Hi everyone … I have been put on Armour thyroid a week ago by my endocrinologist…
I feel slightly less tired very calm mood almost “happy” feeling and my appetite has been slowing down as the days have gone by …… so generally so far I “feel “ improved to when I was on Levothyroxine out on it on 2006 never felt well on it …… BUT …… the hot flushes / sweating is beyond a joke when I say I am drenched I am it runs off me …. Is this a transient thing does it settle down ? I didn’t know backs of hands and knees could sweat !!!!
Any advice would be great as I do feel a bit more “alive “ 🙏xx
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Ozzyfudge
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If you were not taking any T3 prior to starting NDT, thats a big starting dose. If you are new to T3 then a starting dose of a quarter grain once or twice daily for the first two weeks is recommended to ease the body in.If you were taking some T3 then you can start on an equivalent dose.
Thank you Lalatoot endo wanted me on 120 last week but I have kept it at 90 I definitely feel improved but can’t tolerate the sweats I end up saturated hair as well ! X
Having had a quick look back at previous posts there is no mention of having taken T3 - Liothyronine so presume this is a trial of NDT to see if it suits.
NDT contains a measured dose of T3 and T4 and it's always suggested to start low and slow when taking any form of T3 : NDT is pig thyroid dried and ground down into tablets referred to as grains, and was the successful treatment of hypothyroidism for over 100 years until Big Pharma launched synthetic T3 and T4 along with the guidelines and ranges.
With NDT you simply dose to the relief of symptoms and not a blood test.
Week I - I started with 1/2 grain and slowly increased weekly by 1/4 grains, monitoring blood pressure and temperature twice daily.
I only managed to get to 1 + 3/4 grains when I felt I wasn't as good as the previous week.
I felt a little edgy, nervous and uncomfortable in myself, so dropped back down to 1 + 1/2 grains where I have stayed for around 3 years.
I let this dose bed in and after 6-8 weeks took a blood test to compare with my bench mark numbers.
My TSH was suppressed at 0.01 : my T4 was around 25% through and my T3 was around 110% through the ranges - and in fact my T3 and T4 had swopped percentages through the ranges from when before I was on T4 only.
I wasn't hyper in any shape or form and if anything I run myself slightly hypo.
My blood pressure remained constant throughout this period and my temperature rose from 35.4 to 36.6 where it still hovers.
So, in my experience low and slow won the race and would suggest you too build up your dose slowly. Some people take NDT once a day, others split the dose am and pm.
You still need to maintain your ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D at optimal levels to help support conversion for optimal health and wellbeing.
Hi thank you so much for your reply … I have been on levothyroxine since 2006 never felt “well” but bloods were normal so
Nothing was ever done about it , until I met my new endocrinologist <Endo's name removed by Admin>I kept saying to him I don’t feel right I’m so tired etc etc …. He said are you happy to trial Armour thyroid I said yes didn’t realise it was so expensive… bit I was happy to trial it for three months I have been on it for a week … first 3 days felt worse then yesterday I felt a lot brighter in myself , calm , collected , except for the sweats … I’m mot sure I can stay on it if it’s going to do this to me every day ….even though I feel better ….
My temp has always been low but today it’s 37.2 !
I’m usually 36.0. - 36.4
I am on HRT patches for 5 years for hot flushes , so now I do t see the point in them if I’m going to sweat like a pig literally !
Well, I think you have started on too high a dose of NDT - so why not drop back and go low and slow through this transition.
The Levothyroxine takes around 6 weeks to finally leave your body so you have in a way overdosed yourself which likely explains some of the symptoms you are now dealing with.
Your first weeks dose is a total of 1 + 1/2 grains which is 13.50 mcg T3 + 57mcg T4 - and you still have the build up of your T4 in your system.
It took me around 6 weeks to build up to 1 + 1/2 grains and I did this stopping by 125 mcg T4 one day and starting NDT the following - but at just 1/2 a grain initially then quarters:
I recognise those symptoms of calmness and being happy - the brain uses an awful lot of T3 and was probably happy with this influx but it takes time for the whole body to acclimatise itself to such a large switch of medication all at once.
Thank you yes of course didn’t think of a build up of Levo I will knock the armour back to half a grain tomorrow and see how I feel .
My vit D levels are high it’s taken two years to get it right , B12 and folic acid i. Annoy take makes me totally manic I have tried injections and methyl but nothing suits me I now take a vitamin that has no folic or b12 in it but still get the other “B”s ….
Well, it's unfortunate your endo didn't advise you better from the start as it didn't need to be like this.
Yes, although we are currently having a mini heatwave and everybody is uncomfortable I'm sure these symptoms will ease off - just play for time and revert back to the tortoise not the hare regime.
It's not a question of where " he wants you to be " or what dose he wants you too take - you dose to the relief of symptoms - and you'll find you're optimal dose by going low and slow.
Hi thank you so much for the info , I was on 75 mcgs Levo so he worked it out so it was equivalent, but as I know I don’t process drugs well it’s evidently a little too much too soon … so hopefully
It will calm down a bit so I can cope
I haven’t been able to put makeup on or get dressed today just hanging over a fan constantly! 🙏
Your endo doesn't sound as if he is familiar with the dosing of NDT.
One grain is bio-equivalent to 100mcg Levothyroxine, and if you read the Armour PIL (or any NDT info leaflet) you will see this is what the manufacturers are stating because of the enhancing way T4 works in the presence of T3.
Three deiodinase enzymes present in different body tissues determine cellular activity or the deactivation of thyroid hormone in response to differing physiologic conditions. Dr Peatfield use to explain that by adding a little T3 it was often enough to sufficiently improve impaired conversion abilities, so giving us more FT3 than the amount of T3 we are medicating. This is because D1 activates about 30% of T4 to T3, & although becomes down-regulated with stress, inflammation, depression, dieting, etc the presence of T3 induces more D1 activity. All this means the effect you will be feeling when medicating 1.5 grains would be equivalent to 150mcg Levothyroxine and the amount of T3 will have increased your metabolism somewhat.
Agree with above that if you haven't medicated T3 before you will need to start slowly, say half a grain & if you feel ok raise in quarters each week. If you don't feel ok, then hold dose until any new symptoms have subsided. You should only be feeling better & not inducing new symptoms. It is normal to experience a headache or slight inner heat that should pass after a few days. All hormones work together & it sounds like you have other systems that have some catching up to do.
Much thyroid hormone conversion takes place in the liver and if you know you don't process hormones well you probably have some MTHFR issues. I found milk thistle & NAC helped with my liver clearance issues and made thyroid hormones work more effectively.
1 grain of NDT is approx 100mcg (in its effect) but you were taking approx 300 + of NDTs before they reduced your dose. Endo prescribed 150 levo plus approx 80 T3. I think I'd increase my dose and hopefully you will feel much better.
I used this guide to dosing (see link below) when I swapped from Levo to NDT. I started on a very small amount of NDT (and gradually reduced the Levothyroxine as) I upped the NDT according to the guide. It is not necessary to keep taking any Levothyroxine you can just leave that out altogether. I had to split my dose too (I don’t need to nowadays). It’s very good on how to reach the best dosage too. I found the guide and the NDT worked really well for me. I have been on NDT for 7 years and feel much better on it than I ever did in Levothyroxine. Hope it helps:tpauk.com/main/article/trea...
I’ve been on Armour Thyroid since 2013 and absolutely have done well on it. They did have to slowly increase my dosage. My doctor in America I think started me on 60 mg then we finally settle on 120 mg. My doses hasn’t changed since then I’m back to normal. Your body shouldn’t know any difference between the Armour Thyroid and human thyroid. That’s why there are no side-effects on armour. It sounds like you may need a dosage adjustment. Ask for them to do blood tests and see what your levels are.
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