Transitioning to Armour Thyroid

[Jojozo]

Hi everyone, I was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid at 21 and I've also got Hashimoto's.

I recently changed from Levo/T3 to Armour, under the guidance of a lovely private endo, and I'm currently on three and a half grains per day, split into two doses.

I wondered if anyone else has had side effects from doing the same? I feel like I've got flu and I'm very weak and flushy with terrible brain fog. I would put it down to menopause, but I had a hysterectomy there years ago, so I'm pretty sure I'm out the other side.

Just to confuse things more, I have Fibromyalgia, which I know can cause some of the same symptoms, so this could also be a flare.

Is it a case of waiting for my body to get used to the new meds? I've only been on them for a week and a half now.

My latest thyroid readings were as follows. I've also attached a screenshot, and I've upped my folate as a result.

TSH - 0.007 (0.270 - 4.2 mIU/L)

FT3 - 5.4 (3.1 - 6.8 pmol/L)

FT4 - 19 (12-22 pmol/L)

Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies - 55.7 (0-34 kIU/L)

Thanks so much! x

[pennyannie]

Hello Jojozo :

I believe you are taking too much Armour too soon - with any form of thyroid hormone replacement you go low and slow.

After only 1+1/2 weeks your body will have some synthetic T4 stores running down and added to that we have 3 +1/2 grains of NDT which breaks down as 31.50 mcg T3 + 133 mcg T4 on a daily basis :

How does this compare to your previous synthetic T3/T4 daily combo ?

Do you have any readings for ferritin and vitamin D as both these as well as B12 and folate need to be maintained at optimal for good thyroid hormone conversion.

People with Hashimoto's tend to have stomach and gut issues which need to be rectified before optimal conversion of thyroid hormones can happen - intolerance especially to gluten, dairy, wheat, are common areas and certain food stuffs maybe needed to be avoided.

Many forum members follow the research and suggestions of Dr Izabella Wentz who writes as thyroidpharmacist.com

[Jojozo in reply to pennyannie]

Thanks so much for your reply! I was advised to stop my other meds (125mg Levothyroxine and 30-mg T3) and go straight onto Armour. Maybe I jumped the gun?

One thing I’ve noticed is that I’m finding it hard to swallow. But as I said, I’m not great generally. I’m spending most of my time in bed at the moment, which is so frustrating.

All my other vitamin levels were fine, thankfully. I’m seeing a gut specialist as the moment because I have terrible problems, and I have done for years. I’ll look into Dr Isabella Wentz as well. Thank you.

[pennyannie in reply to Jojozo]

It seems a similar dose on paper - but in my limited experience - NDT works very differently in the body compared to synthetics.

But presume this dose wasn't working for you anyway otherwise you wouldn't have sought a different treatment option.

Try dropping down to 1 grain AM and PM and stay there for a good couple of weeks before looking to change anything - it's difficult and it's never a straight path when you have other health issues to contend with at the same time .

When I switched to NDT it helped me understand what was going on within my body by taking physical measures of my blood pressure, pulse and body temperature AM and PM -

and whilst these first 2 stayed constant I tracked my body temperature rise from 35.4 to 36.6 where is hovers today some 6 years later - and I felt invested doing something - while waiting for symptoms relief and a blood test result.

Yes, with gut issues - these will be impairing thyroid hormone absorption and conversion.

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

[Jojozo in reply to pennyannie]

Thank you once again! I'll lower the dose, start taking some readings and hope things improve soon.

Did NDT work well for you once your body got use to it? At the moment, I feel like I've gone backwards in terms of healing. I've been asleep all afternoon and I'm looking for some hope 😅

Hopefully my folate will improve now I'm supplementing. My vitamin D is 120, my folate is 7.3 and my B12 is 302.

[pennyannie in reply to Jojozo]

Well I'm with Graves Disease and post RAI thyroid ablation in 2005 - so coming at this from a very different place to you :

I was on T4 monotherapy for some 10 years and started becoming very unwell with what I believe the consequences of ingesting this RAI toxic substance but had no help nor understanding from the NHS -

I was refused both T3 and NDT in 2017 - and becoming more and more unwell staying in the system so decided to do it for myself.

Spent a good year building up the core strength vitamins and minerals and then switched from 125mcg T4 daily to NDT and it was a very easy transition and I knew I was going in the right direction as relatively quickly the heaviness of head and brain fog lifted with my cognitive function restored, which for me, the most vital of all the symptoms hypothyroidism can impose on one.

[Venicefan in reply to Jojozo]

Your b12 level is too low., and may well be causing symptoms. Your results say this is a total b12 result. This needs to be over 500 to avoid nerve damage.

If you join the Pernicious Anaemia group here on HealthUnlocked they can advise you on improving your level.

[Jojozo in reply to Venicefan]

Thank you! Weirdly, my B12 levels used to be sky-high - well over 1000 - but they've come down.

[ZeilaJee]

I’ve got Hashi and have been on Armour since the beginning. But as doses needed increasing it had to be done extremely slowly. It sounds like far too big a jump to me to put you on so large a dose at the beginning and I agree with what the others have said. It’ll take many weeks for your body to settle down on a lower dose. Then move up by 1/4 grain every 3 weeks or so. It’ll be worth the journey once you’re on the right dose - stick with it but it’s going to take a few months I would say. Temperature for me has been a good guide. If I’m cold I am ready for a little more.

[Jojozo in reply to ZeilaJee]

Thank you very much. It does feel like my body is in a bit of shock! I might email my specialist.

[Alsome]

I’m also on Amour,, I feel so much better,, going in 2 yrs. No negative symptoms,, and this time,