Hi hoping someone can help me with this.I was looking at my last testing while im waiting for my new test results, i am taking armour thyroid i was on 90mg and she switched me higher to 120 mg wich is two grains after these results, she did a full panel of hormones and everything because i was having, depression,loss of libido ect for wich i got put on progesterone cream just recently, But i have noticed an increase in hair loss since being put on the 120mg armour, can this be caused by an increase in meds and will it go away? My doctor knows nothing about armour thyroid and has tried to talk me back to synthroid wich i had hellish hairloss with and had seemd to be getting better with the armour at last then she upped it. i have poored over the net trying to research it better. these are my last test results before the increase
T3 3.1
T4 0.93
tsh 4.168
any help would be greatly apreaciated especially if anyone knows anything about being on armour thyroid.

I did notice with the increase i felt more normal and had energy when usualy i dont have any at all. my diagnoses is hashimotos thyroiditis

TSH of 4 is too high for most people. You probably need more thyroid hormone. You didn't post the ranges on the T3 and T4 so I can't help you on those, I don't have them memorized.

I don't think the armor is causing the hairloss. It's probably just hair that was ready to fall out anyway from low thyroid. It'll just take awhile after you get to the right doseage for it to stop.

Your T4 is far too low, which is obviously causing your TSH to be at 4. Your T3 looks good. You want your T4 and T3 high and your TSH low (my endocronologist said that an optimal TSH should be between .3 and .8). I hope this helps! You might also want to talk to your doctor about Synthroid as this works wonders for my T4. What you are taking is taken from pigs and according to my endocronologist, the dosage is not as reliable as the synthetic form (Synthroid). Just something to think about. Jill

Your endo is spouting nonsense, DrH. It's Endocrinologist Urban Legend I think. This is debunked on every thyroid site on the internet. Even synthroid and the generics have had recalls due to dose problems and armour has USP oversight just like synthroid does.

However... that said, I prefer synthroid for myself. There's just too much T3 in Armour and it makes me feel hyper.

Interesting! I guess I should not be giving advice based on anecdotal information. At any rate, I also take Cytomel for my T3. Jill

T3 3.1
T4 0.93
tsh 4.168

was the last test results i think i posted it up there, i did try synthroid but i had a huge amount of hairloss really bad! so i went on armour after reading how well it does with the hairloss. i was doing better and the hairloss was slowing but then she upped it because of my test resuklts, ( these ones) and it started again, not as badly as the synthroid but i did have it managed before with nu hair and evening primrose as supplements, it just gets so confusing with the tsh and the t4 and t3 stuff, thanks for any help

Post the ranges too, not just the numbers. So for instance range on TSH would be something like 0 - 5.5. Should be on the test with your numbers.

tsh result 4.168
refrence range 0.350-5.500
t4 result 0.93
ref range 0.61-1.76
t3 result 3.1
ref range 2.3-4.2

The new reference range, that few labs have adopted, is 3.0 is the cut off. Anyway, it isn't surprising you feel yucky at 4. It can be very HARD to get doctors to treat you if you're under 5.5 though. You just need to find a good doctor.

I'm relatively new to thyroid science, but have experienced the meds and the results.

Nae, you want the labs to show your TSH under 1. T3 and T4 should be in the high side of their respective range. But first and foremost, your dose should be driven by your symptoms!

Do you take your temp? Morning before you get out of bed, and again in the afternoon about 3. Take them at the same time everyday and write results down.

Are you tired? Cold? Fatigued? Constipated? Hair loss? Depressed? These are symptoms of hypo.

I dose by my symptoms first; body temp second; and supported by lab results third. Hope this helps.

Hi. New member here. I also have Hashimoto's. I have gotten a lot of information about thyroid stuff from a website called "Stop the Thyroid Madness"...they have a lot of info about Hashimoto's, thyroid info, dosing of Armour, etc. You might want to look there.

I also just posted in the links to thyroid sites about some exciting new treatment with low dose Naltrexone for those with Hashimotos. Seems to stop the attack of the antibodies. You should check it out.

I looked for info on this dug and this is what i found on wikipedia

Naltrexone is an opioid receptor antagonist used primarily in the management of alcohol dependence and opioid dependence. It is marketed in generic form as its hydrochloride salt, naltrexone hydrochloride, and marketed under the trade names Revia and Depade. In some countries including the United States, an extended-release formulation is marketed under the trade name Vivitrol. It should not be confused with naloxone, which is used in emergency cases of overdose rather than for longer-term dependence control.

That is entirely true Nae. This particular use of Naltrexone is off label. In other words, the doctors who are using in this particular manner are doing so without explicit FDA approval. However, Naltrexone is a FDA approved drug. Currently there are several clinical trials taking place. To be absolutely safe, one could wait until all the trials are done and the lengthy expensive FDA approval process has taken place. However, given that it could take years and possibly decades, it is also possible that the autoimmune attack on your thyroid could have destroyed it by then. Any benefit from this therapy, at that point, would be moot.

The low dose Naltrexone therapy uses compounding pharmacies to make doses in 1.5 mg as opposed to the 50 mg used for opiate therapy. The normal dosage for autoimmune diseases is 1.5mg-4.5mg. At the high levels, there is a danger of liver and kidney damage. At the low dose, no side effects have been reported.

Low dose naltrexone has helped multiple autoimmune disease from lupus to MS to AIDS and some cancers. There are some reporting success for Hashimoto's as well as it is also an autoimmune disease.

Low dose naltrexone works by raising beta-endorphin levels in the body. It is hypothesized that a weak immune system is what causes the autoimmune attacks and that by making the immune system stronger, the attacks stop. I first learned of this theory in Dr. Atkins Vita Nutrient several years ago.

However, as I stated, I put the links in the other thread. Here:
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=367091

Any therapy you pursue should be done well-informed. Further reading, study and the opinion of a respected physician are prudent.

well im waiting for my doctor visit for my new results in the meantime ive gone back to a regimen of evening primrose,gnc fish oil omega 3, and nu hair, ive already noticed a major drastic change in my hair in less than 9 days i have small hairs coming up about a quarter of an inch to a half and inch so far, and my hair got really curly instead of the thyroid frizzies and limpness. thanks everyone for all the info, i feel more armed after reading alot of the links and ideas for dealing with my doctor and my dosages