Been told to come off Armour to go on Levothyroxine as trying to conceive - any advice?

[nataliem19]

Hi everyone,

I am looking for some advice please. After a rollercoaster of thyroid issues the past couple of years (I have hashis), I am finally balanced on Armour and feeling good (thanks to this forum!). I take half a grain a day in two doses (AM and lunchtime). My results are pretty normal and energy levels are good:

FT3 5.3 (range: 3.1 - 6.8)

FT4 17.1 (range: 12-22)

TSH 0.02 (range: 0.27 - 4.2)

However, I am trying to conceive and so my endo has said I need to come off Armour and go on Levo as Armour is not recommended in pregnancy. I have never actually been on Levo as I started straight onto T4 and T3 combo 7 years ago when feeling horrific.

I've been prescribed 25mcg of Levo a day. Having felt rubbish in the past with low thyroid levels, and now feeling balanced and better I'm extremely nervous to come off Armour and go onto Levo. Has anyone done it before? If so, how did you manage it? I would really, really appreciate any advice and insights. Thank you all in advance!

[jimh111]

This is a difficult subject. There are one or two studies that suggest T3 does not cross the placenta and this is the basis for the 'advice' from endocrinologists.

It's a shame you have no experience of being on levo, you may do well on it.

As for Armour and pregnancy women have been giving birth for over a century whilst on NDT with no known harmful effects. It may be that Armour carries slightly higher risk than levo (or vice-versa), nobody knows because nobody has bothered to do a trial.

As for T3 not crossing the placenta as far as I know they have experimented with placetas taken at term or in late pregnancy. My thoughts are that during the latter part of pregnancy the baby is producing and regulating its own hormone and so shuts off the mother's supply of T3. The baby needs the mother's thyroid hormone in the early stages during which the placenta is non-existent or just forming. So, my guess is that the research is not relevant, they haven't thought it through.

I'm trying to present the evidence, not sway you one way or another. Personal experience is more relevant and I've never taken NDT or been pregnant!

[grumpyold]

I have Hashi's too. Between 1999 and 2008 I was on levo. I continued to feel increasingly awful.

Then, I found the wonderful, much missed, Dr P and he recommended I try Armour. I self sourced and self-financed Armour for the next year, until I could no longer afford to continue and went back onto levo.

The downhill slide recommenced once back on levo.

Earlier this year, I began sourcing T3 to add to the NHS levo and it is only now, that I am starting to feel better.

Everyone is different, and I wasn't trying to get pregnant, but in my experience, I would never have come off Armour if I could have afforded to continue. For the year I took it, it gave me my life back. The Armour giveth, the levo taketh away 🥵😂

[HighlandMo]

It’s hard to offer advice where pregnancy is concerned but my gut feeling is to stick with what’s working for you. NDT was the standard treatment for a very long time so many, many women have been on it whilst pregnant.

[nataliem19]

Thank you all very much!! It is such a hard decision and not one that I am taking lightly. Jim, I had heard that about T3 not crossing the placenta but I will do more research into it now.

Grumpyold I hope you get back on Armour soon, it is so expensive it is a joke! So unfair for sufferers. I wonder if your endo would consider a T4 and T3 mix? Mine has said the NHS will prescribe it but I realise it isn't as good as Armour but may be worth a shot.

HighlandMo thanks for the advice too, I am inclined to think the same. It would be great to speak to someone more about it who has maybe been through it to see how they got on.

Thanks again!

[grumpyold in reply to nataliem19]

I didn't go through an endo. Would sooner stick pins in my eyes, than do that again. The one I was referred to (2 decades ago, before forums like this existed) said NDT was "pure quackery". 😡

I'm quite happy now self sourcing my own T3. The NHS can't take it from me if they don't provide it!

Good luck with whatever decision you make.

Take care.x

[TSH110 in reply to grumpyold]

I call that “projection” - it’s the Levothyroxine quackery we suffer now that keeps us ill.

Give me pure NDT quackery any day

[HighlandMo in reply to nataliem19]

My thyroid didn’t play up until I reached menopause , so afraid I can’t help there!

[TSH110]

I doubt a functioning thyroid stops making T3 if one becomes pregnant and goes into t4 monotherapy mode. So why would NDT be a risk? My suspicion is that t4 monotherapy is the riskier option.

[nataliem19 in reply to TSH110]

Thank you for your reply TSH110! Apparently the issue is T3 from NDT does not cross the placenta. I do worry that t4 monotherapy (a new term for me!) is the riskier option. So hard to know what to do. Many thanks!

[TSH110 in reply to nataliem19]

It must be a worry but I’d go with your gut feeling after reading the responses. As jimh111 says there’s no evidence to show NDT is harmful in pregnancy so it can’t be based on anything other than prejudice and scaremongering.