worse, but that's always a difficult thing to pinpoint. Yesterday I did a purge collection for a stool analysis and perhaps the high dose of magnesium citrate and/or the 8 hours of watery diarrhea added to the problem, but I had nasty heart symptoms when I went to bed. They were so scary, I called the emergency room to see if they could tell me if I should go down 'cause I didn't want to be an alarmist, but I was afraid. I lay down and my heart suddenly beat so fast, like double speed at least, then skipped, then beat super fast again and skipped again. It was unnerving. I'd also had more pain under my arm earlier in the day.
Anyway, I skipped the meds this morning since I was experiencing several very troubling side effects for which the Cytomel literature said to call the doctor right away, the fast and/or abnormal heartbeat being the most concerning. When I finally got the doctor's office this afternoon, I explained the situation. I was told a few hours later that she said our conversation would take more than a couple of minutes so it will be a "visit" and she's still seeing patients. It's now 7:30pm, so I'm not happy about this at all especially since I've been feeling funky all day.
Of course, I was researching again this morning and on the STTM site on this page ( stopthethyroidmadness.com/n... ) where it says "About Cortisol: why it can cause problems" it explains, very simply, what was probably causing my T3/T4/TSH issues all along. My adrenals were stressed 30 years ago and now they show basically flat-lined. I'm thinking Armour wasn't the problem (with the inability to change the ratios), but cortisol and if I can get the cortisol straightened out, the Armour might work better for me.
Any opinions on this would be appreciated
:Donna
Written by
DisneyMuse
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It sounds like you have had the classic thyroid storm . It happens many times on the Synthroid and sounds also like you probably have Hashimoto's or an autoimmune thyroiditis.
If you do have autoimmune issues then the synthetic thyroid T3 will push you into the hyperthyroid state from time to time . What happens is that your own thyroid hormone gets through sometimes depending on what the immune system is doing . When the immune system is distracted and fighting something else your own hormone gets through and mixes with the synthetic and you get into an overdose state - or thyroid storm . The symptoms are just as you described I've had them more times than I care to think . Like you I tried both Armour Thyroid and the synthetic and the NatureThroid. There are almost no problems with the natural T3 T4 combinations - as opposed to the synthetic thyroid hormone . So your instincts are right it wasn't the Armour Thyroid causing the problems at all .
It is highly recommended that you look into the possibility that you have an autoimmune thyroid disorder and or Hashimoto's . Until then I would go back to the Armour Thyroid . It is also highly recommended that you look into digestive enzymes . You don't state your age but most of us lose digestive enzymes as we age . Digestive enzymes help those who take the natural thyroid hormones . A doctor here in the states told me that as much as a third of the population can't take Armour Thyroid because they don't have the digestive enzymes to help them utilize the T3 and T4 correctly . There are a lot of good digestive enzymes out there and I have found a good one right here at health unlocked . It's called PhyZymes - and they are absolutely wonderful . I take NatureThryoid - and didn't seem to have too much trouble converting the T4 to T3 for the past 30 years . But when I added the digestive enzyme's oh my the energy faucet turned on ! I am 60 years old and I feel so good now . I've also eliminated gluten and dairy and soy . I fought that last one - the diet restrictions for most of these 30 years . Well I actually didn't know about the restrictions until about five years ago . I know for sure that I have Hashimoto's - diagnosed by an Endo chronologist using urine tests .
There is so much to learn I'm sorry to say but you're on the right path with the link you posted . We have it a little better here in the states but only with the functional doctors . The regular MDs don't have a clue and they don't want one . They are taught to just remove the thyroid gland surgically and put people on synthetic thyroid and get it over with . If only that was the answer but if you have an auto immune disorder removing the thyroid doesn't remove the disorder .
Thanks, humanbean, I'm off the synthetic. I stopped taking it after I had those severe heart symptoms. I'm not playing with that nonsense. After 2 days off, I seem to be OK. I'm back on Armour, but not the 90. She said start at 45 and work up to 60, hopefully being able to switch to Naturthroid
Zinc 2-3hrs before bed, @30mg should help lower cortisol, it did mine, the biggest help/healing adrenals were amino acids plus a b complex and 1000mgif vitamin C as these are their cofactor nutrients. Plus I added an adrenal glandular too to help the healing... Hope this helps...
Ah, Roadrunnergreg, I need to increase the cortisol. My adrenals aren't really working at this point. I was pretty impressed that after the first dose of hydrocortisone (2.5mg), my brain fog wasn't quite as bad. We'll see how that goes, but anything positive is welcome, that's for sure! Thank you And the doc said that she doesn't prescribe the med unless it's really needed, which I most definitely do. Typically she suggests a more natural course.
You know, I know she's been doing very thorough checking, but she didn't mention growth hormone. I know years ago it showed I basically didn't have any! My sleep habits have been poor for decades and I'm sure that's contributed to many things, too. She's prescribed some supplemental stuff. Trouble is I can't afford pretty much any of it I'm doing what I can and have to accept what I can't. We'll see! Thank you
Growth hormone is made from /by amino acids, just got to make sure you have the companion nutrients, GH Supplements are reasonably cheap. About £10.00 which are an amino acid blend... They did me the power of good regarding sleep and anxiety. I'm beginning to believe adrenal. Fatigue is GH Deficiency...
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I'm doing what I can and have to accept what I can't. We'll see! Thank you 
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