I'm Westin Childs D. I don't practice medicine anymore and instead specialize in helping people like YOU who have thyroid problems, hormone imbalances, and weight loss resistance. I love to write and share what I've learned over the years. I also happen to formulate the best supplements on the market well, at least in my opinion!
You can read more about my own personal health journey and why I am so passionate about what I do here. Benn on Armour thyroid 5 months now. My hair is coming back, my fibromyalgia is gone and I am now sleeping hrs instead of hrs max. I definitely agree! Health is the most important thing we have in the world and so we should spend some energy on it, at least in my opinion. My thyroid lab results keep coming back low.
Uped my dose and I got worse. I feel like stopping my thyroid medication altogether. To figure it out you need to make sure that you are getting a complete thyroid lab panel. I take 10mg of progesterone on days monthly. What could be causing these symptoms out of nowhere? Dear Dr.
I had thyroid cancer in 09 removal and ablation. I have had all kinds of issues with the generic levothyroxine since I am highly sensitive to almost all meds I take for other ailments. I was put on Armour back in and it worked great. I was diagnosed with free T3 syndrome, went on 30mg at that time and stayed on that dose for 2yrs.
I started feeling fatigued, gained a huge amount of weight, hair loss and the labs showed my TSH was almost My cancer developed into the soft tissue of my neck and anything over 10 for my TSH is dangerous and my cancer could come back.
As a result of these labs my PCP put me on Armour 60 mg. I never recovered. I am still extremely fatigued, never lost that weight and actually gained 30lb more.
I am now off Armour, because I felt that it was not helping. I gradually cut down my usage and then stopped. I am not feeling any better, very fatigued, insomnia has gotten worse, aches and pains everywhere and persistent swelling in my feet and ankles, which makes it hard to walk. I am still on Synthroid mcg, but I feel like I am off daily. I have many health issues and trying to pinpoint any of my symptoms being related to thyroid is hard. My recent labs showed my TSH was 0.
I always get TSH, free T3 drawn every 6 months or so. I too fall into the category of insurance not covering Armour. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much! Dawn Campbell Texas. Most people who have their thyroid removed need some form of T3 medication along with T4. If you are taking Synthroid then you are only getting T4 without any T3.
Armour does have T3, but not a lot, so your dose of T3 within Armour was very small. I feel that my armour thyroid dose is way off. I also just learned I can split my dose that has helped with one of my problems. I lay down anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour and a half. The longer I sleep the second time the better I feel.
I noticed months back approximately 12 hours after my morning dose I would get so hot, I only sweat from the neck up, but my body inside felt real, so instead take mg in the am I take mg, then about hrs later I take the 30 mg, and the hotness and sweating throughout the night stopped. I also take 15 mg Mon, Wed, and Friday. I now take 15mg every day. I know my thyroid is off he thinks I need more I think less. Can you tell me what is going on? Thank you and especially thanks for the article.
The first place to start is with a complete panel which includes free T3 and reverse T3. From there you can figure out what needs to be done. I have been on 60mg of Armour for 5 weeks. I could tell the foggy head had disappeared but I was still so tired. So I had my labs done 4 days ago and am now on mg and I already feel better. My TSH was My doctor said since I am at the high end and still so tired is why we are trying me on the mg but I am taking it in 2 doses a day.
I really enjoyed reading this article. Thank you. I been on armour 60mg for one month and brought my TSH level from 3. Before I started having hypothyroidism my level was always in 1. Now that I brought my level down to 1. My doctor recommends that I continue with the 60mg since it was affective for me. I was wondering if this recommendation is ideal since I am worried that with continuing the same dosage my level will decrease and I end up with hypothyroidism.
I sleep 8 hours a night and I still feel tired every inch of my body just feels exhausted even breathing makes me tired, is this normal? Any suggestions on getting over this crazy exhaustion would be helpful. Great articles, informative and helpful. I am taking Levothyroxine 25 mcg. My thyroid tests were all normal except for my Thyroperoxidase antibody is How can I get this back to normal. I was on 75mg of Levothyroxine for three years thinking my Dr knew what was best.
Having Myxoedema symptoms all symptoms minus a coma for 8 years and continuing within the three years and still today. I asked to be put on Armour. I was given just 30mg. All my test results show up as normal but my symptoms scream severe hypothyroid. It took me 5 months to lose 35 lbs. I used to be about to lose 10 to 15 pounds in a month. Stuck with just 35 lost now for past 3 months. Not budging a pound except to gain when my pitting edema is thicker around my calves.
I can carry 10lbs of water weight from one day to the next as the scale keeps within a ten pounds range. I eat very healthy fats, no dairy, and no gluten. Keto and intermittent fasting likely increased my RT3. Tired of feeling tired and joint and back pain. Electrolytes are good, no inflammation, no autoimmune antibodies show up, though could be a false negative.
I had to request my RT3. Only thing that shows up for an out of range result. In response my Dr upped my 75mg of Levo to Kept my Armour at 30mg. Even the pharmacist said my diuretic electrolyte friendly dose was less than half the normal dose.
Pitting edema is getting quite old and rather uncomfortable. Especially with the weather getting warmer as I only swell up more where it feels like my skin is going to pop! With RT3. Is Armour helpful? I want to feel normal, have energy and live more fully instead of compromising my life all the time!
If your question is whether or not Armour thyroid can be used if you have high rT3 the answer is that it can potentially be helpful in that situation but not always. Is it safe to take a thyroid support supplement with Amour thyroid?
I know I do not need extra iodine, or at least I do not think I do. I do know though when I eat shrimp I feel good afterward. I wonder if it really affects me.? I do not get that often tho. I know that armour took my brain fog away. I have been on thyroid medicine for 43 years. First Synthroid, for about 35 years. Then it was not helping at all.
I finally found a Dr. To try me on Armour. It made a huge difference. We have to change my dose every now and then. But I am really overweight. I hold fluid a lot. I am not a sedentary person. I am moving a lot. So I have a battle. All the time. I did have low adrenal function at one time and with supplements and eating correctly it healed. I try to read and learn all I can. I just do not apply everything I read. I get in a slump and then try to talk myself into starting a diet.
A vicious cycle all the time. Thank you for your expertise. It really depends on your body but, yes, in general, it is safe to take supplements with thyroid medication.
I think that giving birth to four children in six years is what threw me into hypothyroidism. I used to fall asleep, like a mini nap, while driving or talking to colleagues at work. I thought I was just overextended. I could not control the fatigue. Later, I sought help from a Body Logic doctor for other perimenopause symptoms. I gradually titrated dose up to 3. I no longer fall asleep in the middle of a conversation. I feel like me again.
I am working with my family doctor now, and he gets a little upset when my TSH is less than 1, but I explain that the T3, T4 and Reverse T3 are in appropriate range. Obviously I am not expecting to see any changes yet but how long do you recommend before upping the dose? My doctor said 4 weeks but I feel like that would be too long. Thank you!! I base dosing off of a number of factors including the history of the patient, their current dose of thyroid medication, and so on.
Are you currently taking Armour thyroid? Do you feel that your dose is optimal? Are you experiencing any side effects? Are you sensitive to T3? Hi Dr. Week old Lab: TSH: 0. Lab from a few years ago: Still taking 2 grains TSH 0. Lab from 50mcg Synthroid TSH: 3. Thank you for this wonderful website! The problem is most docs freak out when they see my labs, my TSH is completely suppressed between the meds and tumor, my T3 and T4 usually come back high. Fast forward I now live in France, they do not sell Armour or ND meds here, though they will write it for me, a huge hassle getting it.
I was taking 2. So I have gone from Is there a chart somewhere that shows how different labs are when taking Armour? I am also most likely going to have to switch to Lev. The last time I got put on T4 only I crashed and was also very sick. I hope you can somehow help me, point me in the right direction of what labs should be when taking Armour, I think the values are more in line with taking just T4 meds, not the ND ones.
Thank you for any help you can provide. Unfortunately, I do not have any such chart on my blog but I can add it to the list of future blog posts. My questions. Does calcitonin have anything to do with calcium as measured for bone density test?
Would it impact arthritis? What does T2 do? Your article talks about iron impacting absorption of Armour and I assume other thyroid meds , would having unusual iron results cause absorption issues? Like high iron levels, though after a series of test it was determined my iron was not high, the unusual part keeps me wondering.
What could one do for better absorption? Is it just the quality or is it different from Armour? Over the counter thyroid supplements, if manufactured in the United States, do not contain any active hormone whereas Armour thyroid contains a standardized concentration of T4 and T3 per grain.
Over the counter supplements are not a substitute for thyroid medications because they work differently and contain different ingredients. I have been taking 30 mg of Armour thyroid in the morning and at night and getting bioidentical hormone pellets. I also take a drop of nascent iodine in the morning with my thryoid. I am still exhausted most of the time and unable to lose weight, even with a healthy diet and exercise. How long should I wait before drinking coffee and having supplements?
In addition, weight loss, particularly when it comes to thyroid medication, is dose-dependent. Hello, I transitioned from Synthroid to Armour after 24 years use of Synthroid.
I changed to a second doctor after that, then a third, who both want me back on Synthroid. I feel better on Armour, but admittedly was overdosed by the first doctor and had heart palps. My issue is that I am a thryoid cancer survivor. Current doctor wants my TSH under 0. He also has lowered me to mg Armour a day and says he wants T3 lower and T4 higher, and is concerned that my TSH is too low. Incidentally, my blood glucose A1C rose to 6. My question is would I necessarily feel better on a divided dose of Armour, and have more reasonable lab numbers?
Last two doctors complain that their lab ranges dictate my T4 should be increased and my T3 should be decreased. I really believe some of these doctors are shills for pharmaceutical companies or just plain lazy. Really fed up after two surgeries and 26 years of thyroid medication side effects. The major problem is the paradigm treatment which puts major emphasis on the TSH and T4. This is why all doctors seem to be obsessed with these values even if altering them causes obvious symptoms of hypothyroidism in patients.
A little backstory. I was put on Armour thyroid from the start and did well on mg for about 12 years. I saw a new Endo about 3. My labs were perfect. My body, however, was not. I gained 25 lbs. At first, I chalked it up to getting older and other supplements, but one day I decided to try not taking my thyroid meds and almost instantly noticed a difference in how I felt.
With a small tweak to my diet, I have already lost 15 of the 25 lbs. That takes me to today. I just got my 8 week check on my labs, and my FT4 was at. Any suggestions on next steps? I was on 75mcg Levothyroxine which had no effect on my health but levels of T4 and TSH were in range not optimal. I went private for a full range of blood tests and am now on supplementation and have managed to secure some 60mg NDT I Have both Thiroyd and Thyroid-S to trial.
As I have no access to personal advice on NDT dosage I am wondering where to start, and whether to also continue with a lowered dose of Levothyroxine? Do I stick at this to see how I get on? Add in some Levothyroxine as the NDT will not be providing enough? Add in some Levothyroxine and lower the NDT slightly? Free T3: 3. Been on it for several years now, currently on 2 grains x twice a day, and I have some life back. Keep fighting for it! I was too high on armour thyroid.
The dr cut me down to 45 from I have to take. It does not sem to be enough. It kind of depends on what you were feeling when your dose was too high. It may not actually have been too high. Ihave had the issue since starting thyroid meds yrs ago. I was diagnosed 6 weeks ago. Yes I have been working up and now at No I am still running body temp around 96 degrees and freezing all the time. I am very sensitive to thyroid meds. They make me speed. I have plenty of energy.
I was on 60 mg of armour, it was too much. I was cut cut down to I am now taking a little under My recent blood work my t 4 was low other levels were normal. I am in the process of fin a G P mine retired. The one i went too was totally wrong on my dose. Childs, I was diagnosed hyper with hot nodules and had RAI that made me hypo in As a result, my hypo symptoms along with my cholesterol, triglycerides, and sugars sky-rocketed despite a healthy lifestyle, and while going through severe life stress I had a heart attack in at age After that, struggling with debilitating side effects from heart and cholesterol meds, I found a functional med dr willing to listen to my symptoms, switch me to higher dose of NP thyroid, and manage my heart disease naturally.
I grew healthier and stronger but still struggled with weight gain, fatigue, and hair loss so he slowly upped my dose to a total of mg of NP split 2Xs per day. My labs 3 hours after my morning dose were: TSH. But I already feel awful. Most of what I read says an abnormal heartbeat is a sign of being over-medicated, but it makes no sense since it started happening after lowering the dose, and I feel so hypo. Have you ever seen symptoms that appear so reversed? Is she right about taking time to adjust?
Thanks much! I have a general question for you. I get these daytime fatigue naps around pm. My labs showed me low on 2. I am going to do labs again at 5 weeks. My question is, do you ever see people on 3. Just seems a little unusual since the clinical paperwork on armour says most people will need grains with 3 being the exception and im talking 4…….
I had my thyroid ablated about 20 years ago. I was put on NP Thyroid 2 grains and it was perfect then they changed the formulary and went to Armour Thyroid. And felt great. Since switching to Armour I experience infrequent brain fog. I need to get my FT3 higher. Childs Your website is wonderful and a great reference. I started seeing an endocrinologist in February of this year. I felt like a lawyer pleading a case to the endo.
Although Armour Thyroid helps with the effects of hypothyroidism , the side effects that it might cause may be equally as troublesome. If your side effect is severe, such as trouble breathing or a seizure, seek emergency medical help immediately. Myxedema is a result of undiagnosed or untreated hypothyroidism, or when someone stops taking their thyroid supplements. Learn more. Understand the link between your stress levels and your thyroid.
Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Armour Thyroid Side Effects. Thyroid medication, such as Armour Thyroid, can also cause side effects, including: irregular menstrual periods anxiety shallow breathing.
What is Armour Thyroid? Side effects of Armour Thyroid medication. Drug interactions. Other precautions. How should I take it? Alternatives to Armour Thyroid.
The takeaway. Read this next. The Effects of Hypothyroidism on the Body. Medically reviewed by Jason C. Baker, MD. Medically reviewed by Kelly Wood, MD. Recognizing the Symptoms of Myxedema.
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