Lowered Armour end of August, bad symptoms now

Hi All,

Feeling sorry for myself today, so I have decided to write a post.

I have lowered Armour 5 weeks ago due to overheating and insomnia. At first when I lowered I felt bad (1st week), then better and the last 1-2 weeks progressively worse. Old symptoms came back - dry skin, face twitches, constipation, waking early, swollen face, legs, low moods with crying (haven't had it for a very long time). Also, getting insulin resistance symptoms now as a result of imbalance (sugar crashes, hypoglycemia etc.).

I have done a finger prick test and my results are:

Ft4 = 51% (previously 52%, ft4 hasn't reduced)

Ft3 = 70% (previously 100%)

I take 2.5 Armour and alternate 12.5/18.75 Levo (which is terrible, one day I feel better, one worse, it's been like this for months, I don't feel even when alternating).

I am fine tuning and really sensitive to meds as I have Hashimotos and central hypo.

Any advice or encouragement, very welcome 😊 thank you

[Swissgirl]

Dear Sleepy Mouse ( love your username, by the way, but hope it doesn’t describe how you are feeling all the time!) I saw your post when you initially wrote 3 days ago and see that no one has replied yet, so here I am to try to give you some words of encouragement.

I have been on the forum ( what a godsend!) since Oct 2020 as I have been very ill since then and off work, and following posts pretty much daily, but didn’t like the username I chose, so haven’t really posted. Seems a silly reason I know, but I can’t seem to change it so far, so will stick to the original one for the moment😉

I am sorry to hear you are struggling with Armour and the hypo/ hyper symptoms, and just wanted to offer you a listening ear.

I have also been on Armour , various doses since 2014. Before that 2 years on Levothyroxine. I am on 60-60-60mg ( 3 grains) per day atm. To feel ok I need my Ft4 in mid-high range and fT3 at top of range or even slightly over. I haven’t ever tried to add Levo to Armour although doctors have suggested it. So far too scared to play around with it. I had very bad adrenal fatigue and found it very challenging to raise Armour even by a 1/4 grain until my adrenals had recovered a bit. Whenever I raised the dose I would feel much worse for the first 2 weeks, until my body got used to it, and then I would wait another 2 weeks to raise it again.

How much did you lower Armour by 5 weeks ago?

I sometimes work with 1/8 grain to raise and lower as I seem to tolerate better. It’s a bit fiddle but I break it in half with my thumb nail- advice from this forum😀

Do you get hypoglycemic episodes before or between or after meals? What is your diet?

Can you come off Levo completely if you can’t stabilize it and just take Armour?

So, I hope it makes you feel a bit better to know someone is listening😀 Take care and very best wishes.

[Hidden in reply to Swissgirl]

Hello 😊 thank you so much for taking time to reply to my post, your reply felt like a hug and it is very encouraging. Sleepymouse name mirrors how I feel sometimes, but not all of the time no 😊 I think you can change your name in settings, have you tried it?

My main question is- how are you feeling now?

It seems like we are similar, I also don't feel great after an increase, I feel more hypo for a while when I up the dose. Is this the case for you as well?

I lowered Armour only by 1/8 of grain...I know, it's crazy.

The hypoglycemic episodes are random, and the seem to relate to my meds or being hypo. I now eat four smaller meals a day, well balanced by a clinic dietician, no sugar of any sort etc. But even before this food plan, I was eating very healthy, so yeah it's very annoying 😊

I am considering coming off levo if I'm honest. The last 5 weeks after decrease I feel I lost motivation, I don't feel depressed, but maybe more anxious and flat. I think I also need my ft3 a bit higher than 70%.

It does make me feel better, thank you so much 😊