Guest guest Posted October 28, 2010 Report Share Posted October 28, 2010 I've had an underactive thyroid for years and have been on Synthroid. While I never felt that I got back to what I was before my thyroid started acting up, the Synthroid did help me feel much better than what I was feeling for the six months or so before being diagnosed. I know Andy recommends Armour thyroid but my previous doctor blew me off on that and said it didn't work for most people. I've got a new doctor now, and I can ask for the Armour again (if it's back on the shelves yet?), but I've also heard that some doctors prescribe both Synthroid and Cytomel in combination. Does this work as well as the Armour? Has anybody tried this combo? Just trying to find a way to get me better and not tick off the doctor that writes the Rx, and with our insurance we have to use in-network doctors or everything is out of our own pockets, including the Rx's. Thanks for any input. Janelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 28, 2010 Report Share Posted October 28, 2010 Since reformulation approx 3y ago, Armour is NOT the same drug. Two of us using this drug for an extended time have had difficulty - weight gain, dry skin, hair loss, palpitations.....all since the change. Thyroid is being compounded for us and seems to be working better. Some help @ NaturalThyroidHormones/ > > Dad > > Have mom read this. I thought interesting. > > Tammy > > Re: [ ] thyroid > > > > It is back on the shelves, but either the doctors aren't aware of it, ot > they have a deal going with the makers of Synthroid. I won't take anything > but Armour. > > If you are hypo thyroid as I am, you need to have your iodine level checked > with this new doctor. I don't think insurance covers the test. I paid for > mine out of pocket and I am so glad I did. I was very low in iodine as > there just aren't many places to get it in the American diet. It is in > iodized salt, but you would have to eaqt seventeen teaspoons of iodized salt > a day to get enough -- and we know what that could do to a person's blood > pressure! > > You can get it from sea vegetables such as kelp, but it is hard to switch > over and be diligent about that. Kelp granules make a good substitute for > salt to sprinkle over food, and it takes on 1/8 of a tsp. a day to get a > daily allownace, but if you are low, you need to get the levels back up. > > The way I took the test was this: The doctor gave me four Iodoral tablets to > take all at once. Then I collected urine for a specified amount of time, > and how ever much iodine came out in the urine determines if you are > deficient or not. I was very deficient. I began taking Iodoral tablets at > once. > > You have to work up on them depending on how deficient you are. I took one > tablet the first week in the morning. The nest week one in AM and one in > Pm. The next week I took two in the AM and one in the PM, and then the next > week I took two in the morning at two in the PM. I stayed like that for a > while, and now I am on two tablets a day for maintenance. > > I cannot tell you enough how much this has helped me! First, after being on > the full dose a while, my thyroid hormone had to be adjusted downward. I > was able to cut the amount I need by half! > > Next, I have had fibrocystic breast disease (you know they turn everything > into a disease) since I was in my early twenties. I had to go in all the > time and have fluid filled cysts drained. Painful! Then I started having > bad mammograms beginning at twenty seven and had my first biopsy at twenty > seven. In my forties, I had to have three biopsies with an adenoma removed > from under my arm (right where one applies aluminum-containing > antiperspirant), and I had to have dysplastic cells removed form deep inside > my breast (excruciatingly painful --torturous!). > > Then I began taking the Iodoral. I also threw away the aluminum > antiperspirant and have only used natural deodorant I buy at Whole Foods. I > also gave up canned food and using aluminum foil in addition to throwing out > all the non-stick, coated pans we have. We use stainless steel pans for > cooking (I know there are better ones, but we can't afford them). > > The fiborcystic breast condition went away. My mammograms were perfectly > normal. Then in the summer of 09, I got busy, ran out of Iodoral, and was > off it for a few months. My mammogram came back suspicious. The > radiologist (a wonderful woman) asked me what I had changed. I told her I > had run out of my iodine supplement and forgot to re-order. She told me to > get back on it ASAP and come back in six months. I did so. Six months > later, the suspicious area in my breast had disappeared! I will NEVER again > allowmyself to run out of Iodoral. > > We all need enough to stay healthy: > > It is known to be essential in maintaining the function of the thyroid and > parathyroid glands in humans . It is also essential to the production of > thyroxine, a hormone associated with the thyroid gland and proper thyroid > functioning. Iodine also promotes general growth and development within the > body as well as aiding in metabolism. Because of its role in the metabolism, > the symptoms of an iodine deficiency can be far reaching. Even though it is > so important to proper functioning of the human organism, iodine deficiency > is not uncommon. Severe iodine deficiency often occurs in individuals who > have thyroid disease. > > Deficiency may include extreme fatigue, slowing of both physical and mental > processes, weight gain, facial puffiness, constipation and lethargy. Babies > born to iodine deficient moms may be lethargic and difficult to feed. If > they are left untreated it is likely that they will develop cretinism and > end up sufffering poor overall growth and mental retardation. > > The government used to enrich foods like bread with iodine, and then they > stopped. Now the only places are salt (too much needed to receive benefit), > sea vegetables (which most are unlikely to eat), and shell fish, which > contains mercury. > > I believe iodine is vital to breast health and also helps our bodies fight > off certain cancers such as breast cancer. It has in my case. You can buy > Iodoral directly on-line, but work with a doctor to find out how deficient > you are and get the right dose. You can get too much and that isn't good > either. > > Just my two cents. > > Don't let doctors tell you Armour is not available. It is and you need to > demand it. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 28, 2010 Report Share Posted October 28, 2010 , Thanks for the info. Do I just ask my doc to write a compounding prescription? I will go to the group you mentioned. I am actually taking " Thyroid, " the generic form of Armour. Has this, too, been reformulated? I haven't noticed any difference, but might like to try the compounded version. Thanks for the link. Haven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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