Armour Thyroid: How do I get it back?

jatomzmom · 06-16-2008, 12:40 AM

Okay, to make a long story short....
I had irregular periods from the time I started them (age 14). My body craved carbs all the time and that's what I lived on. I had horrible hypoglycemia, that at times would make me dry heave. In 2004 I went to a doctor complaining about my cycle and blood sugar problems and she checked my thyroid and said i was borderline and had me take temps for 2 weeks. Then she gave me Armour Thyroid. It was also the first month TTC and we became pregnant. I remained on the armour the entire time I was pregnant and for 10 months afterwards. In that 10 months my periods were perfectly normal. I didn't know if it was b/c of the Armour or b/c of having a baby so I went off of it. By this time my doctor had left for a private practice and I went to a new doctor. Well, no suprise, after coming of the Armour my periods were horrible and the new doctor said I was "borderline" and wouldn't give it back, so I just went back on birth control pills. In Oct 2007 we decided to TTC #2 and well my periods have been CRAZY and I have not been able to conceive. I finally talked an endo into giving me Synthroid but he wouldn't give me Armour. The Synthroid didn't help. Then I was diagnosed with PCOS. A month ago I started Clomid and I am on CD23 with No O. I am not spotting (which is a first for me at this point, I usually start spotting on day 16 and then it won't go away without progesterone to start a cycle). I am really really wanting my Armour back and don't know how to get a doctor to give it to me. I had my tSH tested and it was 3.6 but they didn't run T3 or T4 testing. If I took it for a year and a half with my lowest point being 1.3, why won't they give it to me again. I fear it is the only way I can become pregnant again. I just want to try it for a few months and if I don't ovulate, I will be fine giving it up forever. Any suggestions?

crayons42 · 06-16-2008, 04:54 PM

Hi jatomzmom:

It took me awhile to convience my doctor that I wanted to be on Armour Thyroid instead of Synthroid. I feel better on Armour and I have no idea what the big deal is, the patient should be allowed to decide what they are on especially if they have had success with it before. My recommendation to you is see if you can locate the original doctor (do an internet search of her name) who gave you Armour Thyroid in the first place and see if they can talk with your current doctor. Do you see a reproductive endocrinologist or a regular endo doc? I wish you luck! Let me know what you find out! Oh by the way, how did you get the PCOS avatar? I can not locate it and I want to use it for my avatar.

Thanks,
crayons42 aka Caryn

Quote:

Originally Posted by jatomzmom

Okay, to make a long story short....
I had irregular periods from the time I started them (age 14). My body craved carbs all the time and that's what I lived on. I had horrible hypoglycemia, that at times would make me dry heave. In 2004 I went to a doctor complaining about my cycle and blood sugar problems and she checked my thyroid and said i was borderline and had me take temps for 2 weeks. Then she gave me Armour Thyroid. It was also the first month TTC and we became pregnant. I remained on the armour the entire time I was pregnant and for 10 months afterwards. In that 10 months my periods were perfectly normal. I didn't know if it was b/c of the Armour or b/c of having a baby so I went off of it. By this time my doctor had left for a private practice and I went to a new doctor. Well, no suprise, after coming of the Armour my periods were horrible and the new doctor said I was "borderline" and wouldn't give it back, so I just went back on birth control pills. In Oct 2007 we decided to TTC #2 and well my periods have been CRAZY and I have not been able to conceive. I finally talked an endo into giving me Synthroid but he wouldn't give me Armour. The Synthroid didn't help. Then I was diagnosed with PCOS. A month ago I started Clomid and I am on CD23 with No O. I am not spotting (which is a first for me at this point, I usually start spotting on day 16 and then it won't go away without progesterone to start a cycle). I am really really wanting my Armour back and don't know how to get a doctor to give it to me. I had my tSH tested and it was 3.6 but they didn't run T3 or T4 testing. If I took it for a year and a half with my lowest point being 1.3, why won't they give it to me again. I fear it is the only way I can become pregnant again. I just want to try it for a few months and if I don't ovulate, I will be fine giving it up forever. Any suggestions?

jatomzmom · 06-16-2008, 07:07 PM

The avatar is the default avatar. I have not ever changed it.
The original doctor is actually a Nurse Practitioner who has her doctorate and she is now in private practice. I can go to her but she doesn't accept insurance, so it'd be out of pocket. I am just going to an OBGYN right now (that's who gave me my ultrasound and diagnosed me with PCOS. I am about to just pay the money and go to the old practitioner just to see if I can get regulated again.

Somewhat Damaged · 06-17-2008, 12:29 AM

Many people on Armour have to specifically seek out a doctor that will prescribe it for them. There is a lot of misinformation out there about Armour and unfortunately a lot of docs buy into that. Add in the pressure from the drug companies that make the synthetics and it results in a difficult time finding someone that will prescribe it.

You can try the Forest Pharmaceuticals website. They have a feature where you can search for a doc near you that prescribes it: http://www.armourthyroid.com/con_phLocator.aspx

Sometimes you'll have luck with a naturopathic or alternative medicine doctor. Some older doctors may also tend to prescribe it, too.

Finally, a lot of people take Armour (or any thyroid meds) for extended periods... sometimes for life. I would suggest that once you get back on it, you stay on it and get regular blood tests, at which point you can adjust the dose. I've found that docs are more likely to continue a prescription if you're currently taking a med

It's fairly inexpensive, so it shouldn't be a huge financial burden.

jatomzmom · 06-17-2008, 12:32 AM

Yes, I definitely should not have let them talk me into seeing if it was the armour that was keeping me regular. I should have just stayed on it. Lesson learned.

vicandla · 06-18-2008, 11:37 PM

Like mentioned above you will have to do all the research and take it to the drs, My DD and I are both Hypo and it took me several drs to finally find someone to treat us both on Armour, The safe bet would be pay the money go see the NP you were seeing before it will benefit you in the long run.

on another note I have to say Drs just don't want to prescribe it because in my opinion they get a kick back from the other makers of the T4 only drugs, They also don't want to prescribe Armour because they weren't taught that they were taught the T4 only drugs are the best, But you sure could bet if they felt like we did they would be taking Armour, I wish you luck and hope you get back on your meds soon.

Turtlegirl68 · 07-03-2008, 04:31 PM

I agree with the pressure coming from pharmaceutical companies but there are other reasons too. However, without your new doc testing your T3 and T4 levels and trying the Armour, the other reasons aren't really valid. I convinced my doctor I wanted to try Armour, but my body didn't respond well at all. I had not enough of this and too much of that. If you had success with it previously your doctor should definately give it a try. Try a different doctor, one that cares what you have to say and how you actually feel. Of course that's a lot easier said than done but it's possible. Good luck and keep us posted!