Guest guest Posted January 31, 2004 Report Share Posted January 31, 2004 Hi Dee- Everyone will need a different dosage and/or ratio of t3/t4, but I'll tell you what mine is just as a comparison. I take 75mcg Levoxyl 6 days a week and 7 & 1/2 mcg of Cytomel 7 days a week. I do get heart palps if I accidentally take the Levoxly 7 days a week. I would think that maybe 10mcg of Cytomel is too much for the 100mcg of Levoxyl that you take. I LIKE taking Cytomel & I feel better on that than the Levoxyl. I would try to take the 10mcg of Cytomel, but definately lower the Levoxyl. Or you try the 7 & 1/2 cytomel, too. You can try it different ways & see how you feel. Just remember that changing the Levoxyl will take longer to feel the results, but the Cytomel you will feel " that day " . Good luck, Miaja** > Hi All! I need your help again. I have been on 100 mcg of levoxyl and > 10 mcg of cytomel for almost 4 weeks. (Former Armour user). With no > labs my doc wanted me to raise cytomel more but I did not. Last week > I had two nights of heart palps and couldn't sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 31, 2004 Report Share Posted January 31, 2004 I take 10 mcg of Cytomel with 88 mcg of Levoxyl.. I thought that the Cytomel was on the low side. I don't know, the stuff has become almost like water for me.. I don't think it's helping at all... until I stop taking it, then I feel awful. Dee -- why did you switch from Armour, just curious? How long have you been taking thyroid supps? I have only ever taken Levoxyl, recently added Cytomel... I think the palps could be due to you being hyper but my worst palps were when I was technically hypo... so it could even be the meds... OR if you are new to thyroid supps, it can take a long while for your body to get used to them. I had horrible nighttime palps and nervousness for several months when I first started Levoxyl and had to take Ativan to sleep. Hopefully you are not new to thyroid meds and have to go through that adjustment... here are some other tips... First, do NOT take any of your meds in the evening. Finish them by mid-afternoon ideally. Second, Sheila is right, Benedryl makes the palps worse and is not indicated for thyroid patients... it may calm you at first but usually has a boomerang effect. I would definitely try lowering your dosage... of the Levoxyl too. Call your doc to consult. If the lowered dosage doesn't help or you start having hypo symptoms again (this is me -- palps, 15 lb. weight gain, tired), consider trying a different med. I'm probably going to try Armour soon... my palps don't keep me up any more but clearly something in my thyroid regimen needs improved. Take care and keep us posted - > > Hi All! I need your help again. I have been on 100 mcg of levoxyl > and > > 10 mcg of cytomel for almost 4 weeks. (Former Armour user). With > no > > labs my doc wanted me to raise cytomel more but I did not. Last > week > > I had two nights of heart palps and couldn't sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 31, 2004 Report Share Posted January 31, 2004 - You may be right-it's just so hard because everyone is different. I said the same thing about Armour (that it was like water), but now I'm thinking about trying it again, but with a t4. The ratio of the t3/t4 in Armour is higher than what I'm taking now. So, if I took a dose that had equal t3 (7 1/2 mcgs) and added some t4 I could potentially have the same dose/ratio that I have now. The added benefit would be getting the t1, t2 or whatever the other Thyroid hormornes that are in the Armour. Take care, Miaja** > I take 10 mcg of Cytomel with 88 mcg of Levoxyl.. I thought that > the Cytomel was on the low side. I don't know, the stuff has > become almost like water for me.. I don't think it's helping at all... > until I stop taking it, then I feel awful. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 Dee -- you poor thing!! So sorry to hear what a trial all of this has been. Did you sleep last night?? Boy, it sounds like Armour is definitely not right for you. I am on 88 mcg Levoxyl generic and 10 mcg Cytomel. I am " cheating " a bit... my endo wanted me to drop to 75 Levoxyl because my TSH was on the low side, but I wanted to see if this dosage would help me. It's been several weeks, and no real sign of being hyper, but I don't feel much better either. You don't want to be missing sleep... if the lower dosage doesn't help, you may want to ask for some Ativan or other mild sedative to get you through this transitional period... *if* you are going through a transition -- and you may be if Armour was truly doing nothing for you -- that means you could have tons of receptors in your body soaking up the thyroid at an abnormally fast rate, which is causing a hyper reaction. (This is what happened to me. I went hyper in 3 weeks on 50 mcg Levoxyl only, when I was severely hypo). But the fact that you've actually gained 5 pounds on this med. makes me think you are not really going hyper... and may need to try yet another med... or maybe you'll get to the point on your combo that I am at -- it's *OK* -- better than nothing -- but I still have to put up with palps (but not insomnia) and weight gain.. and a few other things. Other things I forgot to mention -- avoid alcohol and cafffiene, and keep well hydrated. Put a few pillows under you and see if being slightly elevated helps your palps (for some reason, lying flat seems to be the worst position). Please don't hesitate to ask if there's anything else. > , > Thanks for your reply. In the past two years I've either been on straight > cytomel or Armour only. Armour was awful for me. One doctor muscle tested me > and told me I was allergic to it. I didn't believe him and thought he was > practicing voodoo. Turns out he was right. I felt so bad on Armour I didn't care if > I lived or died. Another doc was going to put me on timed released t-3 > (another failure) so I missed two days of Armour and couldn't believe the difference > in how I felt. The 15 mcg of timed released t-3 gave me instant insomnia. So > far today, and it's almost 11:00 PM, no palps but I haven't gone to bed yet! > I am not going to take the benadryl even if I can't sleep. I agree that if the > palps continue maybe it's the levoxyl that needs to be reduced. What dose are > you on? I have gained 5 pounds in three weeks on the levoxyl/cytomel. I'm > waiting to hear from my doctor. > Thanks again, > Dee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 The palps may not be an indication that you are hyper. You can get palps in reaction to your thyroid meds when your Ferritin is still too low, or you can get them if you are not on adrenal support, and need it. What happened when you were on Armour? How much were you on, and how long? Janie > Hi All! I need your help again. I have been on 100 mcg of levoxyl and > 10 mcg of cytomel for almost 4 weeks. (Former Armour user). With no > labs my doc wanted me to raise cytomel more but I did not. Last week > I had two nights of heart palps and couldn't sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 Janie, when you can, will you post more on Ferritin?? I hadn't heard of that before (just did a quick google on it -- an iron storage protein?) or about the connection with palps.. would be interested to know more... thanks! > > Hi All! I need your help again. I have been on 100 mcg of levoxyl > and > > 10 mcg of cytomel for almost 4 weeks. (Former Armour user). With > no > > labs my doc wanted me to raise cytomel more but I did not. Last > week > > I had two nights of heart palps and couldn't sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 2, 2004 Report Share Posted February 2, 2004 Hi . Yes, Ferritin refers to your storage iron. And for some reason, it can be low in thyroid patients! And I have no documentation yet to explain this. I just see it on my natural thyroid site. And when it's low, it can affect your body's reaction to thyroid hormones. Plus, a low Ferritin can mimic hypothyroid--- low grade depression, achiness, easy fatigue, hair loss. It's crucial when you have thyroid disease to get your Ferritin tested, and corrected, which can take months. Janie > Janie, when you can, will you post more on Ferritin?? I hadn't > heard of that before (just did a quick google on it -- an iron > storage protein?) or about the connection with palps.. would be > interested to know more... thanks! > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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