I take armour thyroid and have done for over 10 yrs now. I was originally prescribed this by a private doctor but further down the rd I found a way to buy Armour myself so I self medicate. I test my levels regularly (probably every 4-6 months) and I’ve felt in a good place for years. That’s until I hit menopause! I attempted HRT and didn’t realise it doesn’t interact with Armour so had to stop as my thyroid levels severely dropped
I’m considering swapping back to levo and T3 because I’d like to take HRT for my brain!!! (Alzheimer’s runs in my family and low oestrogen can trigger it apparently)
So my questions are:
has anyone successfully swapped NDT for levo and how did you do it and how do you feel?
Im on 3.5 grains and wondered if I go onto the levo/t3 equivalent as a straight swap or phase one in and one out?!
I went into armour as I couldn’t get levo to work for me but at the time I was severely deficient in iron, vit d and folate. Over the years I’ve educated myself on diet, lifestyle and vitamins and minerals for hypothyroidism and I feel it could be worth trying t4/t3 combination against this stage of my life
thank you for any responses
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Tweetypie28
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Often starting HRT will trigger the need for an increase in thyroid hormones so be prepared to tweak... I've no experience of NDT though to offer how to switch
Yeah I recently tried an estrogen/prog patch for a week and went crazy hypo, even though apparently the patch shouldn't impact it as much, but in my case, it did...I had bloods checked and my numbers dipped, once stopped after a week they went up again.
I always feel better on NDT vs synthetic combo. Must be due to slow release of ft3 ft4 from Armour.
I rarely post, but when I saw your subject line, wanted to look. I know that for me I need the T3 in Armour because it seems my body doesn't convert T3 to T4. Levo is only T4.
And be VERY careful with HRT. It needs to be done very carefully. I had the wrong advise from a doctor and ultimately I believe it's what led to my having to have a full thyroidectomy which, if it can be avoided, do! Without my thyroid we've never been able to find a dose of anything that keeps my numbers in a good place, especially TSH. I have been forced to take a small dose (keeps changing!) of Levo along with my 60 mg of Armour.
Unfortunately me too. I was rushed into RIT - only to be left with a disabling hypothyroidism. My temperature control is completely out of whack, I am 10 kg heavier and lost my brain (memory is gone and I cannot function normally). Having said that my order was different: antidepressants - RIT - HRT - breast cancer - now hormone blockers. All in the whirlwind of peri menopause, which should have been the initial diagnosis that should have been treated! Thank you doctors.
I was using hrt for 3 months and couldn’t work out why I felt so tired and was gaining weight so had some private thyroid tests and was absolutely gobsmacked to see that both T3 & T4 were sitting on the floor when prior to HRT they were in a really good place. Did this happen to you when you tried HRT?
This is so interesting. I resumed HRT in November, just a few weeks after introducing T3 to the mix. Upon testing in early January, I was surprised to see that my FT3 had actually gone *down*. I wonder whether that’s due to the HRT which, in my naivety, thought would have a negligible interaction because it’s transdermal. Time to rethink.
I’ve been thinking about trying to reduce risk of Alzheimer’s too and doing some research it’s not straightforward when comes to HRT.
Whilst it’s true oestrogen is thought to play an important part in Alzheimer’s the picture is complicated when it comes to supplements. Two large studies into effects of HRT have had two different outcomes. One where it reduced Alzheimer’s and the other where it increased it. alzheimers.org.uk/cc/about-...
There are other things you can do to try and reduce risks of Alzheimer’s that’s more proven such as addressing hearing loss ASAP and exercise. You’re already doing q a bit on this front.
I’m looking at these two books to buy -
Dr Dale Bredesen’s The End of Alzheimer's Programme: The Practical Plan to Prevent and Reverse Cognitive Decline at Any Age: amzn.eu/d/60sXF3D
Also David Perlmutter is a neurologist and overall pretty sensible and has an interesting theory re Uric acid. Some on here will know his book Grain Brain about the effects of wheat, sugar and carbs on brain-
Drop Acid: The Surprising New Science of Uric Acid - The Key to Losing Weight, Controlling Blood Sugar and Achieving Extraordinary Health amzn.eu/d/5mgPiNW
It might be that considering you’re stable on NDT that you might want to consider alternatives to adding in HRT.
Thanks so much for your message and info. I have two of the books you refer to and have taken wheat, grains and sugar out of my diet pretty much completely and I feel it has made a massive difference to my brain. I went to a health retreat recently and they spoke very favourably of taking HRT for Alzheimer’s. It’s so difficult to know which way to go. I wholeheartedly believe that our diet and lifestyle is the most important thing to look at though. I’ve not heard about addressing hearing loss, I shall look into this
I have attempted the swap quite a few times to levo and added t3. I always manage 6-9 months and end up going back to NDT armour. I just feel terrible on levo and nothing but NDT gives me any kind of relief in symptoms.
Everyone’s different. Some people get on well with levo and added t3.
I’m starting to think I’ll stay as I am now 🤔 I am doing very well on Armour and I know I didn’t do well on levo but it was years ago and I know my iron and vit levels weren’t great at the time. However I’d be devastated if I started to feel unwell again on levo so maybe I stay as I am!
Yes I would stay put if you feel great. Because even if you swap you will get symptoms from the chance then it could be months before you get your dose and levels correct. I really struggled on levo and t3 as I just couldn’t get my levels right and I felt dreadful the whole time.
I switched from NDT to T3 using the STTM info. I tried adding in T4 to the mix but it just did not seem to make any difference so gave up and stuck with T3 only. As you say, I had to adjust upwards when starting HRT.
I have no experience of HRT but I did have to come off NDT (Armour 3 grains) and go onto levothyroxine / T3.
I was on 150 mcg of T4, reduced it to 125 mcg and added 2.5mcg T3. After a couple of weeks I increased the T3 to 5mcg.
After 6 weeks, I reduced the T4 again, to 100mcg and increased the T3 to 7.5 mcg. A couple of week after that, I increased the T3 again to 10mcg.
That's where I have stayed for the time being, though I may increase the T3 a little more, depending what my blood test results are like next time.
I have to say though, that I have never felt as well as the year I was on Armour. I only stopped taking it because I was self funding and self sourcing and the cost became unsustainable.
As you are currently on half a grain more than what I used to take, you would need to tweak your own combination of T4 and T3 to find your "sweet spot".
Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m self funding too and whilst I can just about afford it now, I don’t want to be paying this money out for the rest of my life! So at some point I’m going to have to make the switch
HRT oestrogen will have the same effect on all thyroid hormone meds and not just NDT. This is due to an increase in the protein transport carriers that risk binding too much thyroid hormone.
Transdermal gel, spray and patches are meant to have less effect than oral oestrogen that goes through the liver but many members have noticed they require an increase in thyroid meds after starting HRT.
I take Armour & HRT and would always recommend if you are stable on your thyroid meds, they are best left alone.
interesting posts everybody, thank you all! I was on HRT for quite a few years but have stopped full HRT as my doctor and I thought it was long overdue. Have now changed to vaginal oestrogen cream. Does anybody know if this still impacts on thyroid?
Levo doesn't work for me at all... now I live in Portugal and getting dessicated thyroid is not even legal here... it's a crazy struggle and expensive, but natural is such a difference.
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