Re: T3 excess (bone density aside)

[Guest guest]

Thanks for all the info, gals!

Even with the osteoperosis issue aside... there is no denying

that Armour puts out a lot more T3 than a normal human body

has. This is why my question was twofold: any problems w/bone

density and is there anyone here whose T3 levels have gone into

the hyper range after months of treatment w/Armour, and how

have you felt? Here is a who doc believes in mixing Armour with

T4 (sounds like a great idea to me) and also in monitoring the

T1, AND.. adjusting thyroid dosage for seasonal changes. (He

also refutes the osteoperosis danger.) Here's the link + some

excerpts. Opinions??? I kind of like his thinking so far... maybe I'll

get the book...

http://www.kblanchardmd.com/patients.html

--

I also disagree with the use of Armour thyroid by itself for the

same reason, that it does not contain a physiologic balance of

T4 to T3. The human thyroid produces roughly 95% T4 and 5%

T3. Armour thyroid is an animal thyroid that contains 80%

T4/20% T3. People who take Armour thyroid usually feel better

for a short period of time because they were deficient in T3 but,

after a period of time, the Armour thyroid will cause a T4-T3

imbalance at tissue level and a variety of undesired symptoms

can then develop over time. One can get a better balance by

giving some T4 with the Armour.

I believe that the proper treatment of hypothyroidism with

physiologic amount ofT4 and TI is critical in managing many

complex medical problems at mid-life. If treatment is carefully

monitored, there are no adverse effects. Management of

hypothyroidism with T4 and TI is significantly more complicated

than the standard 100% T4 therapy that has been used for the

past 30 years or so. TI dosage must be monitored and altered

precisely for optimum effect and this must be done by the use of

compounded T3 time-release capsules. These are almost

always made in units of 1OO capsules for practical reasons.

Patients are initially seen every three months in order to adjust

the dosage for the next prescription of T3. Another practice that

will eventually become standard in this field is the adjustment of

thyroid dosage for seasonal change, i.e., higher dosage in the

colder weather and reduced dosage in the warmer weather.

[Guest guest]

Well, I know lots of folks who get along better on the Armour alone, I'm

just not one of them. I know people who would never feel better on anything

but Armour and the like. I love my Armour, but in my case, can't take it

alone. ly, it all turns to T3 anyway, and T4 can't be used in it's

form at the tissue level, without being changed to T3. I just think that

when there's a thyroid still sitting in there, it's hard to know with some

people how to adjust the med because we may not know whether the gland

itself is underproducing both, or just one. Therefore, it's time to play

with the dosage adjustments, possibly adding T4 to the mix, etc....longer

adjustment periods for some folks, others not. Other folks do better on

nothing but straight T3, hence, only conversion problems, or tissue

saturation problems. Everyone is so different.

Tx

Re: T3 excess (bone density aside)

> Thanks for all the info, gals!

>

> Even with the osteoperosis issue aside... there is no denying

> that Armour puts out a lot more T3 than a normal human body

> has. This is why my question was twofold: any problems w/bone

> density and is there anyone here whose T3 levels have gone into

> the hyper range after months of treatment w/Armour, and how

> have you felt? Here is a who doc believes in mixing Armour with

> T4 (sounds like a great idea to me) and also in monitoring the

> T1, AND.. adjusting thyroid dosage for seasonal changes. (He

> also refutes the osteoperosis danger.) Here's the link + some

> excerpts. Opinions??? I kind of like his thinking so far... maybe I'll

> get the book...

>

> http://www.kblanchardmd.com/patients.html

>

>

>

> --

>

> I also disagree with the use of Armour thyroid by itself for the

> same reason, that it does not contain a physiologic balance of

> T4 to T3. The human thyroid produces roughly 95% T4 and 5%

> T3. Armour thyroid is an animal thyroid that contains 80%

> T4/20% T3. People who take Armour thyroid usually feel better

> for a short period of time because they were deficient in T3 but,

> after a period of time, the Armour thyroid will cause a T4-T3

> imbalance at tissue level and a variety of undesired symptoms

> can then develop over time. One can get a better balance by

> giving some T4 with the Armour.

>

> I believe that the proper treatment of hypothyroidism with

> physiologic amount ofT4 and TI is critical in managing many

> complex medical problems at mid-life. If treatment is carefully

> monitored, there are no adverse effects. Management of

> hypothyroidism with T4 and TI is significantly more complicated

> than the standard 100% T4 therapy that has been used for the

> past 30 years or so. TI dosage must be monitored and altered

> precisely for optimum effect and this must be done by the use of

> compounded T3 time-release capsules. These are almost

> always made in units of 1OO capsules for practical reasons.

> Patients are initially seen every three months in order to adjust

> the dosage for the next prescription of T3. Another practice that

> will eventually become standard in this field is the adjustment of

> thyroid dosage for seasonal change, i.e., higher dosage in the

> colder weather and reduced dosage in the warmer weather.

[Guest guest]

Hi, ... not sure I understand about T4 only being used after

turning to T3... I thought the T3 taken orally was just to somehow

help the T4 be assimilated?? No?

If all hormone turns into T3 in our bloodstream before it's used

(or, rather, if the only usable part is T3), then why do they test for

free T4 and why do docs prescribe T4 mainly in the first place? In

your opinion if the T4 was low and T3 high, would that be OK?

Just wondering...

In total agreement with the tenet that we're all different -- it's one

of the core philosophies of this list... thanks for your

contributions!

> Well, I know lots of folks who get along better on the Armour

alone, I'm

> just not one of them. I know people who would never feel

better on anything

> but Armour and the like. I love my Armour, but in my case, can't

take it

> alone. ly, it all turns to T3 anyway, and T4 can't be used

in it's

> form at the tissue level, without being changed to T3. I just

think that

> when there's a thyroid still sitting in there, it's hard to know with

some

> people how to adjust the med because we may not know

whether the gland

> itself is underproducing both, or just one. Therefore, it's time to

play

> with the dosage adjustments, possibly adding T4 to the mix,

etc....longer

> adjustment periods for some folks, others not. Other folks do

better on

> nothing but straight T3, hence, only conversion problems, or

tissue

> saturation problems. Everyone is so different.

>

>

> Tx

[Guest guest]

Thanks for all this info, very helpful, ! I'll be thinking about it

as I make a decision as to which thyroid med. to try next.

I'd still be interested in hearing from anyone who is taking

Armour alone whether it is sending your free T3 lab high/ free T4

low and how you are feeling..

> This is what people are talking about when they talk about

conversion

> problems. All the T4 that our thyroids produce and all the T4

that we take

> by mouth is only used by our body (cells) by the removal of one

atom of

> iodine, thus T3. The only thing that stays in the form of T4 is

what can't

> be converted, rendering it unuseable. And to answer the

question about why

> we're not given T3 only, that IS a good question! Makes you

wonder, huh?

> T3 has an immediate quick action on the body tissues

because it doesn't have

> to be converted to anything. It's already in it's useable form.

That's why

> it should never be taken in one large dose at the beginning of

the day

> because it is too much for the tissues to deal with all at once,

then there

> won't be any to use for the rest of the day. In a healthy thyroid,

the

> thyroid secretes very small amts of thyroid throughout the day,

mostly T4

> (to be processed, stored, used, and then some to be used

later), and a much

> smaller amt of T3, to be used immediately. T4 is the storage

hormone,

> converted and used a little at a time. It's all in the atoms of

iodine. It

> is the slick marketing techniques of big drug companies

(Abbott, a.k.a.,

> Knoll) that convinced the medical establishment 30 yrs ago (or

in that

> ballpark) that T4 was superior to the Armour and other natural

thyroid

> hormones. It was never proven. As a matter of fact, the

opposite has been

> proven, but Abbott and other big manufacturers do their best to

keep this

> info down or to sabotage it, with big payoffs to many factions

(including

> our teaching mechanisms at colleges and universities, for

future doctors)

> because it's all about billions in sales. Oh yes, one more

thing---Did you

> see that article I posted other day about the use of T3 in brain

cells?

> This is one of the things that T3 can't do, is cross the

blood-brain

> barrier. I'm thinking that it has to be converted to T3 after it

crosses

> the barrier in the form of T4, and the T2 is also involved there.

But that

> may be why our own thyroids, in their healthy state, make it.

T1, T2, T3,

> and T4 ALL have their own paths and usages in different areas

of the body.

> If a person's body has some basic errors in metabolism(to put

it simply),

> then different organ systems will not receive the form of it that

they

> need. The chain reactions of different enzymes, with other

microbiological

> events are some of things that cause this, but we don't have a

research lab

> when we go to the doctor who even knows what he's doing.

Therefore, it's

> sort of a best guess, even under the best circumstances. This

IS one of the

> main reasons why I believe in the Armour or the other natural

thyroids. The

> Armour has it all, and it's not needed in massive amts (T1, T2,

etc...) to

> do what it was disigned to do in the body. Testing for T4:

Makes me

> wonder! It's sort of like why does a doc test for TSH when

there's no

> thyroid to stimulate at all??? That should be Free hormone

testing

> altogether, for what's available for the body to use.

>

>

> Tx

>

> Re: T3 excess (bone density aside)

>

>

> > Hi, ... not sure I understand about T4 only being used

after

> > turning to T3... I thought the T3 taken orally was just to

somehow

> > help the T4 be assimilated?? No?

> >

> > If all hormone turns into T3 in our bloodstream before it's

used

> > (or, rather, if the only usable part is T3), then why do they test

for

> > free T4 and why do docs prescribe T4 mainly in the first

place? In

> > your opinion if the T4 was low and T3 high, would that be

OK?

> > Just wondering...

> >

> > In total agreement with the tenet that we're all different -- it's

one

> > of the core philosophies of this list... thanks for your

> > contributions!

> >

> >