My Armour experience... so far.

[La-Calla0039]

Today I've been taking Armour for seven days. I have felt better with more energy. I've actually felt normal for the first time in .......well, I can't remember when. I'm a little afraid to toot my horn until I've taken it for a while and had some lab work down the road. One really positive thing, I started my period today and I haven't had one since April 5th-13th. I haven't cramped this much in...forever... though.

With my fingers crossed I can say the fog has been lifted like a curtain, depression is gone and I'm hoping things continue to improve.

On Synthroid I've have had no quality of life. My legs felt like they had lead in them, my hair comes out in handfuls, depression, irregular heartbeat due to the anxiety I was experiencing, ear pain (still have it but it seems better), ears ringing (still have it, not better yet).

Bottom line is, I felt so horribly tired, depressed and anxious that I haven't been able to function or face people but I need to get a job, though the way I was I wouldn't be able to perform a job or physically hold out to do it.

When I would try to interact socially I would barely even be able to follow the conversation much less remember it. Now my memory is so much better already. When my husband asks me about something I read or heard on TV or about a customer's lumber order, the first thing I do is panic and think, 'Oh no! I know I won't be able to remember it!', but then it comes to me, it's there and what a relief and so wonderful to be able to function mentally.

Has anyone else had similar experiences with Synthroid or Armour?

By the way, I was taking 100 mcg of Synthroid (since January 2005) and now I'm taking 90 mg of Armour.

Lisa

[mags77]

I have been prescribed Armour too, actually 120mg. I have been really bad about taking it, but after reading your post, I'll start again tomorrow!

[Turtlegirl68]

I actually had the opposite experience. I was on Armour and felt horrible! It never made me feel better! But then I started Synthroid and now I feel almost normal again! Of course different medicines work in different ways on different people! I'm glad you found what seems to be working for you though! Keep us updated!

[JourneykLa]

I also take Armour Thyroid. My hair was falling out before I took it and it I couldn't get it to grow back. I started taking the Armour and I have my nice thick hair back. Of course it took a while, but I'm glad it worked. Also I had the brain fog. It drove me crazy. I felt like I was in slow motion. Every day before I started taking it I wanted to cry because I had to get out of bed and go to work. I just felt exhausted all the time. I was freezing all the time. Not just cold, but chilled to the bone. I'd have to lay under a bunch of blankets and an electric blanket just to get warm. I've been on it for about 9 months and the improvement has been wonderful. I hope you continue to feel better on your Armour. It's made such a difference for me.

Take care,
Kelli

[La-Calla0039]

I may have spoke too soon about feeling so great. This is the second day of my period that I'm pretty sure was brought on by the Armour. The first day I had cramps worse than I have ever had. Today they haven't been nearly as bad but I am having a very heavy period. I also feel a little nauseated but sooooo extremely tired, drowsy and head-achy. It may not be right for me after all. I'm not sure what I will do to get my life back if the Armour falls through. <sigh>

On a side note, I recently read up on natural progesterone cream. Has anyone used it and if so what were your experiences?

Lisa

[CarrieBerry]

I'm glad that you are/were feeling better! It sounds like you really found what works for you and within only a week you can notice the difference. I've read a lot that it can take 4-6 weeks to notice.

As for the very heavy period, that happens when you haven't had one for awhile. I hadn't had one for several months and when I did get it WOW was it heavy and LONG. I bet a lot of your symptoms are from your period like the headache, and being tired (from losing blood). I hope you feel better soon.

I'm on 100 mcg of Levothyroxine and I felt good for a little while, and then I started to feel really icky again. I think I need to get my levels checked and my dosage might need to be upped. If that isn't the problem I'm going to see if my doctor will try Armour.

I have ear pain too, just in my left ear. What does yours feel like? Did you talk with your doctor about it? I think I am going to make an appointment with my doctor soon. I tried to look up some info but really couldn't find anything.

Best of luck and keep us posted on how you are doing.

[La-Calla0039]

I'm glad that you are/were feeling better! It sounds like you really found what works for you and within only a week you can notice the difference. I've read a lot that it can take 4-6 weeks to notice.

As for the very heavy period, that happens when you haven't had one for awhile. I hadn't had one for several months and when I did get it WOW was it heavy and LONG. I bet a lot of your symptoms are from your period like the headache, and being tired (from losing blood). I hope you feel better soon.

I'm on 100 mcg of Levothyroxine and I felt good for a little while, and then I started to feel really icky again. I think I need to get my levels checked and my dosage might need to be upped. If that isn't the problem I'm going to see if my doctor will try Armour.

I have ear pain too, just in my left ear. What does yours feel like? Did you talk with your doctor about it? I think I am going to make an appointment with my doctor soon. I tried to look up some info but really couldn't find anything.

Best of luck and keep us posted on how you are doing.

I'm feeling a little better today. Yesterday was horrible though. The pharmacy said it would take me some time to adjust to the Armour so I'm trying to wait it out.

I was like that on Synthroid. I would feel good and then I just didn't anymore. The more time went by the worse I felt, until I felt better when my TSH was 13! Then it was time to do something different.

I just had my thyroid levels checked from the Synthroid before I started Armour and my TSH was 1.67. I really think for me that was too low but my Dr. always insisted that was great. I once had my levels checked, because it was that time, while I happened to be experiencing tolerable hypo symptoms and it was between 3 and 4. She said that was too high and upped my dosage of Levo.

Just to throw something in, I think the pharmacy changing the sources of their Levothyroxine had an affect too. I use Walgreens and I asked them why the change in where my Levo comes from and they said it's cheaper. They changed 3 times over a few months. I told my Dr. about it and she said to tell them it was important I got my Levo from the same company every month. Well, they had to special order it for me because they had changed companies again. I did that for while but then I had to tell them everytime I needed a refill which got old so finally I just took what they had. I could tell a difference from each manufacturer. The one that originally made me feel better I could never get again.

About the ear pain...my Dr. says it's from the small amount of fluid in my ears. She says it's clear fluid which doesn't mean infection, it's just always there and causes a dull pain every now and then. It's not extremely painful or anything but it's there along with the constant ear ringing I've had since September of last year after a battle with a sinus infection. I've had my ears ring before while I had a sinus infection but the ringing would always go away with the sinus infection after I took medication.

I have been doing a lot of research on Hypothyroidism, Synthroid and Armour. I came to the conclusion if you are lucky enough to have access to a doctor that has an open mind, who was trained to use or at least consider both main stream medicines and natural medicines, you are blessed indeed.

Two doctors I like are Dr. Mercola and Dr. John R. Lee (passed away in 2003).
They both believe the best way to address hyothyroidism is through T4 AND T3 therapy. The follwoing is from Dr. Mercola's website which was taken from the NEJM .......

NEJM Study Proves Armour Thyroid Better Than Synthroid

Patients with hypothyroidism show greater improvements in mood and brain function if they receive treatment Armour thyroid rather than Synthroid (thyroxiine). Hypothyroidism, where the gland has ceased to function or been removed, is usually treated with daily doses of Synthroid. But the researchers found that substituting Armour thyroid led to improvements in mood and in neuropsychological functioning.

Not all tissues that need thyroid hormone are equally able to convert thyroxine to triiodothyronine, the active form of the hormone. But most patients with hypothyroidism (reduced thyroid function) are treated only with thyroxine. On 6 of 17 measures of mood and cognition -- a catchall term that refers to language, learning and memory -- the patients scored better after receiving Armour thyroid than after receiving Synthroid. No score was better after Synthroid than after combination treatment. The authors also detected biochemical evidence that thyroid hormone action was greater after treatment with Armour thyroid. The patients who were on Armour thyroid had significantly higher serum concentrations of sex hormone-binding globulin

The New England Journal of Medicine 1999;340:424-429, 469-470.

COMMENT: Extracts of animal thyroid tissue, first used in 1892, contained both thyroxine and triiodothyronine (Armour thyroid) and were the only available treatment for hypothyroidism for some 50 years. Because of concern about their variable potency, these extracts have been considered obsolete for some time by all but a few natural prescribers. This is a MAJOR article. I did not realize that natural therapies would penetrate this far this quickly. I am very surprised that this was published in NEJM. If one reads the editorial, you will find that it recommends that patient NOT switch from Synthroid to Armour thyroid because more research needs to be done and "the majority of patients taking Synthroid "have no complaints about their medication." If your doctor or endocrinologist refuses to give you Armour thyroid instead of Synthroid, you can use this article to show him that it is indeed better. Synthroid (thryoxine) is RARELY ever the best choice for hypothyroid patients.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...r-thyroid.aspx


But there are conventional doctors that just flip their wig when you mention Armour. What is the deal? Do they really get paid for pushing Synthroid as I have read that some people believe? If that's the case, greed is more important to our doctors than their patients health and happiness.

My blood work also came back with high cholesterol. My doctor asked me if I had taken statins in the past and I told her no and I never would. So after she saw I was a lost cause there she said I could just get some Niacin and stop eating fried food. Why not tell me to get the niacin to begin with?

I could go on about this but I'll stop here......hehe.

Lisa

[Turtlegirl68]

Lisa~I'm glad you are starting to feel better again today! Everybody has different responses to medication but I will say that after 3 months with no AF, then I started the Synthroid and she came, whew, it was horrible! Very heavy flow, tired, bloated, extremely moody and cramps out of this world! But since my levels have started to level out and AF is normal, so are the symptoms. Hopefully this is the case for you! While Armour may not have worked for me I have heard great success stories form people who have used it! That was a very interesting article by the way! If I hadn't already tried the Armour I probably would after readin that! I think honestly most doctors flip because no, they don't get the endorsements from Armour like they do Synthroid, but if you are lucky enough to have a doctor like mine, she was right with why she didn't want me on it but still let me experience it for myself instead of acting high and mighty! And on the subject of the brand name vs. generic, that is one thing she insists on! Well I will stop rambling, keep us updated on your progress!

[Lolilange]

I am so excited to hear about Armour! I have not heard of it before....nor investigated other treatments! I have been on Synthroid since 1998, with various dosages. I had half of my thyroid removed in 2006 due to a small growth and at the time the surgeon told me my other half was extremely diseased! I battle depression, exhaustion, weight gain.....all the fun stuff! Hearing about Armour gives me a new hope! I always thought it was my anti-depressants, but maybe it's by thyroid med I need to change! Thank you so much for the information about Armour! Let's hope my endocrinologist is on board!
Please keep us posted on how things are going!

[Cyndellatr]

Hi Lisa,

I have used Progesterone cream, and it really seemed to help while i was using it....however I stupidly stopped using it and my periods are all messed up again, but it seems there are other issues going on i went for some blood tests and i might actually have hypothyroidism. Its easy to use but i always would forget when to take it....so i put a reminder on my phone to remember. Good Luck hope it works for u.

[alaskaflygirl]

I had my entire thyroid removed in 2004 due to cancer, and tried Synthroid first for total thyroid hormone replacement. For some reason (presumably the binding agents within the pill), my Crohn's disease kept flaring up, and my body didn't seem to process the drug like it should- my TSH was always all over the place regardless of the dosage. My metastatic cancer (spread to my neck lymph nodes, lungs, and thymus) also gradually disappeared after I switched, reportedly due to the effectiveness of Armour.

So, against the wishes of my doctors, I demanded to be switched to Armour. My TSH immediately stabalized, my energy levels began to increase, and I regained control of my Crohn's.

There was an interesting story a while back regarding the quality of Armour. Most docs I've run into repeat the story that was circulating: there was a kerfuffle at the pharmaceutical plant, and the dosage within each pill was way off. Turns out the rumors were actually a smear campaign by the producers of synthetic thyroid hormones, who tried to get the spotlight off of themselves for their poor quality practices by demonizing the makers of Armour. I don't have any literature to back up this claim, but it was told to me by the #2 thyroid cancer specialist in the country at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville.

Please give your body at least six weeks to adjust to the Armour before giving up hope.

[Cyndellatr]

I just was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, i went to the doctors yesterday and I was armed with several articles to show my doctor the new guidelines and also articles to show that I wanted to try Armour instead of Synthroid. To my surprise I didn't even need to show them to the doctor. He suggested Synthroid, I asked about Armour and after explaining the inconsistencies in Armour, he said i could take which ever i wanted. So I started Armour today. I will update in a week or so to see how i am doing.

[angelbgirl29]

i was diagonsed with hypo when i was 10 days old. my doctor put me on Armour and advised my parents that i should never go off it and try other meds. well, for 15 years, everything was fine. my dosages increased each year during growth and my levels were always normal. then when i was 15 my doctor since birth retired. my new endo suggested Synthroid and in fact would not prescribe the Armour for me. i don't know what my parents were thinking.... but it just did not work out for me. i was immediately in serious trouble, my levels were crazy. TSH > 100 at one point. i then switched to Levoxyl (which i have been told is EXACTLY the same as Synthroid) but worked for me for 10 years. then i added Cytomel to the Levoxyl for extra support, did that for a year. finally, a year ago i went back on the Armour and i finally feel good again. my original doctor was right, at least for me that Armour is the way to go.

[liloh99]

I'm on the lowest dose of Armour maybe 60 grams? No real side effect but I did get AF for the first time with out BCP or Prometruim in 3 years. very little cramping sounds crazy but wish there was more. Was on cytomel for 2 months but doc said my T4 was also low so i needed to switch.

[Cyndellatr]

Liloh....How long were you on the meds before af showed up?