Re: Falling into hypo again :(

[Guest guest]

Oh , YES, you need more Armour. 3/4 grain is nothing. And

ultimately, you can't base it on conversion charts. I was on .125

Levoxyl and now my optimal dose is nearly 3 grains Armour--far

higher than the charts.

The reason your symptoms are returning: your pituitary gland has

sensed the introduction of the Armour and it's hormones in your

body. So, it's sent a message to your thyroid, via the TSH, to

decrease it's production. BUT, your thyroid already has a low

production!! SO you are now left with even less than your hypo

thyroid was giving you. This is common for folks who aren't on

enough.

Don't be surprised if your optimal dose of Armour is closer to 2

grains someday!

You hang in there, sweetie!! There IS a light at the end of the

tunnel where all your current symptoms will end. You just need to

increase the Armour!!

Janie aka ThyroDiva )

> Hi everyone! I have bumped up to 3/4 grains of Armour. I figured

that

> this would be my optimal dose or close to it since 75mcg of

Synthroid

> was too much and 50 mcg of Levoxyl was too little. I statrted

Armour 2

> 1/2 weeks ago and noticed some improvements in energy about 1 week

> later. My skin even started to clear up briefly. Now that I have

> bumped up from initially doing 1/2 - 3/4 grains, my zits are coming

> back and my hair is falling out again and the fatigue is creeping

> back. HELP! This is so darn discouraging. Is it because I need more

> Armour, or am I just not patient enough. Gosh I just want this

> stinkin' nightmare to be over. Oh, and another thing, I feel more

> anxiety right now. I mean, when you are hypo you are apathetic (at

> least I was). I just got to the point where I didn't care about

much

> of anything anymore. Now I care too much and feel anxious about

> everything. It's driving me nuts. I have this constant doom and

gloom

> feeling. I just can't explain it. I have stopped reasearching so

much

> because I get this horrible feeling. So, all medical paraphernalia

is

> going in the trash. That whole liver scare really set the tone for

all

> this doom and gloom feeling. ANybody else get this? It's awful. I

know

> we all die at some time but........ Thanks!

>

>

[Guest guest]

> Oh , YES, you need more Armour. 3/4 grain is nothing. And

> ultimately, you can't base it on conversion charts. I was on .125

> Levoxyl and now my optimal dose is nearly 3 grains Armour--far

> higher than the charts.

>

Thank you Janie! You have given me hope again. I just increased this

week to the 3/4 grain. Should I still go slow and steady like a

turtle, or should I try to increase it to 1 grain? Right now I am

taking 3/8 grain in the morning, and 3/8 grain approx. 4 hours later

to avoid the afternoon crash (not working). I will be moving from my

house in 1 1/2 weeks to my in-laws (with the babies) while my husband

takes the moving van to Canada and starts his new job. I will be

following with the kids the end of April. I desperately need a boost

so that I get through this crazy nightmare lol. I know I am stressed

(it's inevitable), but I really am trying to take all this nuttiness

in stride and remain calm. Things could be so much worse right now. I

do have to say that I will miss my beautiful 2100 sqft home - SIGH .

We will be downsizing to just under 1300 sqft on two levels. That's

Canada for yah. $200K gets you a shoebox lol. Life is crazy isn't it?

Thanks again Janie for your advice. MUCH APPRECIATED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest guest]

> Thank you Janie! You have given me hope again. I just increased

>this week to the 3/4 grain. Should I still go slow and steady like a

> turtle, or should I try to increase it to 1 grain?

Good, because the hope is based on reality! There really is a

rainbow out there. If your symptoms were mine, I would personally go

right up to the one grain, and maybe even 1 1/4 grain. Then in

another 4 weeks, I would go to 1 1/2 grains and see where the latter

gets me. And so on!

Janie )

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Sorry you having a poo time.

I was initially on 75mcgs of Levoxyl & had tonnes of hypo symptoms on

that dose.

I now take 3 grains of Armour.

I don't know if you self-medicate or not, but I'm going to post here

the increments my wonderful private doctor made in case it will help.

I agree with Janie's explanation - you must not be on enough.

From 75mcgs levothyroxine…

Increased to 100 mcgs levoxyl

10 days later 100 mcgs levo + ½ grain of Armour

21 days later 100 mcgs levo + 1 grain Armour

21 days later 2½ grains Armour only

14 days later 3 grains Armour only

Just to add, I tried taking the dose sublingually & I'm back to

swallowing today. Also, I think I need to increment my dose again

but I'm waiting to hear from my doc. Each time I change doses it

takes a week or two to feel normal again with lots of ups & downs.

Hope this helps,

Fee x

> Oh , YES, you need more Armour. 3/4 grain is nothing. And

> ultimately, you can't base it on conversion charts. I was on .125

> Levoxyl and now my optimal dose is nearly 3 grains Armour--far

> higher than the charts.

>

> The reason your symptoms are returning: your pituitary gland has

> sensed the introduction of the Armour and it's hormones in your

> body. So, it's sent a message to your thyroid, via the TSH, to

> decrease it's production. BUT, your thyroid already has a low

> production!! SO you are now left with even less than your hypo

> thyroid was giving you. This is common for folks who aren't on

> enough.

>

> Don't be surprised if your optimal dose of Armour is closer to 2

> grains someday!

>

> You hang in there, sweetie!! There IS a light at the end of the

> tunnel where all your current symptoms will end. You just need to

> increase the Armour!!

>

> Janie aka ThyroDiva )

>

>

> > Hi everyone! I have bumped up to 3/4 grains of Armour. I figured

> that

> > this would be my optimal dose or close to it since 75mcg of

> Synthroid

> > was too much and 50 mcg of Levoxyl was too little. I statrted

> Armour 2

> > 1/2 weeks ago and noticed some improvements in energy about 1 week

> > later. My skin even started to clear up briefly. Now that I have

> > bumped up from initially doing 1/2 - 3/4 grains, my zits are

coming

> > back and my hair is falling out again and the fatigue is creeping

> > back. HELP! This is so darn discouraging. Is it because I need

more

> > Armour, or am I just not patient enough. Gosh I just want this

> > stinkin' nightmare to be over. Oh, and another thing, I feel more

> > anxiety right now. I mean, when you are hypo you are apathetic (at

> > least I was). I just got to the point where I didn't care about

> much

> > of anything anymore. Now I care too much and feel anxious about

> > everything. It's driving me nuts. I have this constant doom and

> gloom

> > feeling. I just can't explain it. I have stopped reasearching so

> much

> > because I get this horrible feeling. So, all medical

paraphernalia

> is

> > going in the trash. That whole liver scare really set the tone

for

> all

> > this doom and gloom feeling. ANybody else get this? It's awful. I

> know

> > we all die at some time but........ Thanks!

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Hi, ,

Personally, I think you are impatient. I know I was, too!

The hair problem took a long time to get where it was, so it

stands to reason that it will take more than a week for things to

straighten out again. The same for the zits.

Go to a really good stylist and discuss your hair. He or she will

have some ideas on how to deal with damaged hair while you are waiting for

the new, healthy hair to grow in to replace what has been lost.

Right now, I am taking 500 mg Vitamin C along with my Armour. It

does not make me feel more energetic, but it is certainly helping my zits.

My energy level is what I was concerned with when I switched from

synthetics to Armour. The improvement was not " overnight " , but I noticed

first that my 30-year depression had ended and that I was able to do more

before feeling exhausted.

A number of things have to happen. Your body needs to adjust to

having a medication that provides all of the thyroid hormones your body

would produce on its own (if it could do so). Even after your body

realizes that it is getting what it needs, you have to adjust the dose from

time-to-time until you are dosing optimally. If you happen to have other

things going on at the same time, then you may need to adjust meds to bring

things back into balance.

You also have to consider that your thyroid is affected by other

things, not the least of which would be the other hormones that the healthy

body produces in a balanced manner.

Give the " first round " at least five or six weeks. See how you

are doing and have that stylist recheck your hair to see if you are growing

new hair. Everybody is different, but six weeks would allow the stylist to

see what is happening.

Use only gentle, top quality products on your hair. Lower the

heat on the hair dryer. Use a good boar bristle brush so that you are

stimulating the scalp at the same time you are brushing. Make sure that

you are thoroughly cleansing your skin after wearing makeup. Again, use

only top of the line products and make sure that they are

hypo-allergenic. Sometimes it is the product itself that is causing

trouble....

Hope some of that is helpful.....

Dianne

At 03:49 PM 3/21/04, you wrote:

>Hi everyone! I have bumped up to 3/4 grains of Armour. I figured that

>this would be my optimal dose or close to it since 75mcg of Synthroid

>was too much and 50 mcg of Levoxyl was too little. I statrted Armour 2

>1/2 weeks ago and noticed some improvements in energy about 1 week

>later. My skin even started to clear up briefly. Now that I have

>bumped up from initially doing 1/2 - 3/4 grains, my zits are coming

>back and my hair is falling out again and the fatigue is creeping

>back. HELP! This is so darn discouraging. Is it because I need more

>Armour, or am I just not patient enough. Gosh I just want this

>stinkin' nightmare to be over. Oh, and another thing, I feel more

>anxiety right now. I mean, when you are hypo you are apathetic (at

>least I was). I just got to the point where I didn't care about much

>of anything anymore. Now I care too much and feel anxious about

>everything. It's driving me nuts. I have this constant doom and gloom

>feeling. I just can't explain it. I have stopped reasearching so much

>because I get this horrible feeling. So, all medical paraphernalia is

>going in the trash. That whole liver scare really set the tone for all

>this doom and gloom feeling. ANybody else get this? It's awful. I know

>we all die at some time but........ Thanks!

>

>