Hair loss

[cmm7766]

hi, I had a complete thyroidectomy in August of this year. I’ve been on levothyroxine and Synthroid. Today I began taking Armour. I have been losing a massive amount of hair. Has anyone shared this side effect and have suggestions for regrowth? Please tell me this awful side effect doesn’t last! Also, today I updated a question that I posted in October. I am not sure if I did that correctly. Can anyone tell me if they can see a post from me on my page dated today, January 13, 2023? If not, how can I update my October post?

[Jaydee1507 Administrator]

Hair loss is not a side effect of thyroid hormone, more that you aren't taking enough of it. That or low ferritin. Have you had key vitamins tested - ferritin, folate, B12 & D3?

I can see 2 posts from you including todays. I doubt people will be looking at your old post except for back information.

Sounds to me like you've not yet been opttimally replaced on thyroid hormone. What were your latest labs with ranges?

[cmm7766 in reply to Jaydee1507]

Thank you so much for responding. I’m relatively new to this site and I am still getting used to it.

My Dr. said my numbers look high, but because I’ve been sleepy, he felt it ok to keep me on the same number of milligrams of the medication. I don’t have my January lab results, but here are my December & October results:

Black and white

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to cmm7766]

So in December your FT3 was at 68% of its range which is pretty good. You really need to get your vitamin levels tested. Ferritin, folate, B12 and D3. As hypo people we have low stomach acid which means we don't absorb vitamins well from our food.

[pennyannie]

Hello cmm :

I can see one previous post with around 20 replies.

A fully functioning working thyroid would be supporting you on a daily basis with trace elements of T1. T2 and calcitonin + a measure of T3 at around 10 mcg + a measure of T4 at around 100 mcg.

Armour is a brand of Natural Desiccated Thyroid and contains all the same known hormones as that of the thyroid gland so the most complete of all the thyroid hormone replacement options, and probably the most expensive.

Many people find that monotherapy with just the T4 component replacement like - Levothyroxine or Synthroid, doesn't fully restore their hormonal balance and find their health restored better taking this full spectrum replacement.

NDT is derived from pig thyroid dried and ground down into tablets and referred to as grains.

1 grain Armour contains trace elements of T2. T2 ad calcitonin + 9 mcg T3 + 28 mcg T4 :

Since you have lost your own natural production of T3 it seems totally logical to me that the best treatment options will be a full spectrum thyroid hormone replacement such as Armour.

NDT takes time to build up in the body and it's suggested you slowly increase your dose as the T4 will take around 6-8 weeks to fully leave your body and presume your doctor has advised on how you need to take the Armour.

No thyroid hormone replacement works well until your core strength vitamins and minerals are optimal and suggest you also have run your ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D levels and we can advise on readings and ranges in due course.

[cmm7766]

Thank you for this great information. I took my first dose of Armour yesterday which means Friday was my last day on Synthroid. I had a horrible first day on it because I didn’t know that I’d be withdrawing from the synthroid! I had severe agitation, anxiety, leg pain, cold intolerance & depression. I looked this up and sure enough, it says that you will withdraw from Synthroid once stopping it. I’m tempted to go back on it today & get on an anti-depressant first before I withdraw. The depression is too severe to deal with for 3-10 days. Any thoughts?

[Brightness14 in reply to cmm7766]

How much Armour are you taking.

[cmm7766 in reply to Brightness14]

90 milligrams

[cmm7766 in reply to Brightness14]

90 milligrams, and was told that it is the equivalent of the number of Synthroid milligrams that I had been taking, which was 125 milligrams.

[Brightness14 in reply to cmm7766]

There is no real comparison however you do it. You are only on 1.5 grains every day which is a small amount without a thyroid. I have no thyroid and took 2.25 of NDT Thyroid s for years which is slightly stronger than Armour. My blood test results are always perfect and feeling good to. This 2.25 grains were taken in two lots. The first at 6am 1.25 grains and the other one at around 1.30pm. Split up is sometimes best. I was on a very low 2.25 grains,, you need an increase to feel well, but go slow. Your FT3 is possibly low which can cause problems. Good Luck.

[pennyannie in reply to cmm7766]

Depression is a common symptom of hypothyroidism - I too do not have a thyroid as I'm with Graves Disease and post RAI thyroid ablation in 2005 - I thought I as dealing with early onset dementia - it's basically it was a lack of T3 that caused all my mental and cognitive functions and I suspect all the symptoms you are suffering are because thyroid hormone your T3 is too low and you are missing your own natural T3 that your thyroid once supported you with - which to me is totally logical.

Once you build up your dose of NDT and let it bed in you will feel totally different.

Blood tests on NDT look totally different and your TSH will be low suppressed and your Free T4 maybe proportionately lower to where it was when on T4 monotherapy but your T3 should be proportionately higher than when on T4 only.

On NDT it is more about how you feel as years ago there no blood tests or guidelines and little nuggets of pig thyroid were dispensed for people to chew on and bigger or smaller nuggets were dispensed if the first size didn't work well.

I was only on 1 + 1/2 grains for the past 5 years - taken all at once but this last month orso I've been playing with adding in a second dose around 8 hours after my first dose as we have had a very cold snap in the weather and my head felt as though it never defrosted - and it did as soon as I introduced this second dose so I'm still ok and with no signs of over medication.

What advice did your doctor offer as NDT - Armour - is not well understood by some in mainstream medical despite it being the first, original and successfully used thyroid hormone replacement for the past 100 years ?

Some people take it all at once I have for 5 years :

Some people split their dose and build up 2 doses split throughout the day and what i 'm currently experimenting with.

I'm self medicating as I have been refused any options other than T4 monotherapy so at least you have a doctor prepared to look at option, and Armour may well be the answer, but you need to give yourself some time and please do ask questions and post any blood tests reading and ranges that you would like explained in ordinary language and not medical gooblegook.

New information = new posts so all forums members have the option of helping you and generally speaking a new post is ' old ' and hopefully answered within a couple of days.

[cmm7766]

unfortunately, my doctor didn’t give me any advice about the armor and I didn’t realize I needed any, other than to just take it 30 to 45 minutes before food and drink. What is grains in relation to milligrams? I’m sorry, I’m American, and they have never educated us on the metric system. If, in fact, grains is a metric system term. Anyway, my body is so uncomfortable - cold, achy, depressed & unmotivated; I’m also sneezing constantly. Withdrawing from Synthroid. I will say, that I am not yawning after my cup of coffee, as I was when I was taking the Synthroid. I’m glad I read your response before calling the on-call doctor this morning. I was ready to request a higher dose, but, like you said, I guess it just will take time to get where it needs to be in my body.

[pennyannie in reply to cmm7766]

If this reply was meant for me - you need to reply ensuring you reply and press my reply oblong and my name appears alongside your reply.

I grain of NDT is said to contain trace elements of T1. T2 and calcitonin + a measure of T3 at 9 mcg + a measure of T4 at 38 mcg.

My NDT only comes in 1 grain tablets so i need a pill cutter and take 1 + 1/2 grains so a total dose of T3 x 13.50 and T4 x 57mcg. - many people take much more - some take less but we are all different and need to find what dose suits us best.

However Armour comes in all measures from 15mg ( 1/4 grain ) tablets right through to 300 mg ( 5 grains ) tablets and presume that you have 1 tablet which is actually 1 + 1/2 grain and your guess estimate that this ose was a good staring point for you.

You still need to build slowly and probably why Armour offers measure from 1/4 grain through to 5 grain .

You might like to track your progress with a few physical symptoms - I found this helped me :

You can monitored your progress by listing symptoms - there is a list on the Thyroid UK website who are the charity who support this patient to patient forum : thyroiduk.org

I also tracked my progress on blood pressure, pulse and temperature twice daily and as increased my dose whilst my blood pressure and pulse remained constant I saw my temperature rise from 35.4 to 36.6 where it usually hovers most days now.

Best taken on an empty stomach and wait an hour before eating or drinking anything - if after food - wait a couple of hours so your stomach is free of food for optimal absorption.

Ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D need to be run - low ferritin can cause hair loss - we need more results in this area. as optimal vitamins and minerals = optimal thyroid hormone conversion and full body support.

What coast are you on - surprised to see you here so early ?

[cmm7766 in reply to pennyannie]

I am on the East Coast and have been waking up at about 3 AM and can’t get back to sleep! Another fun thing that I have been dealing with. I will check with my doctor on the ferritin and folate. He seemed to think that my B and D vitamin levels were OK but I will ask him to check them again along with the ferritin and folate!

[pennyannie in reply to cmm7766]

Ok then good - also remember to ask for a copy of these and any results as his opinion as what is OK will definitely not optimal and where we need them to be to help the thyroid hormone replacement medication work well rather than just - ok - and ok doesn't work when hypothyroid and especially without a thyroid.

[cmm7766 in reply to pennyannie]

I will definitely do that. Thank you so much pennyannie, I really appreciate your time and advice!