Hashimotos questions

[suzanna1]

i am newly diagnosed with hashimotos and am currently taking armour thyroid.. i was wondering what is the normal starting dose for a hashimotos patient..  i am currently on armour 1/4 grain two in the morning and one at night..    when do patients usually start to feel better??  and if i was untreated for about eight years is it going to take longer for my body to adjust since i was not treated for so long? and how likely is it that if i use selenium 200 mg that i will be able to stay on the same dose for?  do most patients have like years in between when they adjust or is it months?

[Mark Lupo, M.D.]

This varies from person to person.  The current armour dose may be adequate -- would wait 6 weeks (from starting meds) to recheck TSH.  Target TSH is 0.5-2.5.  It may take several months (even after getting levels normal) for your body to fully appreciate that the thyroid levels are back in place.

[Geeena]

I have been hypothyroid (Hashimotos) for about six years. My thyroid didn't completely stop functioning all at once--it was about 5 years of slow decline, changing my meds every 3 months.  It has stablized so I have it checked every 6 mos now. My doc started me on the lowest dose (Lovoxyl), and adjusted up from there according to TSH.  I felt better immediately, but it took months for hair to grow back, maybe even years for other symptoms like my tendons were so tight I would injure easily when I tried to exercise.  Work with your doc, and good luck.

[Mark Lupo, M.D.]

the selenium at 200mcg may help the autoimmune attack, but this is unclear and needs more research.  you still need the thyroid replacement if you are hypothyroid.

[suzanna1]

is it normal to be jittery on the armour medication... my heart feels like its not adjusting well...  i just want to know what is normal when taking this medication.. im so scared of becoming hyper....   with a tsh of like 4.6   it was only slightly out of range by like a couple points... i cant remember the range  but other tests showed me at 6.4 with a range of (.04- 4.9)  these were older tests  and most recent was the 4.6   would being on right now 30mg. in the morning and one 15 at night be way too much??

[NoGluten]

I would consider requesting a celiac blood test from your doctor this would check an autoimmune reaction to gluten (antibodies in the blood) which has been linked to Hypothyroidism. The reason I mention this is that it took me 7 years to figure this out working with several doctors and it wasn't until I had this test and removed the gluten completly from my diet that my thyroid returned completly to normal. Please note that this is a genetic diease that is more common than the medical community realizes and is not just a digestive diease this is very important to make the doctor understand. I had a genetic test that proved this and allowed me to gain my health completly back with no drugs. A good book to read is Dangerous Grains as this may help the understanding of how this genetic disorder to gluten. I hope this helps you as I hate to see anyone go through the 7 years I went through trying figure this out.

[1ph]

It would be wise to return to the doctor who prescribed the armour. You should not be feeling worse on the medication. Not all people do well on every medication . It may be that you need a different medication or a different dose of the same medication. The jittery feeling may also make you feel scared and concerned.