Re: Adjusting to adding T3, and 'happy potty times'

[Guest guest]

You felt better during pregnancy cuz a hypo mom gets thyroid hormone from

her fetus.

You haven't been hyper, just had a suppressed TSH.. you aren't hyper

until your Free T4 and, more significantly, your Free T3 is well over

range, right now yours is at the bottom of it's range.. Along with your

symptoms, that says hyPO

Okay... how you are reacting after taking a dose of Armour fits too...

your Free T3 is very low, so your body is not used to it... Taking

Armour, it has T3 in it... so your body is getting a hit of T3 when you

take the Armour... that's the surge and dizziness. T3 is quickly taken up

by the body after you take the pill, within four hours up to 95 % of it

has either been attached to hormone receptors or has been passed from the

body...

Taking the pill with food buffers it's dissolve rate and absorption..

reducing how quickly the T3 gets into your system, and how much.. So by

adding food you are 'feeling less bad' cuz you are, in effect, getting

less hormone into you... slower.

This isn't weird... some of us are just sensitive. You'll have to

experiment a bit to give your body time to adjust and get used to the

hormones again, looks like you aren't quiet like everyone else...

I have a suggestion. Can you split your pills into quarters? Try taking a

quarter of a pill at a time. That will reduce the amount of T3 that you

are getting into your body at each dose, to half... but you're still

gonna be getting your full dose during the day, so you will still be

getting all the T4 that you need to store for later conversion...You need

to keep building your T4 reserves and getting your conversion up so that

you have T3 for your body to use between doses of Armour.

This may sound confusing... if it is... ask questions.. the better you

understand how this chemistry stuff works the better you will be able to

relate that to how you are feeling and figure out the best way to dose

now, as your body gets used to the increase in active hormones (the T3,

T2 and T1) and work on adjustments to get your thyroid hormones up (T4,

T3, T2 and T1) and your TSH down... then those symptoms are going to ease

up and you'll be feeling much better.

I know it's confusing and frustrating and hard to be patient... and with

Brain fog it's hard to get your brain to wrap around things and make

sense of them... so again, I'm serious... if you don't quite get it.. ask

questions.. we'll work on different ways of explaining and after a while

the info will get through the fog and you'll do an " I could have had a

V-8' smack on your forehead!!! We've all been through fog here.. and no

one is gonna make fun or get frustrated with repeated questions...

Take notes on how you are feeling.. what you feel... it's easier to look

back at notes than try to remember the 'little things' when you have a

foggy brain...

It's often little things that give the clues that tell the tale.

Sounds silly.. but considering how differently each of us respond to

getting our hormone levels back sometimes we have to look really close at

the individual to figure out what their body is trying to say about what

help it needs to get things working better again.

Just my thoughts... I can't tell you what to do, I'm not a doc... but I

can share things that I've learned, that's what we all do here... so that

we can share all this info and see what applies to us and go from there.

Doc's don't have all the 'hands on' experience that we do, many have no

idea what it's like to be hypo, or hyper.

As for your gut flora, chances are that if you are hypo, with a low basal

body temp, your gut flora (bacteria) aren't going to be up to par.. they

are very sensitive to basal body temp and with low temps bacteria counts

are lower.. that's part of why we have such trouble digesting food... and

Ummmm trouble in the bathroom...

So.. this next question, if you don't want to answer in front of

everyone, you can contact me privately.... going to the bathroom... are

you able to move your bowels regularly? For most folks that is once a day

or once every other day... some folks it's longer.. but generally if it's

once a week or less there is a problem with your digestion... I know when

I'm bad hypo I have trouble going more than once a week.. and when my

levels are good I go every morning, like clock work... It feels sooooo

much better on my insides when I go regularly.

I've talked with some folks that have dealt with the (for lack of a

better term) impactions.. that I had when I was bad hypo... where the

bowel content impacted and got hard inside.. and if you bumped your tummy

or something and hit that part that your insides hurt enough to make your

eyes water... It's not a pretty thing to talk about, and I couldn't at

first.. but I've found over the years that it's not uncommon for us to

have trouble with it and if we can share this stuff with others that have

been through it and find out what is causing it and that it will get

better... it just makes things easier...

Oh.. how did that go? We were teasing about it here a long while back...

about having happy potty times!!! hehehehe

Topper ()

***A reminder for those that are new and still working on learning the

hormones, meds and tests:

www.thyrophoenix.com/thyroid_101.htm

On Mon, 05 Feb 2007 02:38:36 -0000 " sunshellsea3 "

ncampbell04@...> writes:

> Thanks for the reply Topper! My TSH was 1.0 in November. I have

> been trying to stay at 1.0 or below. But even at those numbers on

> Synthroid, I still have symptoms. The only time I felt a little

> better was when I was pregnant and right after pregnancy. My TSH

> was below 0 after the pregnancy and the dr. said it was suppressed

> due to the pregnancy. Well I suppose I was hyper for awhile, but as

> soon as my TSH started back on the chart, I felt worse! It is

> difficult to find a dr. to treat symptoms, not numbers. I

> understand that you don't want to be hyper, but I just want some

> relief! I believe my recent T4 was 1.14 (0.8-1.8) and my Free T3

> was 260 (230-420).

> I have only been on the Armour for 2 days. When I first take

> half the dose (30mg), I feel a little strange within 10 minutes. I

> actually think I get a little boost of energy and I get this kind of

> strange feeling in my eyes. But I feel kind of dizzy and " out of

> it. " But the boost quickly turns into fatigue and then I have MAJOR

> brain fog. It is a really strange feeling. It's like the medicine

> wears off so quickly. I take the 2nd dose (30mg) in the evening and

> the same thing happens. I only feel like 2 minutes of relief. I

> tried taking it without food, but got so shaky that I know have been

> taking it with food. The strangest thing is that my head feels like

> a 1,000lb bowling ball. I have always had brain fog, but this feels

> different.

> I agree that it probably takes time. It has just been a long

> road and I am so hoping that Armour is my answer. The dr. is going

> to run some other tests to check my gut flora and then I know we

> will need to address my adrenals. Oh, I also feel a little nauseous

> on the Armour. Thanks for your help!

[Guest guest]

It is definitely all very confusing, but I am very happy to learn

about anything and everything that could possibly make me feel

better. It is just amazing that so many doctors just ignore the

symptoms. I cannot even tell you how many doctors I have seen over

the years. As for bowels, I have pretty much had chronic

constipation since being diagnosed with hashi's at age 14. It

improved a little when I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease and went

on the gluten free diet. But now I have trouble with just about all

foods and have bouts of both constipation and diarrhea. I have been

reading more about Adrenal issues. I actually spent 2 years on a

small dose of Prednisone. An endocrinologist had prescribed it for

a " hormone imbalance. " I felt better for awhile, but then it seemed

to wear off (this was several years ago). I was weaned off of it

slowly. I have mild osteoporosis and osteopenia (yes, at age 28!)

so the prednisone was probably not so good for that. I am pretty

convinced I have adrenal issues especially since I am having trouble

with the Armour. It seems that a lot of people use Isocort or

Cortef. Is there anything else that can help b/c I am not sure if I

want to take the Cortef. I just feel like my head is going to fall

off. If I turn too fast from one side to the other, I get extremely

dizzy. I know the new doc I am seeing treats Adrenal fatigue, we

just didn't get that far in my first appointment. She wants to get

my thyroid regulated first, but I am wondering if the Armour will

work without Adrenal support. I will do anything to feel better! I

have a 2 year old son and need energy to keep up with him. I would

also like to consider having a 2nd child in the next year or two so

I am trying to get well first.

>

> You felt better during pregnancy cuz a hypo mom gets thyroid

hormone from

> her fetus.

>

> You haven't been hyper, just had a suppressed TSH.. you aren't

hyper

> until your Free T4 and, more significantly, your Free T3 is well

over

> range, right now yours is at the bottom of it's range.. Along with

your

> symptoms, that says hyPO

>

> Okay... how you are reacting after taking a dose of Armour fits

too...

> your Free T3 is very low, so your body is not used to it... Taking

> Armour, it has T3 in it... so your body is getting a hit of T3

when you

> take the Armour... that's the surge and dizziness. T3 is quickly

taken up

> by the body after you take the pill, within four hours up to 95 %

of it

> has either been attached to hormone receptors or has been passed

from the

> body...

>

> Taking the pill with food buffers it's dissolve rate and

absorption..

> reducing how quickly the T3 gets into your system, and how much..

So by

> adding food you are 'feeling less bad' cuz you are, in effect,

getting

> less hormone into you... slower.

>

> This isn't weird... some of us are just sensitive. You'll have to

> experiment a bit to give your body time to adjust and get used to

the

> hormones again, looks like you aren't quiet like everyone else...

>

> I have a suggestion. Can you split your pills into quarters? Try

taking a

> quarter of a pill at a time. That will reduce the amount of T3

that you

> are getting into your body at each dose, to half... but you're

still

> gonna be getting your full dose during the day, so you will still

be

> getting all the T4 that you need to store for later

conversion...You need

> to keep building your T4 reserves and getting your conversion up

so that

> you have T3 for your body to use between doses of Armour.

>

> This may sound confusing... if it is... ask questions.. the better

you

> understand how this chemistry stuff works the better you will be

able to

> relate that to how you are feeling and figure out the best way to

dose

> now, as your body gets used to the increase in active hormones

(the T3,

> T2 and T1) and work on adjustments to get your thyroid hormones up

(T4,

> T3, T2 and T1) and your TSH down... then those symptoms are going

to ease

> up and you'll be feeling much better.

>

> I know it's confusing and frustrating and hard to be patient...

and with

> Brain fog it's hard to get your brain to wrap around things and

make

> sense of them... so again, I'm serious... if you don't quite get

it.. ask

> questions.. we'll work on different ways of explaining and after a

while

> the info will get through the fog and you'll do an " I could have

had a

> V-8' smack on your forehead!!! We've all been through fog here..

and no

> one is gonna make fun or get frustrated with repeated questions...

>

> Take notes on how you are feeling.. what you feel... it's easier

to look

> back at notes than try to remember the 'little things' when you

have a

> foggy brain...

>

> It's often little things that give the clues that tell the tale.

>

> Sounds silly.. but considering how differently each of us respond

to

> getting our hormone levels back sometimes we have to look really

close at

> the individual to figure out what their body is trying to say

about what

> help it needs to get things working better again.

>

> Just my thoughts... I can't tell you what to do, I'm not a doc...

but I

> can share things that I've learned, that's what we all do here...

so that

> we can share all this info and see what applies to us and go from

there.

> Doc's don't have all the 'hands on' experience that we do, many

have no

> idea what it's like to be hypo, or hyper.

>

> As for your gut flora, chances are that if you are hypo, with a

low basal

> body temp, your gut flora (bacteria) aren't going to be up to

par.. they

> are very sensitive to basal body temp and with low temps bacteria

counts

> are lower.. that's part of why we have such trouble digesting

food... and

> Ummmm trouble in the bathroom...

>

> So.. this next question, if you don't want to answer in front of

> everyone, you can contact me privately.... going to the

bathroom... are

> you able to move your bowels regularly? For most folks that is

once a day

> or once every other day... some folks it's longer.. but generally

if it's

> once a week or less there is a problem with your digestion... I

know when

> I'm bad hypo I have trouble going more than once a week.. and when

my

> levels are good I go every morning, like clock work... It feels

sooooo

> much better on my insides when I go regularly.

>

> I've talked with some folks that have dealt with the (for lack of a

> better term) impactions.. that I had when I was bad hypo... where

the

> bowel content impacted and got hard inside.. and if you bumped

your tummy

> or something and hit that part that your insides hurt enough to

make your

> eyes water... It's not a pretty thing to talk about, and I

couldn't at

> first.. but I've found over the years that it's not uncommon for

us to

> have trouble with it and if we can share this stuff with others

that have

> been through it and find out what is causing it and that it will

get

> better... it just makes things easier...

>

> Oh.. how did that go? We were teasing about it here a long while

back...

> about having happy potty times!!! hehehehe

>

> Topper ()

> ***A reminder for those that are new and still working on learning

the

> hormones, meds and tests:

> www.thyrophoenix.com/thyroid_101.htm

>

> On Mon, 05 Feb 2007 02:38:36 -0000 " sunshellsea3 "

> writes:

> > Thanks for the reply Topper! My TSH was 1.0 in November. I

have

> > been trying to stay at 1.0 or below. But even at those numbers

on

> > Synthroid, I still have symptoms. The only time I felt a little

> > better was when I was pregnant and right after pregnancy. My

TSH

> > was below 0 after the pregnancy and the dr. said it was

suppressed

> > due to the pregnancy. Well I suppose I was hyper for awhile,

but as

> > soon as my TSH started back on the chart, I felt worse! It is

> > difficult to find a dr. to treat symptoms, not numbers. I

> > understand that you don't want to be hyper, but I just want some

> > relief! I believe my recent T4 was 1.14 (0.8-1.8) and my Free

T3

> > was 260 (230-420).

> > I have only been on the Armour for 2 days. When I first

take

> > half the dose (30mg), I feel a little strange within 10

minutes. I

> > actually think I get a little boost of energy and I get this

kind of

> > strange feeling in my eyes. But I feel kind of dizzy and " out

of

> > it. " But the boost quickly turns into fatigue and then I have

MAJOR

> > brain fog. It is a really strange feeling. It's like the

medicine

> > wears off so quickly. I take the 2nd dose (30mg) in the evening

and

> > the same thing happens. I only feel like 2 minutes of relief.

I

> > tried taking it without food, but got so shaky that I know have

been

> > taking it with food. The strangest thing is that my head feels

like

> > a 1,000lb bowling ball. I have always had brain fog, but this

feels

> > different.

> > I agree that it probably takes time. It has just been a

long

> > road and I am so hoping that Armour is my answer. The dr. is

going

> > to run some other tests to check my gut flora and then I know we

> > will need to address my adrenals. Oh, I also feel a little

nauseous

> > on the Armour. Thanks for your help!

>