Thankyou for adding me! I could write a book- but will try to be brief. I had a thyroidectomy in 2012. I’m a woman, 59, 3 years divorced after 31 years married, have made a new life as a single Gramma, moved close to my children and enjoying those grand babies and working very hard at my new job. If I could get my hypothyroid issues solved I would call life pretty good.
I am wondering if Armor thyroid will deplete the density of my bones as I age? Have been off armor for 6 years, and feel terrible on Levothyroxine 175mcg. Was just taken off levothyronine 10 mcg.
Extreme hypo for the past year, new doctor instructed me to take the Levothyronine in the afternoon, and promptly felt great. Also lost 10 pounds in 2 months- and I’m already thin.
So- off of levothyronine, just on levothyroxine 175mcg and slipping back into exhaustion and depression. I would like to go back on armor but my doctor cautioned it can cause issues with bones as I age. What do you think? Thank you for you help.
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I think your doctor is an ass. NDT contains T4 and T3. Levothyroxine is T4 and liothyronine is T3. Comes to the same thing. How can one cause bone issues and not the other?
If NDT makes you well, go back on it! Life is too short to worry about what might happen - especially as it won't!
I've been hearing this a lot from endo's at the hospital and felt that it was an excuse to lower my dose.
They are now concerned that the use of Levo will cause osteoporosis in later life. They say that if you have too much Levo (or other replacements) then it will increase the rate that the bone loss occurs.
They also told me that they have seen an increase in the number of women in your age group attending with this issue due to self-medicating on Armour. Not sure how much truth there is in this as there might be other factors at play.
Best suggestion I have is that you ask for a bone density check (I think you are in the right age group to get this anyway) and then do as Greygoose suggested and get your bones checked again in seven months.
Also consider taking Vitamin D, upping your exercise (to create healthy bones) and look at your calcium intake.
Everyone is going to age and everyone is going to get elder health issues regardless but how you feel now in terms of your health and subsequent exercise can help the future you too.
The logic behind your doctor's actions (probably).
1) People taking T3, with or without T4, or NDT (Natural Desiccated Thyroid like Armour Thyroid or other brands, which also contains T3) usually have lower TSH than people taking T4 alone.
2) Many doctors believe that low TSH leads to osteoporosis (low bone density) and/or heart disease. They've been brainwashed into believing this by pharma companies that don't want to keep people healthy (because healthy people don't raise profits), so as a result T3 and NDT are damned as being "dangerous".
For some ammunition that says otherwise, read these threads and the scientific papers they discuss :
Thank you!! Much appreciated! I have been so distracted by all the change in my life that I just put up with feeling rough and got through it. I’m going on to see my endo and will advocate for myself. Thank you for your help.
Another issue with being hypothyroid (for any reason including thyroidectomy) is that it affects every cell in the body. A common effect is a reduction in stomach acid production. Ageing reduces stomach acid production too.
Doctors will tell patients that indigestion and heart burn is caused by too much stomach acid, but in the vast majority of cases it is caused by too little stomach acid (there are always exceptions).
This lack of stomach acid means that food digestion is badly compromised and extracting nutrients from food intake becomes very poor. As a result vitamin and mineral levels reduce, and low or deficient levels become common.
You need to get your vitamin D, vitamin B12, folate, ferritin and iron levels tested. Since you've had a thyroidectomy getting your calcium levels checked would be well worth doing too. Get the results and the reference ranges and post them on here in a new post and ask for feedback.
With low nutrient levels your risk of osteoporosis will increase dramatically - but it will have nothing to do with your TSH!
I'll repeat and add to a reply I gave to a post earlier on the same subject:
There are lots of studies that allege that suppressed TSH <0.01 on therapy, or that T3 in treatments which leads to suppressed TSH, gives increased risk of osteoporosis and atrial fibrillation. The problem with each and very one of these studies is that they fall into the trap of generalisation. That is, they assume that there is a uniform risk for each and every patient with suppressed TSH or who take T3 alone or in combination on therapy. This is not true: in the studies performed, there were no doubt some patients overdosed on T4, T4/T3 combo or T3 therapy, that caused their supressed TSH. But equally there are others for which this is not true and their suppressed TSH is a result of proper treatment without other risk. Your doctor should know that it isn't TSH that controls your health, but the levels of free thyroxine (FT4) and especially free T3. If these especially FT3 are in the reference range then all should be well regardless of the TSH. BUT it still could be the case that you live too high in the reference range as an individual for your particular health parameters.Therefore your assessment of your own level of health is most important here, not the biochemistry. It has to be realised by patient and doctor alike that there is a trade-off; a suppressed TSH arising from T3 therapy with a slight (and it is only slight if it exists at all) increased possibility of OP and AF later in life, or a poorer quality of life over many years with reduced insufficient dose with less likelihood of OP and AF. You should be allowed to choose which way to go. I think virtually everyone would choose good QoL. The doctor should realise the situation isn't a zero sum situation - patient health in the here and now should prevail over vague fears for the future.
Super explanation, thank you. Sometimes I think this is all Endo's have to offer hypo patients and it is their way of showing professional concern for possible future problems with the disease. Surely they must realise that the causes of heart problems and osteoporosis are anything but clear cut cause/effect but a complex collaboration of many and multi variables? I sure wish just one Endo would quote a piece of research evidence to back up their claims. Every time I sit in consultation and whip out my pen and paper, I just wait and wait and wait for a tangible quote or audible response.
Wow! Thank you everyone for sharing your insight with me. What a wealth of knowledge and help! I will go get the bone density test. I supplement D3 and B12, and my levels are good, and will ask to have my calcium and iron checked. I am going to push for Armor. It’s been such a rough exhausting year- I think quality of life is paramount at this point. Thank you all for taking the time to help me understand this.
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