armour

[Lilymayjean]

so I’m looking into starting armour. And I was just wanting to ask a couple of questions,

I am hypo and been on levothyroxine for about 3 years now and still feel so tired, no energy, struggle to loose weight.

This is my recent blood tests (since this test I have upped my dose of thyroxine to 125mg)

I am just doing my research at the moment, does armour genuinely make a difference? Also how would I dose it?

[TiggerMe]

Has the increase made any difference?

These results show you are under- replaced

Free T4 (fT4) 18 pmol/L (12 - 22) 60.0%

Free T3 (fT3) 4.2 pmol/L (3.1 - 6.8) 29.7%

T4:T3 Ratio 4.286 

How are your ferritin, folate, B12 and Vit D levels looking?

Edit, just looked at your previous post showing very low iron, I'd sort this out first

Worth trying a higher dose of T4 first and then possibly adding a little T3 to see how you feel before swapping to Armour which is expensive and may not be the right ratio for you 🤷‍♀️

[pennyannie]

Hello Lilymayjean and welcome to the forum :

Do you know the reason for your diagnosis of hypothyroidism - as there is no information on your Profile page ?

We generally feel best once the T4 is up in the top quadrant of its range as this should, then, convert to a decent level of T3 at around a 1/4 ratio T3/T4 :

Your T4 is at around 60% through its range with your T3 tracking behind at around 30% -

so first I think we need to see a further blood test result for your Free T3 and Free T4 in around 6-8 weeks time to see what impact increasing your dose to125mcg T4 daily has on these results and your symptoms.

No thyroid hormone replacement works well until the core strength vitamins and minerals - those of ferritin , folate, B12 and vitamin d are up and maintained at optimal levels :

I now need to maintain my ferritin at around 100 - folate 20 - active B12 around 125 ( serum B12 500++ ) and vitamin D around 125.

T4 monotherapy works very well for around 70/80 % of those who are prescribed it -

though if without a thyroid, or have had a medical intervention such as a hemi / full thyroidectomy, or RAI thyroid ablation and / or an auto immune disease you could well be struggling and why you are here now -- so the more you are prepared to share the better able we will be to answer questions.

Armour is the leading brand of Natural Desiccated Thyroid, and the original treatment for hypothyroidism, which was and is pig thyroids, dried and ground down into tablets referred to as grains and contains a measure of T3 and T4 in each grain and has been used successfully used to treat hypothyroidisn for over 100 years by many thousands of patients.

Big Pharma launched synthetic T3 and T4 on the back of Natural Desiccated Thyroid in the middle of the last century and then went about gaining market share by fair means or foul and can produce synthetics much cheaper and faster than a naturally sourced product.

At this point in time I don't think we have fully explored building up the T4 dose enough nor the core strength co-factors.

I stayed on T4 monotherapy whilst I build up my core strength vitamins and minerals and then stopped 125 mcg T4 one day and started 1/2 grain of NDT the next day :

I monitored myself on blood pressure, pulse and temperature AM and PM and whilst the first two remained constant I tracked my temperature rise from 35.4 to 36.6 where it is most days now, 6 years on -

Week 2 - added another 1/4 grain

Week 3 - another 1/4 - so forth and so on - i

If you get to 2 grains stay on this dose for 6-8 weeks and then run a blood test to see what's going on - if your T3 hasn't moved much and you are still with symptoms - maybe NDT isn't the best treatment option for :

If your T3 has moved and you feel improved - but not quite ' there yet ' continue low and slow increases until you feel ' that sweet spot ' where things are pretty good all around and if interested run a blood test after 8 weeks as you must let NDT settle in the body - and that's your best dose on NDT at that point in time.

Your blood tests on NDT will ' look different ' in that your TSH will likely be low/suppressed 0.01 - but that's ok - and your T3 will likely be proportionately higher, with the T4 lower than when on T4 monotherapy.

I got to 1 + 3/4 grains bit felt a bit anxious and uncomfortable in my skin so dropped down to the previous dose 1 + 1/2 grains - stayed on that dose 8 weeks and then ran a blood test -

My T3 was 110% through the range with my T4 at just 25% the exact opposite of how my bench mark readings were when on T4 monotherapy.

I only take NDT once a day - some people dose twice about 12 hours apart - ad you need to take on an empty stomach with water and wait an hour orso before eating or drinking anything.

I wake in the night at around .00 am for a toilet break so take my NDT then as it's around 8 hours since I've eaten and 4 hours before I get up - and had the same routine when taking T4 monotherapy.

[Nezzera]

Hi Lilymayjean!

I totally feel your pain. I have experienced the same symptoms while on Levothyroxine. I have Hashimotos.

What I came to understand after joining this forum (Thank you everyone!), is that it is a combination of nutrition, supplements, and the right dosage of levo.

I have since fought my way to an endocrinologist and am now on the right dose. I make sure that I take the supplements necessary for T4 conversion (energy). You can find that information on this site. I also make sure I get plenty of exercise.

I have lost weight and it has stabilized and most of all I have energy enough to tackle daily chores and then some, which, by the way, helps your mood just by itself 😉.

Do your research, be proactive, and pushy if need be, to get what you need from medical personnel.

I wish you success and happiness in your journey.