I guess this is part question: part post. Firstly, I’m SO incredibly fed up with the extreme hairloss from Armour. I know it’s from the Armour because, 1- hairloss is one of the main side effects of the Med. 2: the hair loss started immediately upon starting the medication in October. I have photos of my hair the weekend before starting Armour, THICK LONG AND NOT SHEDDING AT ALL. Then Oct to present, chunks coming out in shower and shedding everyday. I read that it could occur for a few months but it’s literally been 6 months about. I’m up to 90mg of Armour and while YES my TSH has improved dramatically, my hairloss is still occuring, and I’m still not losing weight. I’m eating very little because there was a death in my family last week, and my life has been nothing but constant stress with moving and having to live with family right now because of housing crisis. I’m so sick of hair falling out in CLUMPS AND CHUNKS. I also have some other symptoms like weight gain, regardless of how clean and careful I eat. I’m taking all the right supplements, my most recent blood work is much better etc.
My question: I don’t have an endo right now because of how stressful my life is and I had a doctor friend send me some thyroid meds so I don’t have to deal with ignorant doctors right now. She also hooked me up with HCG injections to help my period come back since I also have PCOS. Since the Armour has been causing the hairloss, I am going to switch over to nature throid. But since the capsules she sent me are 65mg NT capsules, I am going to do 1 capsule NT (65 mg) and 30mg of Armour so it is equivalent to the 90mg of Armour. I’m hoping that tapering down off of the Armour will lessen or stop the hairloss and maybe the NT will work better with my body. Has anyone had to combine meds before? I’m assuming it’s fine, I cannot handle dealing with doctors right now because I can barely function let alone deal with ignorant doctors, I have not had a good experience with any endocrinologist I’ve worked with in the past. I’m just trying to grieve, heal, focus on my happiness, and feel better. I’m living at home so I can experiment on my body a little bit with changing meds. My life sucks right now and I just want to feel better, to lose weight, to get my period, to heal my metabolism, and for my hair to stop falling out.
Written by
Queenofwands1212
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Hi there, I'm sorry that you are feeling so unwell.
I've recently tried Armour ( for 2 months + ) and then Erfa also for 2+ months. My experience was different from yours, but we are all different. For me the Erfa gave me hair loss, but the Armour didn't.
Googling for Armour side effects I found this link which doesn't mention hair loss as a side effect. healthline.com/health/armou...
The only thing I can find on the paper which comes with my Armour bottle is where it says "partial loss of hair may be experienced by children in the first few months of thyroid therapy, but this is usually a transient phenomenon and later recovery is usually the rule".
Eating very little with thyroid problems is not recommended. In my experience you won't lose weight until you are optimally medicated.
I am completely bald due to Alopecia Areata and it is not due to anything in particular as it is another autoimmune disease. I take liothyronine daily.
When it first happened, after a few months I could have a haircut but not anymore - it has just stopped growing.
I don't like having no hair but I have bought a couple wigs.
I don’t think what I have is alopecia because the hairloss occurred INSTANTLY as I started Armour. There’s tons of articles about how Armour causes hair loss.
Yes it could but also, my hairloss didn’t start until I started Armour. I had zero hairloss and shedding the week before starting Armour. It was an instant thing once I started Armour
Yeah I’m thinking the same thing. I decided to switch to the Nature throid capsules I have. I have a good amount of them so I mine as well try them and see if it helps because I feel like such trash. My friend is saying it could be from the fillers in Armour causing the hairloss and not helping with weight gain etc
Please don't think that I am saying your hair loss is NOT due to Armour, but from your post, it sounds like you have several things going on that may be the cause or contributing to it. You only mentioned that your TSH had improved . You really need to know your current TSH, free T4, free T3 and thyroid antibodies. Only after knowing these numbers will you know what dose of a NDT that you need. If your T3 is below range, even in low range, you can have hair loss and weight gain even though you are taking Armour. Also high thyroid antibodies can cause hair loss. You can order reliable online thyroid tests where you don't need to see a dr., but at least you'd know where your complete numbers are.Another concern not related to Armour is the Nature Throid. I am in the U S and Nature Throid was taken off the market quite awhile ago. I know you just got those pills, but you might want to see the expiration date on them.
Lastly, stress and grief can play a huge part in body issues, including weight gain and hair loss.
I hope you are able to get to the bottom of all of this and able to feel better physically and emotionally.
Okay yeah this makes sense. The only thing that improved was my TSH. Everything else is low. T4 is low. T3 is low. T3 free is low. I don’t know what to do anymore. Do you think I should just increase to 120mg of Armour first to see if that works before trying the nature throid?? I do have all my labs and they were taken March 21, so not too long ago. Only thing that improved was TSH, everything else is still low . Idk what to do. Help. I feel like shit
Your TSH can be lower on NDT and your T4 will also be lower, but if you are taking the right amount of NDT, your T3 should be in the upper 2/3rd to 3/4 range.You also mentioned that you are eating very little because of personal issues. Stress and grief are huge factors in hair loss and weight gain or loss, depending on how your body reacts. You really need to be on a healthy diet for healthy hair. A good one to follow is a moderate carb ( mainly from green vegetables and low glycemic fruit) good fats, olive oil, coconut oil, higher fat fish, nuts, avocados etc and moderate protein from chicken, fish and lean beef and pork.
Another area is to try to relieve your stress...I know...easier said then done. Even a nice brisk walk every day can help.
If you decide to stay on Armour for a bit longer, increase gradually. Don't jump right from 90 to 120. Another thing that some people find beneficial, is to split the dose...1/2 in early morning before food and second in afternoon away from food.
Lastly is the concern with Naturethroid. I just don't think you'll be able to continue to get it. It is no longer being manufactured.
The nature throid I have are capsules that were compounded. Since I have 105 days worth of them I’m giving them a try because if I don’t, I won’t know if it can help me. My doctor friend who sent me the capsules reccomended me to run through the capsules since I ran out of Armour anyways and Armour has fillers, and it for sure triggered my hairloss in October. 6 months of hairloss and I just can’t do it anymore. The NT capsules I have are clean and no fillers so I’m just going to be taking that and see if it helps. I agree my t3 numbers should be higher and they are always chronically low. I’m focusing on protien for sure especially for hair. I eat low glycemic and I take Berberine as well to help with IR. Oh and yes! I walk almost everyday unless I’m completely fatigued from the sun. I usually walk 8-12k steps a day
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Just so fed up 🙄😔🙄
Extreme Hair Loss Advice 
Sudden and rapid hair loss
Hair loss and high T3
changing from Armour to levo
