Guest guest Posted May 14, 2004 Report Share Posted May 14, 2004 I've made an interesting observation from my own experience..whenever my dose is too low..my heart races. my doc ordered a 24 hour urine test to check adrenaline (epinephrine) levels and they were very very high. I suspect that my body was putting out epinephrine to deal with being hypo..as I raised my dose of Armour..my heart rate dropped, and so did all the horrible racy adreanline/epinephrine feelings. Wonder if that's happening to you too?? I have steadily increased my dose to 2 grains..and feel great! My free T3 has just come back at 5 (Ref range goes up to 6)...which I'm happy with!!! so is my doc. Hope you soon feel great!!! Fluffy > Hi Everyone! > I'm new to the boards and wanted to say hi to everyone here. I was > Hyper and had RAI last Nov and am now Hypo. I started out on 75 mcg > od Synthroid but couldn't take it due to it breaking me out in bad > hives so I found another Dr and was prescribed Armour. My Dr wanted > to start me on 2 grains but I felt that was a little to high to begin > with so I started on 1 grain. I took that for 4 weeks then my levels > dropped and my TSH started climbing again and I was feeling so bad. > I don't understand how your levels can drop while taking thyroid > meds. Was this an indication that it was time to up my meds? > I had the DR up them to 1 1/2 grains per day and I feel better today > but my heart is racing a bit. Is this normal? > > Labs before starting Armour: > TSH 2.1 ( 0.270-5.200) > FT4 1.830 ( 0.9-1.7) > FT3 2.7 ( 2.3-4.2 ) > > 4 weeks on Armour: > TSH 2.650 > FT4 1.170 > FT3 2.3 > > I'm hoping these Free's will go up now...any suggestons? > > Thanks, > Barbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 14, 2004 Report Share Posted May 14, 2004 > I've made an interesting observation from my own > experience..whenever my dose is too low..my heart races. my doc > ordered a 24 hour urine test to check adrenaline (epinephrine) > levels and they were very very high. I suspect that my body was > putting out epinephrine to deal with being hypo..as I raised my dose > of Armour..my heart rate dropped, and so did all the horrible racy > adreanline/epinephrine feelings. Wonder if that's happening to you > too?? Hi Fluffy, I think this is exactly what is happening to me. I have had heart palps for 15+ years, and for brief periods of time (while on Armour), I feel a sense of calm and the heart palps are almost non-existent. I think your adrenals get taxed when your body is fighting this constant battle. I am not saying my adrenals do not need some support, but I have read that the adrenals come up to par on the optimal dose of meds. Because we are slowly increasing our dosages graduallyto reach that optimal dose, I think the adrenal fatigue sets in much more easily. Very good observation and thanks for pointing that out. I suspected this in myself, but sometimes it's hard to trust your own judgement on things when it concerns your health. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2004 Report Share Posted May 15, 2004 really? LOL I get that pain around my kidneys also ! Cris Re: New and on Armour > > Hi Everyone! > > I'm new to the boards and wanted to say hi to everyone here. I was > > Hyper and had RAI last Nov and am now Hypo. I started out on 75 > mcg > > od Synthroid but couldn't take it due to it breaking me out in bad > > hives so I found another Dr and was prescribed Armour. My Dr > wanted > > to start me on 2 grains but I felt that was a little to high to > begin > > with so I started on 1 grain. I took that for 4 weeks then my > levels > > dropped and my TSH started climbing again and I was feeling so bad. > > I don't understand how your levels can drop while taking thyroid > > meds. Was this an indication that it was time to up my meds? > > I had the DR up them to 1 1/2 grains per day and I feel better > today > > but my heart is racing a bit. Is this normal? > > > > Labs before starting Armour: > > TSH 2.1 ( 0.270-5.200) > > FT4 1.830 ( 0.9-1.7) > > FT3 2.7 ( 2.3-4.2 ) > > > > 4 weeks on Armour: > > TSH 2.650 > > FT4 1.170 > > FT3 2.3 > > > > I'm hoping these Free's will go up now...any suggestons? > > > > Thanks, > > Barbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2004 Report Share Posted May 15, 2004 Here's my 2 cents worth----I don't believe that, when the body has been used to " running on empty " , that the upward increments of Armour should be in such big leaps. You were right the first time. You're probably going to end up on a much larger dose than originally, but you need to do this in small increments. Many people have said that they leaped up in full grains, but I was unable to do this for whatever reason. It has taken me a full 7 months to bring my dose of Armour from 30 mgs up the 120 mgs that I am now taking. Some of it has probably been nutritional issues (folic acid), some has probably been that my cells did not want to respond properly to what they were supposed to have because I had been in this condition for so long. My take is that Armour should be upped in 15 mg increments every few weeks, let's say about 3 wks or so. That means around 30 mgs every 6 wks or so, or only upward one full grain in about 3 to 4 months, a little at a time. It takes sick body cells time to catch up to processing and receiving what they are supposed to be getting. The adrenal glands are very involved in this. If they are sick and exhausted (as many of ours are, after being sick this long), they cannot keep up with the pace of a normal metabolism, and that is exactly what their function is. With adrenal problems, you will have all kinds of sick symptoms when you try to raise the dose of Armour too fast. I believe that those people who can start out taking such a large dose that fast probably have healthier adrenal glands than some. This is a very common problem among thyroid sufferers. Also, your thyroid gland is probably still a " work in progress " , meaning your thyroid hasn't failed as much as it is going to, and is still going " downhill " . I'm seeing that it has only been 6 months since you had the RAI. Four weeks on the right thyroid med is not enough time to have a permanent adjustment in the Armour, especially while the old thyroid hormone is still going out of your system, with the thyroid still failing. It looks like it just now is " leaving " you. For me, I would give the dose you are on a few more weeks, get retested AND go by the way you feel (most important thing!), then up it again, if everything doesn't feel right. We each have such individual chemistry that this is the way it has to be done from person to person, in increments. I would say retesting wouldn't be too soon in another 3-4 wks or so. New and on Armour Hi Everyone! I'm new to the boards and wanted to say hi to everyone here. I was Hyper and had RAI last Nov and am now Hypo. I started out on 75 mcg od Synthroid but couldn't take it due to it breaking me out in bad hives so I found another Dr and was prescribed Armour. My Dr wanted to start me on 2 grains but I felt that was a little to high to begin with so I started on 1 grain. I took that for 4 weeks then my levels dropped and my TSH started climbing again and I was feeling so bad. I don't understand how your levels can drop while taking thyroid meds. Was this an indication that it was time to up my meds? I had the DR up them to 1 1/2 grains per day and I feel better today but my heart is racing a bit. Is this normal? Labs before starting Armour: TSH 2.1 ( 0.270-5.200) FT4 1.830 ( 0.9-1.7) FT3 2.7 ( 2.3-4.2 ) 4 weeks on Armour: TSH 2.650 FT4 1.170 FT3 2.3 I'm hoping these Free's will go up now...any suggestons? Thanks, Barbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.