Armour thyroid liver
Common Questions and Answers about Armour thyroid liver
armour-thyroid
I have Hosimoto's and I've taken Armour Thyroid since 2000 and will never take anything else. Armour Thyroid is all natural - not synthetic. The doctor who first put me on it only prescribed Armour. He didn't like the long term affects that could be caused by taking synthetics. I had surgery in 2002 and 2/3'ds of my thyroid removed. The surgeon wanted to take me off Armour and put me on Synthroid but I wouldn't let him.
Then my dosage was reduced and changed back to synthroid and I became hypo with a TSH of 28. Finally, I made my endo switch my meds to Armour Thyroid. I changed endos and I have been on Armour now for 3 months. I am still working on finding my optimum dose, but my new endo goes slow with the medication changes.
I take my Armour sublingually, so it does not go through my liver. You may want to find a doc that will prescribe Armour.
So many - that lose their function either to surgery - RAI - or natural Hashimoto disease, killing it off - and placed on synthetic T4 only find that now the liver is relied upon to do ALL the job that their thyroid did too. The thyroid releases direct T3 - no one can argue that. So when the gland is no longer functioning -no more direct T3 is coming from that and the amount of thyroid T3 hormone - is now dependant on the liver and the T4 meds.
Yes, you can take Armour sublingually.
Your testing has been very inadequate. Total T3 is considered an obsolete test, pretty much a waste of money. Your FT4 (the only one you've had) on 3/16 was excellent, just a little over midrange. Your doctor should be testing FT3, FT4 and TSH every time you have blood drawn. Your latest FT3 on 8/29 was just about at midrange.
I’m a chronic hypothyroidism with Armour Thyroid often times im found at 14 to 18 but generally would keep it under 2. Curios if pituitary is the underlying evil.
-Liver recently purged/detoxed itself after doc overdosed me on Metformin. I could not eat enough for the 2 per day along with an amyrl too. Diet totally reset. Muscle fatigue/wasting developed. Had to stop meds.
Can you please post your actual thyroid blood test results? Be sure to include reference ranges, as those vary lab to lab and have to come from your own report.
There are a lot of people who do better on Armour, so it's always an option. There are also a lot of others that have tried it and gone back to synthroid/levothyroxine. You can always try it and if it doesn't make you feel better, you can switch back.
Different people have different responses to the different desiccated meds, like Armour and NatureThroid. There are subtle differences between them, and you really have to try them for yourself and see which is best for you. The active ingredients in both are very similar.
You've only been on Armour a short time, and the initial dose is seldom the dose we end up on. Most doctors retest in about 4-6 weeks, then make dosage adjustments.
The "NEW" Armour, from what I have seen posted, is not working like the old formula. Who knows why they changed it? Maybe to save $$, that always seems to be the case? I have been searching and it seems T4 alone, which is Synthroid or Levoxyl, alone is not the answer for me. I am going to a new doctor to see if I can try the NatureThroid for better results as I see it looks like it has a good response, so perhaps see if you mom and her doctor might want to try it?
What you need is Armour Thyroid. Synthroid only has T4 in it. Often people with hypothyroidism need the added T3 that is found only in Armour Thyroid. Supposedly, your body is supposed to convert T4 the inactive thyroid hormone into the active hormone T3, however, many hypothyroid people's bodies can't convert T4 to T3. Many doctors don't know this. If you have a dead or killed thyroid or have had your thyroid removed, there is no way your body can convert T4 to T3.
My physician changed me from Levothyroxin to Armour Thyroid as I was having severe joint pain. I had been on 125mcg of the Levothyroxin for a couple of years. When I was switched she put me on Armour thyroid 15mg for 2 weeks then 30 mg thereafter.(Not nearly a high enough dose compared to my dose of Levothyroxin) I remained on that dose for about 3 months and then went in to get my lab work which included Thyroid profile and Cholesterol Profile.
t know I was supposed to take more to equal old Armour so still felt the same as on reformulated Armour. Took Synthroid to please my husband and mother who only know about it and convinced me I might feel better and couldn't fee worse on Synthroid). I did feel worse. Not sure if because Endo had me cold turkey NT and start Synthroid (so no T3 at all). I had a NT pills left and took 130 one morning when I felt like I was going crazy and within 2 hrs felt normal again.
I take 105mg Armour @4:30am everyday. Here lately when I take it I feel like dog doodie. I'm sluggish, extremely fatigued, can't get out of bed...I just don't feel good. I have no appetite, hair falling out, dry brittle hair/nails, can't concentrate/focus, memory problems, swollen fingers, legs, face, heart palpitations & the depression & anxiety ( mostly depression) is off the charts!! But tgen on days when I don't take it, I average @ 21k steps on my pedometer.
Had my labs drawn yesterday. My doctor called telling me nothing's changed.
Here are my labs from yesterday:
10/8/14 (Levo .88mcg)
TSH .010 (.36-3.74)
FT3 3.6 (2.18-3.98)
FT4 1.2 (.76-1.46)
8/2014 (these were taken 6 weeks after starting Levothyroxine .88mcg)
TSH .020 (.36-3.74)
FT3 3.6 (2.18-3.98)
FT4 1.2 (.76-1.46)
I do have days where I'm tired and freezing and get palpitations but my doctor told me it's due to the Hashi, so I will have up and down days.
Synthroid is only a synthetic t4 medication. It is a storage hormone that must be converted within the body (brain, liver, kidneys, thyroid gland and in the tissues of the body) to the active t3 hormone. T3 is needed for proper function at the cellular level. If a person's body is not able to convert enough of the t4 into t3, then this is where the problem exsist. You probably have a conversion issue. Have your doctor check your freet3 and freet4 levels, please!
However it will give you a good TSH range and free T4 range but free T3 will be low every time. In 2020 I tried taking Armour thyroid and for 6 weeks I felt fantastic because in addition of my free t4(1.5) i was getting good amount of free t3 from armour (60 mg of armour) and after those 6 weeks, I become hypothyroid for the next 4 months because the doctor did not know how to adjust the dosage and I was getting high level of free t3 and my free t4 was bottom., 0.89.
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