Armour thyroid and my most recent blood work

[Tinkerbell_84]

Hi All

I have finally taken the plung after my blood work getting worse and after alot of anxiety ordered my Armour Thyroid.

I recieved my tablets and I am so confused.

I didn't want to take levothyroxine for my own reasons, but I see the front of the package says it contains levothyroxine. I thought Armour medication was all natural.

I am very confused and now don't want to take it.

Any advice warmly welcombed from a new Hashimoto's patient

My most recent blood work

TSH 5.23 Range (0.27-4.2)

Free T3 5.1 (3.1-6.8)

T4 14.2 (12-22)

Thyroglobulin antibodies 31 (0-115)

Thyroid peroxidase antibodies 68.1 (0-34)

Vitamins

Ferritin 143 range 30-169

I've stopped supplements as it was 8 6 months ago.

Folate 19.6 (>7)

B12 150 (>37)

Vit D 74.2 (50-250) I am currently taking supplements . I did stop and they dropped.

[tattybogle]

don't worry, Tinkerbell it's just the way they have written it ,

you are correct , the T4 in armour comes from the pigs thyroid gland ( so 'natural' ) and so does the T3 .

the T4 in levothyroxine tablets is synthetic T4 ( made in a factory )

i don 't know why they have written it as "Levothyroxine" on the label rather than just writing "thyroxine".

[Tinkerbell_84 in reply to tattybogle]

Oh thank you I thought it was me as I am new to Hashimoto's and trying to understand everything is just so confusing. I didn't want to take Levothyroxine at all so this has put me completely off seeing this on the label of it is wrong.

Thanks so much for explaining it to me 🥰🥰

[tattybogle in reply to Tinkerbell_84]

if you don't want to take replacement thyroid hormones ( no matter whether they are taken from a pigs thyroid gland, or they are synthetic ) then you don't have to .

having raised TPOab doesn't mean you have to take anything .

the only reason for taking thyroid hormone replacement is

a) to fix hypothyroidism (low T4 / T3 levels ).

b) fix the symptoms of hypothyroidism .

if symptoms of hypothyroidism are not currently bothering you , and if your TSH / fT4 results are still hovering around the normal range, then you don't have to take anything yet .... but you do have high TPOab , so it is quite likely that your t4/T3 / TSH results will worsen over time, and at some point you may develop symptoms of hypothyroidism .

( note ~ having said that , if TSH gets over about 8/9/10 ish , or, if fT4 / fT3 are well below range, then it's different ... in that case thyroid hormone really should be taken even if there are no symptoms)

if symptoms of hypothyroidism ARE already bothering you , then surely you'd want to take thyroid hormone replacement to try and improve the symptoms ?

once you're at a point where YOU want to try some form of thyroid hormone replacement , then it's just a case of choosing which one to try ... most of us start on synthetic Levothyroxine from NHS because it works for many, it's easy to get hold of , and it's free. .. some people do ok on that , some don't do so well and have to go looking for alternatives .Armour/ NDT has a long track record of working very well ... but it doesn't suit everyone.

you should not feel forced into taking anything at all until you want to try it . if you don't want to take anything yet , that's ok , you can just 'watch and wait' and keep an eye on your symptoms / and blood results for a few years.

[helvella Administrator in reply to tattybogle]

The whole reason for "levothyroxine" becoming the recommended International Non-proprietary Name was to tighten up on possible confusion (rINN).

There are two versions of thyroxine - levo- and dextro-. The levo/L and dextro/D indicating which way the molecule is assembled - left-hand twist or right-hand twist.

Long ago, dextro- was used and seemed to have some slightly different effects (and needed much higher doses to have any effect). But the adverse reactions/side effects included serious heart issues in some patients. Hence, it largely disappeared.

While the name L-thyroxine was widely used, when that lost the L- it became ambiguous. And, if anyone did find a reason to use dextro- it would have been potentially very confusing.

The British National Formulary changed the British Approved Name from thyroxine to levothyroxine in 1998. It was intended that a complete changeover would be completed within five years. Later, or possibly overlapping in time, the rINN also changed.

But the substance we produce is every bit as much L-/levo-/levothyroxine as the synthetic product. It is custom and expectation that causes the confusion now!

If they expressed it as tetraiodothyronine, I suspect many would be saying "but I thought it contained thyroxine (or T4)".

[helvella Administrator]

They use the word "levothyroxine" for ALL T4 - tetraiodothyronine.

Similarly, they use the word "liothyronine" for ALL T3 - triiodothyronine.

The synthetic T4 is "levothyroxine sodium" or, in one full chemical version of its name, "3,3',5,5''-Tetraiodo-L-thyronine sodium".

The synthetic T3 is "liothyronine sodium" or, in the case of Thybon Henning, "liothyronine hydrochloride" or, in one full chemical version of its name, "3,3',5-Triiodo-L-thyronine sodium".

Other than the sodium (or hydrochloride), the synthetic versions are chemically identical to what thyroid glands produce.

While I appreciate that levothyroxine and liothyronine might appear to mislead, I think the intention is to use nearly the same names for the actual hormones as are used for the synthetic products in order to try to AVOID confusion.

This also seems to help if anyone if is trying to compare a dose of desiccated thyroid with doses of synthetic thyroid hormones. (They are not entirely equivalent but can give some idea of likely doses.)

We have had many questions over the years as to why members have received triiodothyronine when they ordered or were prescribed liothyronine. Or vice versa. Or T3.

And the "levo" prefix has the same meaning as the "-L-" in the full chemical names. It distinguishes it from the "dextro" forms which behave differently. It does not imply where the substance was produced - in a thyroid land or a chemical factory.

Remember too that Armour Thyroid is very far from being all natural. The thyroid glands are processed and have a diluent added to ensure consistent potency. Then several other ingredients are used and processed in conventional pharmaceutical facilities to make tablets.

I support the choice of taking Armour Thyroid or other desiccated thyroid products. But my view is that the choice needs to be based on which works better rather than how natural they are.

[Tinkerbell_84 in reply to helvella]

Oh thank you very much for explaining it is very confusing. As in my appointment with consultant I said I didn't want to take Levothyroxine. So when I saw this on the label I was put off straight away.

My recent blood work saw improvement without taking anything by just getting my vitamins up to optimal.

I am a worrier and I am leaving now towards not taking these tablets.

Has anyone managed it by just diet alone. 🥰

[helvella Administrator in reply to Tinkerbell_84]

Don't worry - you are not the first to ask and be confused.

Only if your hypothyroidism is due to an in adequate intake of something. Not if you have autoimmune thyroid disease, or many other causes.

We do see members who seem to do OK by taking various things. But most end up taking thyroid hormone medication at some point.

It is very difficult to know whether there is, in the end, any advantage in putting off the start point.

Many members have low iron, B12, folate, vitamin D, etc. And it is good to check and ensure all are managed so as to achieve levels that are good for you.

But the many "thyroid supplements" out there are mostly not a good idea.

And you have to be careful about supplementing too much. A classic being selenium. You need enough. But not too much. And there have been several members who eventually were tested and found their selenium levels were much too high to the point of getting symptoms.

If you are for some reason eating very poorly, then improving diet can help. But if you eating reasonably OK and just thinking about tweaking it, then I doubt it will work.

The most difficult one is iodine because you really need an appropriate test before changing anything.

[Tinkerbell_84 in reply to helvella]

Thank you so much for explaining.

I have been so stressed as i really dont want to take levothyroxine. Is there any other medications that dont contain this?

I do eat fairly well but I could eat better. I don't eat anything with soya don't eat ready meals. Don't smoke or drink alcohol. Don't drink fizzy drinks. I do like chocolate but I eat dark and nothing containing soya.

I've upped my protein also.

Is there tests for selenium and Iodine to do

I was going to start taking the Selenium but is is it best to test first I was going to start on a low dose? I've never taken before.

TSH 5.23 Range (0.27-4.2)Free T3 5.1 (3.1-6.8)

T4 14.2 (12-22)

Thyroglobulin antibodies 31 (0-115)

Thyroid peroxidase antibodies 68.1 (0-34)

Vitamins

Ferritin 143 range 30-169

I've stopped supplements as it was 8 6 months ago.

Folate 19.6 (>7)

B12 150 (>37)

Vit D 74.2 (50-250) I am currently taking supplements . I did stop and they dropped.

This is my most recent blood work.

Thank you again for being so kind as I am really struggling x

[helvella Administrator in reply to Tinkerbell_84]

Yes - there are tests for both selenium and iodine.

Selenium levels are very dependent on the soil where your food is grown. Even within the UK, this can vary quite a bit.

They do tend to cost quite a bit if done privately.

Suggest you post a separate post and ask for which labs are recommended if you intend to go that way.