Wish - have you considered adrenal problems? They can be a complicating factor when starting or increasing thyroid meds. I know very little about what to do for it, but I know that if you want to help your body tolerate the thyroid meds, you need to take as much stress as possible off the adrenals. Get to bed by 10 pm, get 8 hrs of sleep a night, eliminate caffeine and stimulants and try to keep your stress level low. There are supplements and drugs that can help support your adrenals, but I don't know jack about them myself. Wanda does, however. I would suggest making a new thread titled "Problems with Armour" or "Is this an adrenal issue?" and describe your symptoms there. If you have an enlightened doctor, definitely discuss it with him/her.

Cheers,

Friday

Nancy,
I think I started Armour the same time as you. Are you getting better? I'm still feeling cold and Hypo. Been on 3 grains almost 2 weeks. I'm not gonna increase until I wait for this dose to stabalize so I can see how I'm feeling.

BTW, I do split my dose. 2 gr am, 1 gr at lunch and half a grain before bed. One interesting thing - when I take all three grains in the moring or if I skip that night time dose, my body temp drops *immediately* by almost a full degree and after a week, I start feeling mildly hypo again.

One warning, though, if you try taking some at night, make it a small dose, like .5 or 1 grain. This does NOT work for everyone and for some ppl, thyroid at night messes up their sleep.

Cheers,

Friday

Friday,
I have the same symptoms as Wish when I increase meds. I've tried 3 brands now...I'm gonna stick with Armour but its frusterating to go through this everytime I increase. I've had numerous tests done to see if there is anything else going on. Everything comes back normal for 2 years now. Adrenals have been tested too. According to labs I am the picture of perfect health in all areas. The only problem I've ever had (that I'm aware of) is Thyroid disease...but why so much suffering while increasing...shouldn't we start feeling better? In order for wellness to begin does the optimal dose have to be found and does it have to be that one exact dose to relieve symptoms? In the beginning I thought that I'd gradually get better as I increased..however this is not the case.

Friday,
I'm going to try splitting my dose just to see if theres a difference. For the past couple months I've been checking my morning temp. whenever I think of it...and definately during TOM. My temp is usually normal between 98 and 98.6 however I'm always cold and my hands feel very cold. Could something else cause this or is it likely thyroid?

Well, I definitely feel better than I did although it seems like after a week or two at a dose level I start feeling a bit hypo again, so maybe I'm just not at the optimum dose yet. I'm still not losing weight, but I"m not even trying to at the moment.

Sunshne24, if you think getting thyroid treated is difficult, try getting adrenals treated along with thyroid. What adrenal test did you have done? It makes a difference. It's very hard to test cortisol, though, b/c it's a stress hormone. Any worries about the test or getting needles etc. will elevate your levels.

The other problem is that you could be suffering from Adrenal Fatigue, but your doctor won't tell you. Most doctors only test for Addison's disease which is the most extreme form of adrenal disease. If you aren't tolerating your thyroid meds (after the adjustment period) and you aren't sensitive to the fillers, I'd strongly suspect adrenal problems.

You're also having trouble gaining weight, is that correct? Check out Dr. Rind's website. He treats both thyroid and adrenals.... you may find this helpful. I was predominantly Adrenal (mixed with HypoT) and had a difficult time taking thyroid meds. I'm now on cortisol and things are so far going ok.

If you can't get a doctor to order you an ACTH stim test (the gold standard, but difficult to get) to test your cortisol levels, you can always order a 4 point Cortisol (Adrenal Function test) saliva test online. If you're low, diet and lifestyle factors are very important. You may also need to supplement with Isocort (available in some HFS) or Cortef (by prescription).

It's definately something to consider. Don't accept "normal" with the difficulty you're having. Here's some more info you might find helpful. Adrenal Fatigue

If you monitor temps, the best time to do it is right when you wake up, before you get out of bed. That's how I know the small dose at night regulates my temps better. Put a thermometer on your bedside table and di it as soon as the alarm goes off.

Cheers,

Friday

Wanda,
I just recently asked my Endo about adrenals and whether or not mine have been checked. He said they had and they were fine. He mentioned ACTH and I asked him if my cortisol was ok...he said it was. Apparently he checked a year ago when I was even worse than I am now.

Just to be sure my doc really did take that test I'm gonna request the results so I can see for myself.
BTW....how is the ATCH test taken? I know my only labs at that time were blood tests. If its a blood test than I probably took it.

Sunshne24, if you saw an Endo, chances are he was only testing for Addison's Disease unless he's a REALLY enlightened Endo. I'm skeptical. Did I already mention that adrenal fatigue is harder to get diagnosed than hypoT?

If you had an ACTH, you'd know. Here's a description, but ignore the "normal" values b/c they are for full blown Addison's, not Adrenal Fatigue. Sadly, most people with Addison's only get diagnosed when they go into Adrenal Crisis -- how the hell can anyone expect to be diagnosed with Adrenal Fatigue?

Anyway, they take your blood, then they inject ACTH into you and you wait around and get blood drawn 1/2 hr and 1 hr later. The most difficult part is getting the interpretation. Again, most only check for Addisons.

I'm assuming that you only had serum cortisol tested, which really isn't a great test. Most Endos take a cortisol blood test and only test ACTH if the blood test is off. Definately get your test results including TSH, FT3 and FT4, if you haven't already. Something is wrong.

If your tests all come back normal and you have symptoms of adrenal fatigue (do you?), then I would get someone to treat you based on symptoms, which means trying to find an appropriate doctor. As I said, there are difficulties with each and every test when testing adrenal function.

Probably not a journey you want to take right now, but it bears looking into.

I guess I never had the ACTH test because I read about it and its nothing I've ever had done. I also looked at the symptom list....I have a few symptoms...but not many. I don't really get dizzy ever and fatigue is not overwhelming. I mainly have weight loss, I think I'm not digesting my food too well. I also have edema (especially in the face), head and neck pain, occasional blurred vision and food sensitivities. I'm getting tested for the food sensitivies tomorrow. Maybe that will give me some answers.

I am new to this whole scene, I've recently done a lot of reading about Wilson' s syndrom and T3 therapy. I have, to say the least, many of the symptoms. However, there is no "Dr. Wilson" approved Dr, in my area--or state, bi-state or tri-state area. Could you fill me in a little on what exactly this armour is?

There's a lot of skepticism about Dr. Wilson's or T3 only therapy. I wouldn't necessarily go that route first.

Armour is natural thyroid taken from pigs. It contains everything a human thyroid gland would produce like T1-T7 and calcitonin (which is good for bones).