I posted my labs on here about 3 weeks ago when I was on T4/T3 and everyone said that I have Hashimoto’s and that I was under medicated, a few suggested that I needed to look for a new Dr. I decided to give my Dr. one more try and I told him that I wanted to try Armour so he put me on 60mg’s of it and I took half the dose, 30 mg’s the first week to see how I felt and I was pretty spaced out and clumsy, knocked a lamp off a table and broke it while vacuuming and I did a few other weird things, the second week I increased it to the full 60mg’s. I feel a lot better on this than I did the Synthroid/Cytomel, I had heart palpitations and racing on it. I don’t feel like l’m quite where I need to be yet but headed in the right direction. I’m FINALLY getting to my question, I’ve been having loose bowel movements since January when I started taking new thyroid meds, ( which I don’t like telling the whole world about) I didn’t have this on the Synthroid only, just every other kind of problem. I was just wondering if other people experienced this on T4/T3 or NDT? I would be very bummed out if I had to stop taking it because of this.
Possible NDT side affect?: I posted my labs on... - Thyroid UK
Possible NDT side affect?
You are too low for FT3 on your posted blood test results also your TSH is still to high.
The only time that I had a loose bowels was when way over medicated with NDT. You don't appear to be over medicated perhaps NDT does not suit you. You may have separate gut problems. What was wrong when you were on T4/T3.
Hi, Bunnyjean, that blood test was on my Synthroid and Cytomel, I’ve been on Armour for the last 3 weeks and I’ve had loose bowels on both, and I didn’t have it when I was taking Synthroid only, but like I said, I was barely exiting on Synthroid alone. The T4/T3 gave me heart palpitations and racing so I had to stop it. Thanks for asking.
Your Dr. will probably test you again in 6 weeks or so. Whatever you do - don’t throw the baby out with the bath water! You have made great progress - congratulations by the way! Isn’t it amazing how Drs can do an about face when presented with a patient having a bit of knowledge?
60 mg’s Is a very low dose, and you are already feeling so much better, it may well be that after you are tested again, the Dr will reduce the dosage - slightly. It does take awhile for these things to regulate and balance. It could also be that you are experiencing a bit of a “healing crisis”. What you describe is quite often the body’s way of ridding itself of toxins. If so, it shouldn’t last more than 10 days or so.
One more thing, if I may speak honestly? HealthUnlocked is a wonderful place, (but) many here are totally attached to blood tests. There are others here that follow more of a Dr. Lowe’s approach - treat / dosage by how you feel (as does my Dr.) - personally I have no problem in adjusting the dose (in tiny increments) one way or the other - according to the way my body responds. Dr. Lowe is no longer with us - but he has written reams and reams on Hashimotos - some of it is easily found on the web. Some here will perhaps offer up a link or two. His wife still ships a bovine T3 / T4 supplement from New Zealand without prescription. Again he listened to patients and put more stock in how treatments made the patient feel. Blood tests have their place and most Drs will insist on regular monitoring - but in my personal experience (30 years) and for my own well being, the tests do not dictate. You will find your way. You will become the expert on you. My advice? Stick with the Armour. Work with your Dr adjusting things until you get the right dose. It sounds like the dose may be adjusted down ever so slightly. It’s powerful stuff! A little this way or that way can make a world of difference.
It was so good to hear from you and that things are better! And keep up the good work educating yourself and partnering with your Dr.
Hi lady, thanks for your input! I had been on T4 only for a long time, and I would go up and down on it too like you do according to how I felt, but I don’t have any experience with NDT, I was thinking maybe the bowel problems might even be due to fillers in the pills. I think it may have been you that suggested reading some of Izabella Wentz’s work, so I got her book, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, ROOT CAUSE and it is a great book, I would recommend that to anyone that has Hashimoto’s, and believe me, I need all the help I can get on the subject. So when I get my next thyroid labs done, I don’t need to worry about the Dr. checking my Free T3 anymore because of it being in the Armour, and it can suppress the TSH if you’re taking a lot? I’m just trying to figure out how to go about reading labs on NDT.
Yes the T3 will still need to be checked, and it mist probably will suppress the TSH, and some Drs get wigged sounds about it - so keeping track of it and allowing the tests to totally dictate dosage are two different things (from where I sit). Because extreme under dosage or extreme over dosage over time can cause other chronic conditions, we can’t ignore blood tests altogether. We must keep an eye on things. My experience is, your body will start signaling -the blood tests confirm, and you and your Dr decide up or down. But once you get to the right dose, life can be pretty close to normal. I have made the mistake of trying to go off the medicine I’ll buy myself without a doctors help I don’t advise that at all! My blood pressure went to the critical stage in about six months. Again I’ve had the disease much longer than you and I’m older. Still the point is I like feeling well and if this NDT hormone and pig thyroid is going to make me feel better I’ve decided it’s more friend than foe!
Hormone therapy may actually be more of the way of the future then we now keep reading!
It's possible you took too much too soon. Remember you still have a store of T4 in your body. When I moved to take NDT I followed the STTM's instructions so stopped Levo one day and then started on half a grain for 2 weeks then took half grain twice a day for another two weeks and carried on until I reached 2 grains per day then in quarters up to three. I arranged this to correspond with an Endo appointment in case I needed help or reassurance. I started my thyroid journey almost 40 years ago so I was familiar of what to expect but something didn't feel right. Turned out that I was over medicated and I was dropped down to 1.75 which I thought was excessive but was actually spot on! By going from 1.5 to 2 grains I had missed my sweet spot and although on raising I wasn't feeling any worse I knew I wasn't feeling as well as I was expecting to. Increasing my Vit D, B12,folate and ferritin has also meant I've had to drop my medication a little lower as well so fine tuning again at the moment.
Thanks for your input! How you changed from T4 to NDT slowly makes more sense than what I did, and my Dr. didn’t give me any guidance about going slowly, although I had read on here several times about taking it slowly, and not jumping in all at once like I did. Sometimes reading about it and then actually doing it are 2 different things. I feel alright on where I’m at right now except for the bowels aren’t happy. So I guess I will try to stay where I’m at if I can until time for labs.
I’m thinking I may have to try dropping my Armour down a little and see if that improves my bowel issue, I’m getting tired of running to the restroom too often, sorry about the visual. I feel fine otherwise though.
Yes I would drop down a little then retest after 6 weeks unless you realise that you haven't dropped down enough but make sure that you have had a full stable 6 weeks before you test a dose. It can be a bit uncertain when you are getting to where you want to be. I think you feel so good that you are feeling so much better that you want to test again on impulse but I feel sometimes we are so happy to feel better that we might miss a few slight warning signs that levels are may be still a bit high so then you have to think carefully about are you being honest or is it wishful thinking. I fine the fine tuning is the most difficult part to get right so drop a little then watch and wait. Don't over think it but at the same time be aware of how you are feeling and be honest to yourself. Wishing you every success!
Thank you kind lady, what you said makes perfect sense, and it is very hard being patient looking for an answer to feeling better, and like you were talking, I don’t want to miss my sweet spot. Hope you find your perfectly tuned spot.
have you had labs since being on armour?
No, I haven’t done labs yet, I’ve only been on the Armour for about 3 weeks, thanks for asking.
If you are feeling better on the NDT and the only problem is a loose stool I would say keep taking it for the duration so you can see how your lab work turns out; unless other symptoms arise. You will at least have a baseline dosage to tweak and it is possible that your body will adjust during that time. I would definitely take probiotics to replace the good bacteria you are losing. You may be having a problem with one of the fillers. "Stop the thyroid madness" was a good resource for me that listed several of the different brands of NDT and their ingredients. RLC labs had, now questionable, a formula (westhroid pure) without gluten or dairy that worked well for me. The company has since done some remodeling to their facility and somehow people are not doing as well on their product as they were before the remodel. You may have to experiment with different brands to find the one that works for you. Good luck.
Thank you for your reply, I am so conflicted about trying to keep on the 60 mg’s of Armour or cut it down a bit, I’ve only been on it for 3 weeks so it would probably be 3 more weeks until my labs, with possible continuing running to the restroom frequently. I was thinking about Nature Throid since it’s supposed to be hypoallergenic but after reading comments on here about it I don’t think I would try it. I am taking probiotics, I will check out Stop the Thyroid Madness too, thank you for that. It pretty much is Thyroid Madness when you’re trying to get where you need to be. Take care
Can I ask what Thyroid med you are on now, and how you’re doing on it? I got to thinking about my bowel issues starting at the first of the year when I started taking Synthroid and Cytomel, well I also was sick for 3 weeks before Christmas and was on an antibiotic, so even though I took probiotics afterwards and even now maybe that messed up my gut flora, and maybe its not the Thyroid meds, who knows, but I want it to go away, now.
I am currently taking 3/4 grain plus 1/8 grain of Naturthroid 5 days a week and 1 grain Naturthroid 2 days a week. I know, why don't I just take 1 grain all 7 days. I have tried. I suspect the dosage I would need to have labs within normal range is somewhere between 1 and 1 1/4 grain but every time I try to increase my dosage I suffer severe depression, anxiety, dizziness, nausea...and the list goes on. I am taking the dosage that I am most functional at. That being said, I have a very complex situation that involves chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia as well. I will tell you, it was so much easier when my only problem was the Hashimoto (hypothyroidism). Prior to finally being diagnosed with Hashimoto and even after treatment that put me in normal range, I have never felt quite right but I could function and work and now I can't. There is so much more to thyroid health than just lab work in normal range. Try to take steps to live a healthier, lower stress life. I'm not bashing your lifestyle by any means but something has caused your health problems and the lab work is only somewhat accurate and only on some people. Stress causes your cells to become less sensitive to the thyroid medication. It works a lot like insulin resistance where the pancreas produces insulin but the cells are not receptive to it. Thyroid labs show whats circulating in your blood not what your cells are taking in. There is no blood test that can show what your cells are taking in. If you are worried about continuing with the 60 mg of Armour and want to go down in dosage, chop it in half and then chop one half in half again. If you take one half and half of a half you end up with approximately 45 mg of Armour. I wouldn't drop all the way down to 30 mg, which if I remember correctly, is the next lower dose. Good luck and I wish you perfect health.
Hi, it sounds like you’re taking Nature Thyroid the way you need to for it to work for you, maybe I won’t rule N. T. out if I need to try a different med in the future. I’m sorry to hear about you having such a hard time with chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia, I hope that situation really improves for you. I know you are right about too much ongoing stress being so damaging to our health and I’ve had and have a lot of it going on in my life and it seems like the older I get the less I can handle it. I appreciate you sharing some of your story with me and for your advice, and I am wishing you perfect health also.
Yes, both NDT and liothyronine both give me loose BMs. I'm certain it's the t3 based on what I've read. It's been worse for me in the beginning, but continues to some degree, especially with 2-4 hours of the initial dose.
Well, sorry to hear that you are having that problem also and it started with me when I started my first T3 plus T4 meds and now with my NDT only. I’m like you, I have been thinking that it is T3 based, I am waiting to do labs on my current dose and then go from there, I am probably going to try Naturethyroid next, it being considered hypoallergenic, but then again it had T3 also. It is so unbelievably frustrating, I didn’t do well at all on T3 only. Thanks for your reply and please let me know how you are doing and I hope the bowel issue goes away for both of us.
Sorry, I meant that I didn’t do well on T4 only not T3.
Can you tell me where you read about T3 causing possible bowel issues? Thanks
I googled side effects of liothyronine
Thanks, that makes a lot of sense, I don’t know why I didn’t think of that, I use google a lot. I just read on there about the possible diarrhea, my situation is getting worse so I don’t know if I’m going to be able to wait for labs to try something else. I hope that you can get on the proper Armour dose, and when to take it, etc. it doesn’t seem like all of this should be so hard Take care.
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