Hi, I'm new here. I've been hypo for 8 years. Hashis. I've noticed, anecdotally, that people with RAI or Hashi's hypo tend to take more hormones. Probably because they have very low or zero functioning thyroids (especially RAI).
Someone asked if someone is taking something other than Synthroid or Levo. Well, I am. For the last 7 years I took 100mcg Synthroid (T4) and 50mcg Cytoment (T3) because my body wasn't converting the T4 into enough T3. However, in the past several months I switched to Armour dessicated thyroid, which is CHEAP and has been around forever and is not synthetic but rather dessicated swine thyroid. So, it contains all the Ts. You'll hear a lot of doctors disparage it because they claim that the amounts of Ts are inconsistent, etc. However, all pills within a batch are consistent. AND, on the bottle they list the amounts of Ts in that batch. SO, you can adjust the amount you take to give you the amount of T4 and T3 you need from batch to batch.
Right now I take 2 grains, which is 2 60mg pills, 2x a day (7am and 3pm). Each grain has 68mcg of T4 and 9mcg of T3, so that's 136mcg T4 and 18mcg T3. In addition I take 100mcg Synthroid right before bed. So, I am getting a total of 236mcg T4.
I am in the middle of lots of testing because my endo has noticed a rapid change in my need for T4 and T3 and suspects I have PCOS, though we have not yet discussed treatment. So, my dosages might change even further as things progress and PCOS treatment options are considered.
As for symptoms...I had joint pain and plantar fasciatis (sp?) that would not go away on synthetic thyroid hormone. With the Armour those things are GONE! I am just one of those people who do better on a natural source than on a synthetic.
I still have weight problems, though, despite exercise. I am hoping that treatment for PCOS will help me with that....including going on a low carb diet....
Thanks for such a wonderful site!
And consider Armour thyroid if you would like to try a natural source. |