Armour thyroid hormone
Common Questions and Answers about Armour thyroid hormone
armour-thyroid
s take Armour, and it is definitely a suitable alternative to synthetic hormones. No thyroid hormone replacement therapy either increases nor decreases antibodies.
One word of caution...I have been reading posts lately from people who are on Armour. Apparently they have changed their formula recently, and a lot of current users do not like what they have done to it. You might look at some recent posts regarding Armour and see what they have to say.
It is much more likely that in response to starting on Armour, your TSH level dropped and your output of natural thyroid hormone was also reduced. Serum thyroid levels are the sum of both natural thyroid hormone and thyroid medication. So, we hear quite often of a member starting on a low dose of thyroid med and actually feeling no better (or even worse) because there was no improvement in Free T4 and Free T3 levels.
t experience classic hyperthyroid symptoms after severe over-dosing by my GP on Armour, indicate Peripheral Thyroid Hormone Resistance (myopathy being lack of thyroid hormone in my tissues)?
My neurologist (not the Dr. who is dosing my thyroid) is looking into all possibilities, including referring me to muscle specialist or a thyroid one, etc..., so I will be printing off your reply for supplying to him.
Thanks again.
This combination leads to continued hypo symptoms until you are properly medicated and essentially getting a full daily replacement amount of thyroid hormone. FT3 is the thyroid hormone that largely regulates metabolism and many other body functions. FT4 acts as a storage hormone, until conversion to FT3. TSH is a pituitary hormone that causes no symptoms directly.
Your metabolism may have gotten a sudden boost from the thyroid meds. Thyroid hormone regulates metabolism, which is why so many people who are hypothyroid struggle to lose weight. Since Armour contains T3, the active thyroid hormone, it is easier to feel its effects in a couple of days versus levothyroxine, which is the storage hormone T4 only.
Only when TSH is suppressed enough to no longer stimulate natural thyroid hormone production, will serum thyroid levels reflect further increases in thyroid medication.
A good thyroid doctor will treat a hypothyroid patient clinically (for symptoms), by testing and adjusting Free T4 and Free T3 as needed to relieve symptoms. Symptom relief should be all important, not just test results, and especially not TSH results.
The Armour website has a Physician locator for assisting patients in finding a doctor that will prescribe Armour. It's a great place to start.
Your current doctor is very wrong- the medications are VERY different. Some people may not notice any difference between one medication or the other but others may notice huge differences between them.
TSH is not a "thyroid level" because it's not a thyroid hormone, it's a pituitary hormone and is merely an "indicator" of thyroid function. The accepted range for TSH is currently 0.3-3.0.
Have you had other tests done - such as Free T3 and Free T4, also? If so, please post the results, along with the lab's reference ranges. Those are the actual thyroid hormones and knowing those levels will help members comment more fully on your situation.
When thyroid hormone levels are low, TSH rises and when thyroid hormone levels are high TSH decreases - in a perfect world.
Is TSH the test that was performed? Was that the only test that was done? TSH should never be used as the sole criteria for prescribing and adjusting thyroid medication. If that's what your doctor is doing, s/he's going you a great disservice.
You should not only ask for, you should demand, the Free T3 and Free T4 tests.
Have you ever heard of the Armour Thyroid causing your pituitary glad to fair? My PA refuses to prescribe Armour and seems to think it is what's causing my TSH level to be extremely low(.03). But I think it's because I was taking 300 mcg of sythroid before my old PA put me back on 180mcg. I've been back on Armour for 2 months now and I feel 200% better than I ever did on the synthetic.
Such a dose does not actually increase your serum thyroid hormone levels because the med will cause TSH to go down, which then reduces the output of natural thyroid hormone from the gland. Since serum thyroid levels are the sum of both natural thyroid hormone and thyroid medication, the net result of a small starting dose is little to no change in serum thyroid levels.
There are no naturally occuring substances that mimic levoxyl. Armour thyroid is the closest to this-- this is ground up and powdered thyroid gland from either a pig or cow. It is very hard to keep a stable thyroid function with armour thyroid as the amount of thyroid hormone per dose can vary slightly.
Hope this helps!
Hi, Which one do you think is better, synthroid which is artificial hormone or armour thyroid which is bioidentical. Is anyone taking armour thyroid? Can anyone compare it's effect.
First - thyroid supplementation is for an underactive thyroid, bot an overactive thyroid. Both Armour Thyroid and levothyroxine are thyroid supplements - levothyroxine is T4, which is the form of hormone produced by the thyroid gland, and which is converted to the active T3 form. Armour Thyroid contains both T4 and T3. Some patients don't seem to convert T4 to T3 quite the way they should and this may explain why some feel better on Armour Thyroid.
//www.medhelp.org/posts/Thyroid-Disorders/Thyroid-Hormone-Resistance/show/1202364?personal_page_id=287727#post_5499329
It contains references to other sites that might be interesting to you. Unfortunately, the poster kind of disappeared. It was a very enlightening discussion, and she seemed to have a lot of information on the subject. I've tried to contact her to continue the discussion, but with no luck.
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