Back from doc and confused....

[Guest guest]

OK, I am back from the doctor and asked my million questions. Here

are some of his answers. Please help. What are your opinions?? Should

I go get a second opinion??

Hair loss and brittle nails? He says my T4 levels are normal so this

problem probably stems from lack of protein.

No libido? He said he can give me a testosterone injection for this.

anybody ever had this or heard of it??

Rash on face and chest? He said I need to see a dermatologist.

He did switch me to Armour so I will start it in just a couple of

days.

I am kinda frustrated cause I thought these were all symptoms of

hypothyroidism and he says the levels are perfect. He took some more

to check my triglycerides and a few other things...what is that?? He

is also going to check my cholosterol. I am 25 and weigh 115....can I

really have a cholesterol problem??

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Deanna

[Guest guest]

I'm a dummy...I never even ask to see the results cause I don't know

what they mean anyways. Maybe I can get them to fax me a copy

tomorrow. He did not check my T3. I was going to ask him, but since

he switched me to Armour I figured I would wait til next time.

I was on 150 of synthroid and now I am going to 120mg of Armour. Is

it the same?? Lower?? Different?? Anything I should know before

taking Armour?? Is it better in the morning then evening? Will any

food interact with my meds?? He also said I need a calcium

supplement, but I read they interfere with thyroid meds. Should I

take the Armour in the morning and calcium at night?? I am also

startign a protein and folic acid supplement.

Thanks Topper!!

> Deanna, can you post the results, with the lab ranges?

>

> Just to say the T4 level is 'normal' doesn't mean squat... did he

check

> the Free T3.. and is the T4 level Free, Reverse or Total?

>

> All the symptoms that you have could very well be hypo... but, the

good

> news...

>

> Being on Armour means that you have a LOT more control over your

> absorption... You can get more of the hormone into your body in a

form

> that is fully usable by you body, unlike they synthetics...

>

> Now.. the next question... how much Synthroid were you on and how

much

> Armour is he starting you with?

>

> Topper ()

>

> On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 21:54:42 -0000 " De " <violetjade11@y...>

> writes:

> OK, I am back from the doctor and asked my million questions. Here

> are some of his answers. Please help. What are your opinions??

Should

> I go get a second opinion??

>

> Hair loss and brittle nails? He says my T4 levels are normal so

this

> problem probably stems from lack of protein.

>

> No libido? He said he can give me a testosterone injection for

this.

> anybody ever had this or heard of it??

>

> Rash on face and chest? He said I need to see a dermatologist.

>

> He did switch me to Armour so I will start it in just a couple of

> days.

>

> I am kinda frustrated cause I thought these were all symptoms of

> hypothyroidism and he says the levels are perfect. He took some

more

> to check my triglycerides and a few other things...what is that??

He

> is also going to check my cholosterol. I am 25 and weigh 115....can

I

> really have a cholesterol problem??

>

> Any help would be greatly appreciated!

> Thanks,

> Deanna

[Guest guest]

I'm a dummy...I never even ask to see the results cause I don't know

what they mean anyways. Maybe I can get them to fax me a copy

tomorrow. He did not check my T3. I was going to ask him, but since

he switched me to Armour I figured I would wait til next time.

I was on 150 of synthroid and now I am going to 120mg of Armour. Is

it the same?? Lower?? Different?? Anything I should know before

taking Armour?? Is it better in the morning then evening? Will any

food interact with my meds?? He also said I need a calcium

supplement, but I read they interfere with thyroid meds. Should I

take the Armour in the morning and calcium at night?? I am also

startign a protein and folic acid supplement.

Thanks Topper!!

> Deanna, can you post the results, with the lab ranges?

>

> Just to say the T4 level is 'normal' doesn't mean squat... did he

check

> the Free T3.. and is the T4 level Free, Reverse or Total?

>

> All the symptoms that you have could very well be hypo... but, the

good

> news...

>

> Being on Armour means that you have a LOT more control over your

> absorption... You can get more of the hormone into your body in a

form

> that is fully usable by you body, unlike they synthetics...

>

> Now.. the next question... how much Synthroid were you on and how

much

> Armour is he starting you with?

>

> Topper ()

>

> On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 21:54:42 -0000 " De " <violetjade11@y...>

> writes:

> OK, I am back from the doctor and asked my million questions. Here

> are some of his answers. Please help. What are your opinions??

Should

> I go get a second opinion??

>

> Hair loss and brittle nails? He says my T4 levels are normal so

this

> problem probably stems from lack of protein.

>

> No libido? He said he can give me a testosterone injection for

this.

> anybody ever had this or heard of it??

>

> Rash on face and chest? He said I need to see a dermatologist.

>

> He did switch me to Armour so I will start it in just a couple of

> days.

>

> I am kinda frustrated cause I thought these were all symptoms of

> hypothyroidism and he says the levels are perfect. He took some

more

> to check my triglycerides and a few other things...what is that??

He

> is also going to check my cholosterol. I am 25 and weigh 115....can

I

> really have a cholesterol problem??

>

> Any help would be greatly appreciated!

> Thanks,

> Deanna

[Guest guest]

Definitely request the results of your labs...

There are equivalency charts for switching from synthetic to natural and vice versa... the simple rule is 100 mcg T4 only to 1 grain of natural, a grain of Armour is 60 mg. So he gave you a bit of an increase.... Personally, since you dont' know how you will react to the direct T3.. I'd take half a tab, 1 grain the first morning and see how you feel. The T3 is 95 % used up in 4 hours.. so if it's too much.. it will be over in a few hours... If that goes well for you.. take the other half early afternoon.... See how that goes for a few weeks... if that is not a good schedule for you and you want to switch to a single dose.. give it a try then.

I'm one that prefers to err on the side of caution... if you take too much and/or increase too fast you will have to back off the meds and wait for your body to purge the excess and then start over.... not fun.... it's better to take tiny positive steps forward and not have to deal with backing off and starting over all the time... that is my personal opinion.... you have to do what you feel is best for you... when in doubt... ask.. there are a lot of folks here with different methods and routines... you may find another method that works better for you and your lifestyle.. and that is what is the most important finding what works the best for you.

Both calcium and iron bind with thyroid hormone making it useless for your body... it's best to take the Armour far away from the other two... Take the Armour at least one hour before or four hours after the calcium or iron if you swallow the Armour... if you are taking the Armour sublingually (which gives the BEST absorption) you can take it just an hour before or after the calcium and/or iron.

Quite a few folks are finding that they are iron deficient (low ferritin levels) and if you've been on T4 (Synthroid) for a while.. that calcium is something that you need too.

Most folks seem to find dosing in the morning is best... and then a bit in the early afternoon... I'm a horrible converter so I dose every 3 to 4 hours (I'm a great pill splitter!!! hehehehe) There are some that find dosing at night works best for them... and some that find dosing before bed keeps them awake... another thing that you'll have to try for yourself... if you do a night dose.. do it the first time on a weekend.. so that if it does keep you awake you won't have to worry about functioning the next day.

I take my calcium and Iron about an hour before bed.. and take my last dose of thyroid sublingually as I crawl into bed... I've been doing that over a year now with good results...

Don't worry.. we'll help you figure it out... having outside eyes observe often spots things that we don't see our selves.. that has happened to me a few times... others saw something in me that I didn't see.....

Topper ()

On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 23:54:24 -0000 "De" writes:

I'm a dummy...I never even ask to see the results cause I don't know what they mean anyways. Maybe I can get them to fax me a copy tomorrow. He did not check my T3. I was going to ask him, but since he switched me to Armour I figured I would wait til next time. I was on 150 of synthroid and now I am going to 120mg of Armour. Is it the same?? Lower?? Different?? Anything I should know before taking Armour?? Is it better in the morning then evening? Will any food interact with my meds?? He also said I need a calcium supplement, but I read they interfere with thyroid meds. Should I take the Armour in the morning and calcium at night?? I am also startign a protein and folic acid supplement.Thanks Topper!!